Gin gwai (2002)

Directors:

Oxide Pang Chun
Danny Pang

Writers:

Jo Jo Yuet-chun Hui (written by) and
Danny Pang (written by) ...

Release Date:

9 May 2002 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

What if the reflection you see is not yours

Plot:

A blind girl gets a cornea transplant so that she would be able to see again. However, she got more...

Plot Keywords:

Ghost | Blind Girl | Eye | Vision | Surgery

Awards:

8 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Angelica Lee	...	Wong Kar Mun (as Lee Sin-Je)
Lawrence Chou	...	Dr. Wah
Chutcha Rujinanon	...	Ling
Yut Lai So	...	Yingying
Candy Lo	...	Yee (Mun's Sister)
Yin Ping Ko	...	Mun's grandmother
Pierre Png	...	Dr. Eak
Edmund Chen	...	Dr. Lo
Wai-Ho Yung	...	Mr. Ching
Wilson Yip	...	Taoist
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kanta Aeamsamang	...	Young Mother
Wisarup Annuar	...	Dark Figure
Cub Chin	...	Boy's Father
Wing-Wai Chin	...	Hospital Caretaker
Ousinthorn Chotphan	...	Mun as a Little Girl
Sungwen Cummee	...	Ghost in the Elevator
Damrongwiseeatpanich	...	Ling (Age 8)
Jinda Duangtoy	...	Old Lady in the Hospital
Sopol Duriensuk	...	Traffic Policeman
Pornchai Hongrattanaporn	...	Bride
Si Won Ho	...	Ghost in the Restaurant
King Man Ip	...	Taoist
Panpimol Jeamsakol	...	Thai Nurse 2
Pui Ho Jim	...	Boy in the Car Accident
Narongsak Junjiamrat	...	Young Father
Wirasinee Kuntipan	...	Groom
Mylio Lau	...	Wah's Secretary
Yuk Ha Lau	...	Waitress
Hing Kim Lee	...	Restaurant Owener
Somchai Leelanukul	...	Thai Mini-Bus Driver
Tao Leung	...	Ghost on the Highway
Vuanna Mahachanok	...	Thai Mini-Cab Driver
Tassanana Nuntasapee	...	Ling (Age 4)
Ming Poon	...	Boy with Cap
Dampongongtrakul Sawadee	...	Yee as a Little Girl
Nonlaporn Sombatruksasuk	...	Boy's Mother
Nittaya Suthornrat	...	Ghost in the Classroom
Busarn Thongtiw	...	Thai Nurse 1
Wasarat Thrasarchoti	...	Mr. Ching's Assistant
Sue Yuen Wang	...	Ling's Mother
Yuet Siu Wong	...	Ghost in the Hospital
Florence Wu	...	Nurse
Tian Nan Wu	...	Calligraphy Teacher
Ben Yuen	...	Mr. Ching

Also Known As:

The Eye (International: English title) (UK)
Jian gui (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
Seeing Ghosts (literal English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some disturbing images.

Runtime:

99 min | Argentina:110 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival) | Canada:94 min (DVD) | Sweden:94 min (DVD)

Country:

Hong Kong | Singapore

Language:

Cantonese | Thai | English | Mandarin | Hakka

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG (uncut version) | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Portugal:M/18 | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:16 | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | Argentina:16 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) | Norway:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

Applause Pictures

Trivia:

The dark/black figure/person that constantly appears in the film when the characters die is the Daoist (Chinese religion) form of the Grim Reaper. In Daoist belief, there are two Grim Reapers, the White and Black "Wu Chang". The Black Reaper is the one that escorts the newly dead to the "other world" of "afterlife".

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: While playing the violin solo, Mun's fingers on her left hand never move.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Deadly Visions (2004) (TV)

Another Excellent Alternative to Mainstream Cinema

There are already several comments left, but what the hey, I liked this movie and I'm gonna have my 10p worth.

Before I mention the movie itself, I'd better comment on modern Asian movies that reach Western shores, and the fact that they have different pacing, priorities and styles to what you would see at the cinema. The fact that a lot of people don't 'get' the parts of this film which seem to have no relevance is probably as much due to the difference in culture more than any wrongdoing on the production team's behalf. The same can be said for a lot of Hong Kong comedies, the 'humour' which would probably illicit a wry laugh back home flies miles over everybody else's head.

In that sort of circumstance, I've developed a good trick, I switch-off trying to figure out what all these little hints and gestures mean and concentrate on the character interactions and the scares. I've had a lot of practice, Western cinema in recent years has been guilty of 'rambling', and they've got no such excuse as 'cultural differences' ;)

Anyway, the movie! (good grief!), the plot's already been explained and probed, so I won't go into that. What this film has is a constant 'pressure', a claustrophobic atmosphere which persists regardless of the location. Clever camera work afoot! The palpable distance which the heroine feels from her family and the people around her (perhaps a symptom of not being able to communicate non-verbally with them so long? Perhaps not, but it's there) is always there too. You get the impression that she could be surrounded by a crowd and still walk alone from one side of a city to the other.

The smaller roles are played out very nicely, great acting considering the film concentrates almost solely on the two main characters.

The ending is a little bit of a let-down, predictable and not entirely 'working'. But, BUT, it isn't a catastrophe which ruins the film, which I'm sure you'll know what I mean. The ending of a film is what you're left with when you switch off the TV, and if it's bad, then so is the film.

This movie is the only one in recent years which actually gave me a start, and that's something. Real horror isn't about dripping guts and hooks with heads on them, it's about the unexpected, it's about being confronted with something terrifying, something which makes you wish the character was elsewhere. In order to achieve that, you need to give a damn about the character in the first place, which is where 90% of cheap horrors fall down. Not here, the characters are likable and have a little childlike innocence about them, you want to get in there and slap the more unpleasant visitors :P

All in all, I very much enjoyed watching this film, and intend to buy it when I find it for a pittance (almost all DVDs can be found for the right price at one time or another, shop around and ask people where they get their bargains). I would heartily recommend renting before buying, however. As several have mentioned already, there are several elements of this film which seem to have been deliberately copied from recent films such as Sixth Sense. If that prospect leaves a sour taste, I'd look elsewhere, but everyone else who hasn't had enough of all that yet should certainly have a look :D

Thanks for reading.