Mukhsin

Malaysian filmmaker Yasmin Ahmad goes back to familiar territory with this adolescent drama revisiting the close-knit family that served as the heart of her previous films Sepet and Gubra. School is out, and precocious tomboy Orked (Sharifah Aryana Syed Zainal Rashid) has noticed a new boy in town. Twelve year-old Mukhsin (Muhammad Syafie bin Naswip) may be an agreeable enough lad, but his mother has recently abandoned his abusive father and his brother seems to be picking up some of dad's worst traits. As the two youngsters forge a warm bond over the course of the holiday, Orked's easygoing family readily welcomes young Mukhsin into their happy and unapologetically free-spirited household. Though Orked's non-conformist parents may have inadvertently painted themselves as targets of scorn for their busybody neighbors, they are nevertheless always there for their little girl, even as the tenderness of childhood friendship gives way to the curious pangs of puppy love.~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide