Secret (Taiwanese Movie 2007)

Secret (Taiwanese Movie 2007)

IT DOESN’T MATTER IF WE WILL MEET AGAIN. IT DOESN’T MATTER IF YOU WILL REMEMBER ME. I JUST WANT TO TELL YOU A SECRET. I LOVE YOU.

Cast:

Jay Chou as Yie Xiang Lun / Jay

Kwai Lun-Mei as Lu Xiao Yu / Rain

Alice Tzeng as Ching Yi / Sky

Anthony Wong as Jay’s father

Plot Summary (Can also be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/)

The film opens on Sky giving a tour of the school to Jay. Jay just moves to the school saying that it has the best music class. Jay is a pianist. Sky then leaves him to venture the school alone. At this time Jay hear someone playing a piano and follow the music. Jay then meets with Rain. Rain is also a pianist. All three study in the same class. But, Rain is always late for classes and sometime did not come at all. This make Jay wonder why but Rain refuse to tell him, saying it is a secret. Around this time, Jay already befriend with Bao and Lang, whom you can say the school’s black sheep.

After a few days at school, Jay dares the school Prince of the Piano, Yu Hao, for a piano dueling competition. Nobody actually wins as they both are equally talented. How ever, as promise, Yu Hao gives Jay a music sheets that is hard to find.

Jay and Rain relationship evolve into a romantic one. But, at this point both of them are still surrounded with the mystery aura. At first I thought Rain is a fragment of Jay imagination. But seeing Rain talking to Sky during the dueling piano competition makes me wonder whether Rain is actually real or not.

Jay and Rain were playing the piano as a duo. Suddenly they stop after hearing footsteps. The music teacher has heard them. He enters the music room only to find Jay alone in front of the piano. He asks Jay how Jay can play a duo alone. Jay only answers him maybe he played too fast. Rain is actually hiding in the closet. The teacher opens the closet and says nothing. He left the room. Jay is curious as why the teacher didn’t say anything. Rain only answers are that the teacher sympathize her for being a low grade students.

It is then revealed to us Jay’s secret. One of the teacher (disciplinary teacher I presume), is Jay’s father. He keeps insisting that Jay listen to music and not has silly thoughts.

Jay relationship with Rain develops into a romantic one. They share a kiss once. Jay also finds out that Rain has asthma. As a token of Jay’s love to Rain, he gives the music sheets he won in the piano dueling competition called the Swan Lake. Rain also teaches Jay the music Jay heard during the first time he met her.

Jay makes an appointment to meet Rain at the music room at 7pm. While playing the piano with eyes shut, someone enter the room. Jay simply makes a move telling that person to kiss him. It is Sky who enters the room and kisses him. Jay is shock and run out from the room only to hear Da Yong, the retarded janitor, shouting that Rain has run away feeling angry.

Rain never goes to school anymore. Every day after school, Jay will go to the house he once sends Rain to. There is an old lady living in that house. The old lady simply answers him that Rain asthma is getting worse and she have to drop school to rest.

Five months have past since Jay last saw Rain. He continues with his live as usual but sometimes imagining that Rain is by his side playing duo with him. He is getting closer with Sky but without the romantic feelings.

On graduation day, Jay plays the piano. He suddenly sees Rain standing at the far back of the hall. Rain starts to leave. Jay, without second thoughts, stops playing and run after Rain. What a shock to everyone!

Jay went to the classroom only to find Bao and Lang stealing from the student’s private locker. He asks them if they sees a girl, the one that dance with him during the School Dance. They tell him that he was dancing alone. At this moment, Jay realizes that Rain is not real. All this while, he was communicating with either himself or Sky (imagining that she is Rain).

While sitting alone in the classroom thinking of what he just discovers, a sentence (in liquid paper) appears on Rain’s table. It is Rain. He answers back also with writing on the table using liquid paper. This is when the weird part truly starts.

He goes to Rain house and the old lady (Rain’s mother), ask him to come inside. Rain is not there. Jay found a music manuscripts but Rain’s mother grabs it from him. She then found a drawing of Jay’s portrait among the music manuscripts and says she should have trust her daughter. Rain’s mother gives Jay a photo of Rain and his father during his much younger age.

It was 1979. Rain was a 3^rd year student. She dropped her inhaler under a piano. While grabbing for it, she found music manuscripts hidden at the bottom of the piano. She started to play the music. While playing, her surrounding is evolving into the future. After she stops playing, she smiles realizing what have happen. While hiding the music manuscripts, it was the time she first met Jay.  Jay however is living in 1997. By logic, they are actually almost 20 years apart. So, the logical answer is that, Rain travel into the future while playing the music manuscripts.

In 1979, Rain discusses this with her teacher. It is Jay’s father at a much younger age of course. Jay’s father and Rain’s mother are worried that Rain might be having some mental problems. So, Jay’s father asks one of the students to look out for Rain. But this student turns out to be evil. She spread Rain’s story to the entire school. Rain stops going to school. Her mother simply blames her late father for everything. Rain decided to eat the pills from the psychiatrist’s clinic to sooth her mother.

During her graduation day in 1979, Rain decided to play the music manuscript again. Slowly her body disappears and appears in the future during Jay’s graduation day. This is the time where Jay saw Rain and start running after her. Remember?! Rain see Jay is wearing the bracelet that belongs to Sky and make her own assumption. While Jay follow his father back to the hall, Rain went to the music room and starts playing the music manuscript again. This time we see everything around her evolve back to the past. Rain goes to her classroom and writes on her table using liquid paper. Remember?! At this point, Rain died because of asthma attack.

Rain once tell Jay not to play the music she taught him using the old piano. So all the while, Jay’s been playing it using the modern piano. Realizing that the old piano and the music is the key to travel trough time, Jay goes back to school. The building is already being prepared to be demolished as reconstruction is going to take place during the school break. Jay manages to reach the music room and starts playing the music. At the same time, Jay’s father opens the music manuscript given to him by Rain. At this point he realized that the boy Rain meet in the future is actually his son Jay. He ran towards the school. The building is already being demolished.

Jay manages in time to reaches the past before the entire building is destroyed. He met Rain in a classroom. At this point I realized that Jay went further to the past at the point where Rain did not even meet him yet.

Review

The music teacher did not see Rain in the closet. He just saw the writing that Bao and Lang wrote.

The old lady (Rain’s mother), simply misses Rain so much that she say Rain is upstairs resting.

I don’t think Jay can ever go back to 1997 as the old piano is destroyed. As he was not born yet during 1979, I guess he can exist at that time. Rain however will be around 38 years old in 1997. Two of the same people cannot exist at the same time right? Maybe that is why no one else can see her.

From the reviews I read, I find out that this film is almost similar to 6^th Sense starred Bruce Willis. So, all the while watching this film, I keep on guessing who the ghost is. A lot of reviewers insist that Jay is the ghost but they cannot understand the reason everyone else can see him. But for the first third quarter of this film, I realize that it is not Jay but Rain is the ghost in this film.

The piano score in this film is superb. I watch this film for three reasons, Jay Chou, piano and mystery. Jay Chou in his cool way should release his muscle and act more romantically. The first quarter of the film only show his affections towards Rain and vice versa. Why didn’t he just kiss her or at least hold her hand?

He finally kisses to girls - Rain and Sky. His relationship with his father is the best. Just like their relationship in Initial D. But this time Anthony Wong is a little bit crazier. Jay’s two friends, Bao and Lang, are crazy in their own way. They try to help him but sometimes turn out to be annoying.

I guess it is not that hard to understand this film.

Add on 21st Jan 2011

When Rain travels into the future, the concept is that the first person she sees, can see her back. That is why she closed her eyes and counts her step to reach Jay’s classroom. She wants Jay to be the first person she sees. But, she is not lucky all the time. Sometimes, she sees Sky first. That is why we can see Rain talked with Sky during the piano dueling. Same goes to the janitor. If he is the first person that Rain sees, then he can sees her also.

Magika The Musical (Malay Movie 2010)

Magika The Musical (Malay Movie 2010)

CAST

Azlee Jaafar as Hang Lekiu (one of the Warriors of Malacca)
Aznil Hj Nawawi as Pak Pandir
Diana Danielle as Ayu
Fimie Don as Malik
Hamdan as Hang Lekir (one of the Warriors of Malacca)
Ilya as Hang Kasturi (one of the Warriors of Malacca)
M Nasir as Naga Tasik Chini
Mawi as Badang or Bad
Mazlan Senario as Hang Jebat (one of the Warriors of Malacca)
Nabil as Orang Minyak
Ning Baizura as Puteri Gunung Ledang
Norman Hakim as Awang (as in Lembing Awang Pulang Ke Dayang)
Raja Azura as Mak Andeh
Saiful Apek as Hang Tuah (one of the Warriors of Malacca)
Sharifah Aleya as Bawang Merah
Sharifah Amani as Bawang Putih
Vanidah Imran as Mahsuri
Wan Ismail Golok as Bendahara (Puteri Gunung Ledang’s Prime Minister)
Ziana Zain as Nenek Kebayan (The Witch)

Plot Summary

Ayu and Malik, two siblings are going through their darkest moments of life when their beloved mother just passed away. Malik feels so depressed believing he was the main cause of his mother’s death. During one of the evenings after a fight with his sister, Malik left to take a stroll in the forest. On and on he went until he realised he was lost and the next very moment, he appeared in another dimension called Magika. (Their grandmother told Ayu to go and search for Malik as in the Malay culture; it is not good to be outside during dusk. Eventhough Malik can hear Ayu screaming his name; he decided to hide from her. After Ayu surpass him, he venture further into the forest and heard voices. He reached a well and fall into it. When he managed to reach the surface, he enters another world known as Magika).

Not only had he gotten himself lost, he was captured by a Nenek Kebayan and her follower, Awang Kenit. He is now subjected to be used as an experiment by the Nenek Kebayan to produce Essence of Youth made of human child’s tears. Upon hearing Malik’s cries for help, Ayu rushed to help her brother and she is too sucked in the Magika mystical land. (Nenek Kebayan told Malik that he must be a bad boy to be out during dusk. Dusk time in the human world is morning for the Magika world).

Ayu met with Pak Pandir (who sometimes converse with her in singing) and he told Ayu to go home as Magika is not her place. Ayu who is headstrong decided to stay and search for Malik. Ayu gave Pak Pandir a RM50 note which Pak Pandir decline saying it is better if she gives him gold or silver instead. So, Ayu gives him coins. Pak Pandir is happy and starts counting how many silver he get. Only then Pak Pandir told Ayu that Malik is at Nenek Kebayan’s house. At the same time Mak Andeh arrives and starts scolding Pak Pandir in singing. Mak Andeh pulls Pak Pandir ear and took him home.

Ayu then encounters with Mahsuri who only speaks in Thais. While trying to tell Ayu Malik’s whereabout, Awang throws a spear at Mahsuri (Mahsuri is famous in Malay Legend for having white blood). Ayu becomes angry and start asking Awang why he did that. At that moment comes Hang Tuah and his four Warriors of Malacca. Ayu told them that Awang is a bad person after what he had done to Mahsuri. In the chaos, Hang Tuah took charge. He told Hang Kasturi and Hang Lekir to take care of Mahsuri while Hang Jebat and Hang Lekiu to take Awang see Puteri Gunung Ledang. He himself will take Ayu to Pasarimba. (The place Mahsuri told Ayu off Malik’s whereabouts).

While walking towards Pasarimba, Hang Tuah told Ayu that Nenek Kebayan is a nice person. She used to take care of children. These children however left Magika after they grew up. There are seven exits from Magika and one of it is Batu Belah Batu Bertangkup. Ayu asked Hang Tuah to help her get Malik and send them to Batu Belah Batu Bertangkup but Hang Tuah decline saying there are vicious dogs there. Suddenly dogs came and start chasing them. Ayu was caught in a trap while Hang Tuah climbs up a tree. (Please remember that Hang Tuah is not afraid of anything except dogs I think).

Ayu was released by Bad. The trap belongs to him. Ayu asked Bad to help her but Bad said no. Bad said he has enough problems on his own. Back at home, Ayu and Malik’s father and grandmother asked the villagers to help find them. Ayu then starts singing asking for Bad to help her. (I guess the song helps as Bad turn around and walks back to Ayu).

At Gunung Ledang, Puteri Gunung Ledang is singing about her condition which is fat, old and ugly. She wants her maid to find her anything that can make her young again. She commands for Bendahara to see her. She confides to Bendahara about her situation. At that moment a bird flew by and drops a paper. Bendahara opens it. It is a brochure from Nenek Kebayan saying that she has made Essence of Youth. Nenek Kebayan arrived at Puteri Gunung Ledang’s palace and turned the princess young and beautiful.

At Nenek Kebayan’s house, Bawang Putih and Bawang Merah come to give Nenek Kebayan the onion and garlic for her potion. They made fun of Awang Kenit. At the same time, Ayu and Bad arrives at the town that Nenek Kebayan usually sells her potion but she is not there. Bad asked Orang Minyak but he is only interested in Ayu. So, Bad took Ayu near a river. Then Ayu and Bad start singing. Bad and Ayu arrives at Nenek Kebayan’s house. They planned the best way to save Malik. With the help from Badang, Ayu and Malik managed to escape.

In the forest, Malik need to pee. Ayu told him to do it at a tree nearby. The tree came to live with two other trees. The two tree start laughing at the tree Malik’s pee on. Ayu and Malik apologies and started quarrelling. The trees then start singing. After the song ended, a group of monkeys attacked Ayu and Malik. Badang came right on time to save them. Bad asked them to stay overnight at his place.

The next morning, Malik woke up only to find that Badang and Ayu are nowhere to be found. He went searching for them and bumps with Bawang Putih and Bawang Merah. They took him home with them only to be scolded by their mother. She told them to take him to Nenek Kebayan. (Oops, it’s only a dream). Well, the three of them travel far until they reach a fringe. They need to cross it to get to an island. They encounter Naga Tasik Chini. Naga Tasik Chini attacked them. At that moment Nenek Kebayan and Awang Kenit arrives. Nenek Kebayan was killed by Naga Tasik Chini. Ayu and Malik managed to escape back home.

Review

I hope there will be MAGIKA II because I need to know what happen with Ayu and Bad relationship. Love is in the air. If you like musical and legendary character, this is the movie. Some people said it is almost like Alice in Wonderland. Well, maybe. But, the legendary character in this movie can only be found here in Malaysia. Thumbs up to KRU for producing Malaysia’s Best Movie of the Year 2010.