The Eye (2002)
directed by Danny Pang, Oxide Pang
starring Angelica Lee, Lawrence Chou
Arrow Video
When a blind musician regains her sight, she discovers she is not only able to see the world around her, but also gets glimpses of the afterlife in The Eye (2002). Directed by Danny and Oxide Pang, this Hong Kong/Singapore co-production redefines what it means to see through someone else’s eyes. The film was a hit across the globe and spawned a sequel and an American remake.
Wong Kar Mun (Angelica Lee) is initially overjoyed when her sight is restored via cornea transplant, but soon discovers this miracle of science comes with a price. Mun is now able to see the dead. She witnesses terrifying spirits who mean her no harm but are in fact flashes into the future right before people die. This is a welcome twist on merely seeing dead people or being stalked by cursed or vengeful souls. These haunting visions, initially dismissed by her doctors, take their toll on Mun, causing her to question her sanity and wish to be blind again. Eventually her psychiatrist, Dr. Wah (Lawrence Chou), believes Mun’s visions are not hallucinations and begins digging into the cornea donor, leading him and Mun to rural Thailand. There, Mun uncovers the sad fate of her donor, Ling, who was ostracized for her visions of impending death and disaster leading to her suicide. Mun must confront the trauma of her donor’s past and eventual suicide to allow her soul to rest.
Often misidentified as a Thai film, The Eye is in fact made by Hong Kong filmmakers and actors, although the third act of the film does take place in Thailand. While it lacks some of the polish of contemporary films from Japan and Korea, it nonetheless delivers the same cozy creepiness of films like Ju-On or Whispering Corridors. Much of the film’s success is shouldered by Angelica Lee in a role that could easily have turned annoying or cringe. Mun as a character spends so much time on the verge of a breakdown that if the audience isn’t sympathetic to her, they are unlikely to care as her journey becomes increasingly sad and tragic.
Although the film could easily be dismissed as a clone of The Sixth Sense, the Pang brothers are able to add enough flair and pathos into their film for it to stand on its own despite its derivative roots. The theme of seeing through someone else’s eyes resonates throughout the film. The central theme that guilt and trauma don’t end with death for the dead or their survivors hits hard in the final act, as Mun relives the nightmarish life and death of Ling, forever bonding the two women together and allowing Mun to understand the power she has been given.
