''Sepet'' is a 2005 Malaysian

teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...

romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

comedy-drama film set in

Ipoh , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Ipoh in Perak , pushpin_map = #Malaysia#Asia#Earth , pushpin_mapsize = 275px , pushpin_map_caption = Ipoh in Malaysia , coordinates ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. Directed by

Yasmin Ahmad Yasmin binti Ahmad (7 January 1958 – 25 July 2009) was a Malaysian film director, writer and scriptwriter. She was the executive creative director at Leo Burnett Kuala Lumpur. Her television commercials and films are well known in Malaysia ...

, it tells a tale of a love that blooms between a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of v ...

boy and a Malay girl. ''Sepet'' is a Malay word which, in this context, refers to the 'slit eyes' of the Chinese.

Plot

A 19-year-old Ah Loong (who also called himself "Jason") is in charge of a stall selling unlicensed

VCD Video CD (abbreviated as VCD, and also known as Compact Disc Digital Video) is a home video format and the first format for distributing films on standard optical discs. The format was widely adopted in Southeast Asia, Central Asia and the ...

s. Contrary to the

stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for exampl ...

of his social standing, Ah Loong is an incurable romantic with an unlikely hobby: He loves to read and write

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings ...

. Quite content with being the

Romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a pries ...

of the slums, Ah Loong's life takes a sudden turn one day when a Malay schoolgirl, Orked, arrives at his stall while looking for

films A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

starring her favourite

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

Takeshi Kaneshiro is a Japanese-Taiwanese actor and singer. Beginning his career as a pop idol, he has since moved his focus towards the film industry, where he achieved both commercial success and critical acclaim. He has worked with directors throughout East A ...

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

blossoms between Orked and Ah Loong, although there are social and racial pressures that stand in their way. In the end, Ah Loong is involved in a motor vehicle accident while Orked is going to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

to pursue her studies. It is not clear if he lived or died until the sequel,

Gubra ''Gubra'' is a 2006 Malaysian film directed by Yasmin Ahmad. It was shot in 14 days in Ipoh, Malaysia. It is the sequel to '' Sepet'', and was followed by ''Mukhsin''. The title is a word in the local Penang or Kedahan variant of Malay used ...

which shows that Jason died. After the credits finish rolling however, Orked is shown wearing a

wedding ring A wedding ring or wedding band is a finger ring that indicates that its wearer is married. It is usually forged from metal, traditionally gold or another precious metal. Rings were used in ancient Rome during marriage, though the modern pract ...

sleeping beside Jason, who also has a wedding ring. In

Mukhsin ''Mukhsin'' is a 2006 Malaysian film directed by Yasmin Ahmad. It is the third instalment in the "Orked" trilogy. Shot in just 12 days, it won one award and one special mention at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival (2007) under the ch ...

, Jason and the adult Orked are shown to be living together. However, the adult Orked is not called by her name in this scene as the young Orked is.

Cast

* Choo Seong Ng as Jason aka Ah Loong *

Sharifah Amani Sharifah Amani binti Syed Zainal Rashid Al-Yahya (born 10 June 1986), better known by her stage name Sharifah Amani, is a Malaysian actress. She is the best known for her role as Orked in Yasmin Ahmad's 'Orked' trilogy ('' Sepet, Gubra'' and ' ...

as Orked * Linus Chung as Keong * Mei Ling Tan as Mah, Ah Loong's mother *

Ida Nerina Ida Nerina binti Hussain (born 13 January 1964), better known by her stage name Ida Nerina, is a Malaysian actress, producer and director. Biography Ida Nerina's career in TV and films began in the early 1990s. In 1992, she was nominated f ...

as Mak, Orked's mother *

Harith Iskander Harith Iskander bin Musa (born 7 August 1966) is a Malaysian actor and comedian. He is considered to be "the Godfather of Stand-Up Comedy" in Malaysia, having also won the Asia's Best Stand-Up Comedian Award 2014 by Top 10 of Asia Magazine. He ...

as Abah, Orked's father *

Adibah Noor Adibah Noor Mohamed Omar (3 September 1970 – 18 June 2022) was a Malaysian singer, actress and master of ceremonies. She made her start in the entertainment industry in 1995 and had gone on to star in films such as '' Sepet'' and '' Gubra'' ...

as Kak Yam * Kar Hoong Thor as Pah, Ah Loong's father * Zehan Marissa as Lin

Awards

Sequels

The sequel to ''Sepet'', called ''

'', was filmed in Ipoh, Malaysia and released in 2006. The third movie in Yasmin Ahmad's ''Orked'' trilogy is a prequel to both ''Sepet'' and ''

'', titled ''

''.

Adaptations

Theatre company Liver & Lung debuted a musical adaptation of Sepet in September 2019. Shafeeq Shajahan directed the adaptation, with music and lyrics by Shajahan and Badrish. The adaptation was a critical success, winning Best Direction at the BOH Cameronian Arts Awards in 2020. Joshua Anthony Gui and Badrika Baluch played the roles of Jason and Orked in the adaptation, receiving positive reviews. Theatre critic website Critic Republic wrote that the musical had an "unexpected quality, where audiences all cried, laughed and smiled together." Songs from the musical were released on Spotify in July 2021, to celebrate Yasmin Ahmad's 12 year death anniversary.

References

External links

Official site
* {{Yasmin Ahmad 2004 films Cantonese-language Malaysian films 2000s romantic comedy-drama films 2000s English-language films Films directed by Yasmin Ahmad Hokkien-language films Malay-language films 2000s Mandarin-language films Malaysian romantic comedy-drama films Films about interracial romance Films set in Malaysia Chinese-language Malaysian films Films with screenplays by Yasmin Ahmad 2004 comedy films 2004 drama films 2004 multilingual films Malaysian multilingual films