Yasmine (2014)
There's something genuinely exciting about watching a film from Brunei. Not because the country is exotic, but because it's one of those rare moments where world cinema opens a door you didn't even know existed. Brunei barely registers on most people's mental maps of global film culture, so when a feature emerges from there, you sit up and pay attention.
Yasmine, directed by Siti Kamaluddin, gives you plenty to pay attention to. The setup is a lovely hook: a high school girl, fed up with her studies and a strict father, gets drawn into Silat, a traditional Southeast Asian martial art, after a boy shows off his skills to catch her eye. It's charming, warm, and immediately grounded in a very specific cultural world. The film clearly has a lot of affection for Brunei, for its traditions, and for the young people growing up inside them.
The trouble is that Yasmine doesn't quite know what kind of film it wants to be, and it takes a while before it figures that out. For the best part of an hour, you're deep in teenage melodrama: social media drama, friendships, crushes, the usual coming-of-age furniture. It's pleasant enough, but if you came in expecting something closer to what I loved in Ong-Bak, you'll be checking your watch. The martial arts action we were promised takes its sweet time arriving, and that structural imbalance does hurt the film's momentum.
When the action does finally kick in, though, it's worth the wait. The fight choreography is solid, the cast clearly put in the physical work, and there's a real sense of discipline and pride in how Silat is presented on screen. Kamaluddin isn't just using martial arts as spectacle. There's genuine respect for the tradition behind it.
The tonal lurches are hard to ignore, mind you. At various points the film feels like a Hallmark movie, a gritty martial arts picture, and a coming-of-age drama all wrestling for control of the same running time. It reminded me of the strange collision you get when something like Tiger Stripes decides to go in an unexpected genre direction, except here the blend is less deliberately subversive and more accidentally chaotic. Whether that's a flaw or a feature probably depends on how forgiving you're feeling.
What I couldn't help but love, though, is the costume design. The Silat instructor turns up in a yellow and black tracksuit that is a clear, cheeky nod to Bruce Lee in Game of Death. It's a small detail, but it's the kind of knowing wink that tells you someone behind the camera has a genuine love for martial arts cinema. That kind of thing goes a long way with me.
Yasmine is a messy film, no question. It runs too long through its first act, it can't always decide on its own tone, and it probably asks more patience of the viewer than it should. But there's real heart here, and real cultural specificity. Bringing Silat to a global audience with this much warmth and pride is no small thing, and the film deserves credit for that alone.
Two and a half stars. Flawed, yes. Worth your time? Genuinely, I think so.
Rating: ★★½ | Year: 2014 | Watched: 2026-07-06
Where to watch
Watch in the US
Physical: Amazon US
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