Yasmine

Clichés aplenty, though 'Yasmine' is a good film.

The run time could've been shaved a bit and the characters could've been written better, but taking everything into account I'd say this is a positive 2014 release from Brunei; reportedly the first ever commercial feature film from the Southeast Asian country.

The cast aren't anything overly noteworthy, though Liyana Yus makes for a good enough lead; her (titular) character is a little hit-and-miss in terms of how she acts, though that's on the filmmakers rather than Liyana. The rest of the cast, spearheaded by Reza Rahadian, are solid.

Nothing perfect, naturally, but I enjoyed watching it.

I loved The Karate Kid, but the absence of the lead character's mother from most of his affairs didn't let me believe in the story as much as I'd have liked to. In this film, father/daughter interaction, portrayed pretty convincingly, is an important part of the story. This is still a coming-of-age piece, but it has more depth than Kid did, while retaining an excellent sense of humor, as well as showing a mature respect for the subject matter.

The filmography is beautiful. The score is uplifting. The acting is compelling. This is truly an amazing debut by many of those involved.

There are a few flaws, and they make it hard to follow the sequence of events here and there, but it all makes sense before the end.

We watched it with our fourteen-year-old son, who liked it. A good family film for middle schoolers.

Three things made this movie important for me. The female lead was great, in this earnest coming-of-age film. The martial arts performances were instructive, and impressive. But what made this film important was the cultural aspect. It is an Indonesian film, and the film describes life in Indonesia. Did you know that Indonesia has the MOST Muslims of any country in the world? The percentage of the people there, who are Muslim, is only 86.7%. It is less than the Muslim countries of the Mideast. But Indonesia has 231 MILLION Muslims! This fine film depicts that reality, which some other Indonesian films avoid. Seen on Tubi, the free streaming site; which has many foreign films; and now, live TV.

My initial expectation of the movie weren't that high. But after seeing the movie myself I can't help but feel so wrong! This movie's great!

What truly struck me was the movie's videography, drama, comedy (the Bruce Lee-like teacher is funny!), plot, sound, and suspense; I mean it was that amazing and done that professionally.

Especially amazing after realizing, from IMDb, that this was Brunei's first ever featured film after more than 50 years! Talking about the ultimate comeback!

I may be biased as I am a Bruneian myself but I kid you not, this is truly a great movie! A must watch for ever Bruneians!

To Siti Kamaludin and the Yasmine team, I am so proud of you!!!!

OK, since this is the first national movie Brunei ever made, my expectation wasn't that very high, but still expecting some nation wide qualities. To my surprise, I was more than thrilled, the soundtrack, comedies, and acting are all on par with national movies, and it is easily said that it is the best movie so i've seen so far being produce by Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. To me, this is by far better than any Malaysian or Indonesian movies.

It's is even more impressive for a small nation to produce its first movie with an excellent qualities. Can't wait for the sequel! I salute the director, which is also the first Female director in SEA, and also the writers, and everyone involved. I salute you. If there was ever a movie to present Brunei, this is it. wonderful cinematography.

p/s Don't expect Hollywood standard kind of movie , its more like an easy going, teenage friendly kind of movies that has a 'what do you learn' kind of end. FRIENDSHIPs and funny jokes wasn't short from this movie Highly recommended