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
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

Colour:

Black and White | Colour

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 beginning (the operation for a blind girl to see again) and the end of the film are based on true stories the Pang brothers read about in the news.

Goofs:

Continuity: During Mun's calligraphy lesson, the paintbrushes in the large white pot change position during the scene.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Exhuming 'The Messengers' (2007) (V)

One of the year's best horror movies, though the subtitles will sadly put many people off

Even the website of this movie gave me the creeps. And it turned out to be one of the scariest movies I've seen in a while.

We follow the touching story of a young Hong Kong girl, blind from her earliest years, who undergoes a cornea transplant. After softening us up with lots of nice sentiment, the horror kicks her new found sight brings its own macabre rewards. Snappy editing and a well-timed score heighten the horrors that pack nanchuka punches to the guts. About a third of the audience was cowering behind their hands for the last half. In an age when American horror flicks are starting to look weary from over-use of CGI special effects or are toned down by self-censorship to reach a wider audience, The Eye comes in as a deftly woven real cardiac-stimulation shocker.

Sadly, the fact that it is subtitled limits the potential audience as many people simply refuse to go and see foreign language films until they have been genuinely moved or terrified by one. If you like horror movies and want to experiment, this is a good chance, and one of the best in the genre since the little shown Audition earlier this year.