Also see here and here for synopsis.

There are millions of different answers of what constitute as a good film. For me, a good film has a story that touches me, period. Great film, meanwhile, is a feast for the eyes, the mind, the ears, the soul. Great film has layers. Say, it may disguise as a screwball comedy, but when you dig deeper, it's an exploration of a timely phenomena, like racism, capitalism, etc.

Now, KALA fits as a great film. Seriously. Quit that sneer and smirk cause I am really being objective here :) Yes, there are a lot of sentiments involved, but.. nevermind, I don't need to be defensive. Just see it for yourself.

The film opens with nostalgic moments. A journalist named Janus, as in the warrior, covering a case of lynch where five guys were burnt to death in public. Man, my memory drifted to the early days of covering the morgue, reporting the story to editor (Bang Basrie!) from public phone (yes, using coins) and ended up being scolded, instead of being praised for getting a scoop haha.

Anyway, the story rolled from there, so well-crafted, so consistently paced, throwing bit by bit of information until it forms a complete puzzle with orgasmic ending. Sonofabitch! :) Once in a while, Joko throws in some dark humor (check out the building the hardliner/mobster rampage in. I laughed out loud! It's just so clever!)

It's a thriller, but there are so many more beyond it. It's amazing how Joko incorporates Greek mythology, with Indonesian's own myth and legend as well as historical and political situation. All while mixing up with noir style which is just divine. The actors are excellent, man. Fachri Albar is brilliant in portraying a narcoleptic journalist/tortured soul. You just can see it from his eyes.

Technical wise, despite several flaws (which are totally forgivable and understandable considering the budget, which is slightly higher than Garasi but half the budget of Gie), it's way above any Indonesian movie. The music score kicks ass, the picture's great..it's an artistic achievement as Mbak Sekar said.

Well done, man, well done. Yes, you so can be the next M. Night Shyamalamadingdong :)

Posted by hera at 9:25 AM | Permalinks | Comments   

Mama Terate. Mama Lauren. Mamma Mia, here I go again. Why is every woman psychic calling themselves Mama? Is there a nurturing aspect of predicting the future?

Psychic is really hip right now, a cultural phenomena du jour. They're all over the place -- TV talk show, radio show, coffee shop, even phone providers offer their services. I have a friend from Bandung who I haven't seen for a long time and who always said she was a psychic. Next thing I knew, she's a regular on a gossip show, digging the story of local celebrities by reading tea leaves or tarot cards. Good for her.

I don't have anything against psychics. And to say that I totally don't believe in what they offer is complete bullshit. But really, when everyone consulted my (other) psychic friend, I chose not to. Sometimes for fun, yes, but mostly no. I just don't see why I should. The beauty of life lies in its mystery, doesn't it? Or whatever.

However, it's always interesting to hear stories about psychics, and their clients. A woman friend "K" recently accompanied our other friend to consult a psychic somewhere in South Jakarta. K then decided to consult her too, something she had never done in her whole life. And something that she regretted later on hehe.

It started out casually, with tarot cards dealing and stuff, and when asked, K said she wanted to know about her love life. The Madam, surprisingly, scolded her with such judgmental tone and said that it was no wonder that K was still single because she had made a guy so heartbroken eight years ago. K was really shocked, but managed to say, "I don't think so."

The Madam insisted, and threw in a lot of allegations, which, needless to say, were untrue. She also said that the ex boyfriend had "done" something to K. By "doing" something, (literally called "dikerjain" in Indonesia), it means that a shaman has performed something to a person based on your request -- getting back at somebody, making somebody attracted to you and so on. Or in K's case, according to the Madam, the shaman (sometimes they're called "orang pinter" or smart man. Seriously.) has built an invisible wall around her body so that nobody would be attracted to K. Although, the Madam added, the wall had started to shatter.

K frowned in disbelief, which irritated the Madam. "You have to watch your health too. You're like your father. Didn't your father die because of a disease?". "No, he died in an accident," said K. The Madam was taken aback, but immediately regained composure, and said many other stuff which K said, none of them were true. Poor K.

Saying those predictions/allegations when we consult the psychic is one thing. But telling them without even asked and being so self righteous about it, that's another thing.
Another friend, C, once was having dinner with a group of new people. A man, apparently can see things, suddenly said to her, "You've been pregnant several times, right?". C said yes, added that she always had miscarriage. The man, strangely, insisted, "No, you aborted all of them! Admit it!". C was shocked, and in pain, because god knows she'd been trying to have a baby and failed. So, she just went quiet.

My psychic friend once said that it's tough to keep everything she "knew" about other people to herself. She needs to get it out. But hasn't it occured to them that maybe what they "see" aren't necessary true? But more importantly, can they just face the fact that some people just don't wanna know?

Posted by hera at 11:13 AM | Permalinks | Comments