Two mischievous brothers and a lost puppy; a father who returns home only late at night; a girl who pretends to be a boy. These misfits populate the wryly observed FLOWER IN THE POCKET.
Ma Lih Ahh and Ma Lih Ohm are left to roam the streets after school, delighting in small misadventures and befriending bossy tomboy Ayu. Meanwhile, their father Sui has succumbed to self-pity and isolation, fails to do right by his sons, and loses himself among the broken mannequins he repairs for a living. Complaining that his heart literally hurts, he is helpless to stop the ever-growing chasm between himself and his children.
FLOWER IN THE POCKET represents the emergent voice of Malaysian New Wave. It is the insight into the intimate details of Malaysian everyday life that director Seng Tat Liew endeavors to bring to the screen. While inviting the audience into Lih Ahh and Lih Ohm’s world with a deliberate, wide-eyed quirkiness, the film is certainly not naïve, nor is it a children’s film. The slapstick humor mingles fluidly with naughty jokes (in particular, one outrageous scene concerning their father comes to mind). As the narrative progresses, however, what began as boys’ horseplay eventually reveals darker truths. The film’s sly wit and restrained melancholy create a touching portrait of a family doing all they can to stay afloat.

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