Chicco Kurniawan – Movies of the Soul

Vampire Owl: Do you remember the first Indonesian movie which we watched?

Vampire Bat: Yes, before that, most of the reviews were Korean and Chinese.

Vampire Owl: Yes, and now, most reviews remain Korean, Spanish, Russian and French.

Vampire Bat: The Spanish also had risen in numbers very soon.

Vampire Owl: Well, there are thirty-one languages, so a few will surely have more numbers.

Vampire Bat: Well, all of a sudden, Filippino movies came to the list when it seemed to end with thirty languages of movies.

Vampire Owl: Among Indonesian movies are a few classic ones, right?

Vampire Bat: Yes, one classic horror and one classic superhero, for sure.

Vampire Owl: It is also the one country we have visited.

Vampire Bat: We did not think about watching when we were there in Bali.

[Gets an onion uthappam and three cups of Munnar tea].

What is the movie about? :: In the remote Magunsari village of Central Java in Indonesia, a young man named Imam (Elang El Gibran) is in love with Sulastri (Cindy Nirmala), a charming and beautiful ronggeng dancer, the village’s only true expert in the dance form, and the one who represents the local culture and traditions through her moves, with the woods making sure that the place maintains its cultural heritage separate from the rest of the island. That night, Sulastri is entertaining a number of men in the guest house with her tradition dance. A local man with a mental disease, Akhsan (Allan Dastan), also comes there to propose her while Imam gets there with the ring to provide his proposal to her. When the lights go out all of a sudden, Imam investigates place while Akhsan runs off, only to be attacked from behind and murdered. Later, Sulastri is also not found with her missing, and both her and Imam are never heard of. The village keep searching for her, but with no results, and there is nobody to keep the traditional dancing going on either, with the assigned girls never being as good as her.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Seven years have passed since the incident, and still nothing is found. During this time, a young woman named Larasati (Claresta Taufan Kusumarina) and her boyfriend Hadi (Chicco Kurniawan) makes their usual journey through the woods, and parts ways. Larasati who keeps on walking through the forest on the way home finds a red scarf and an old radio near an old and ruined well which is not in use. When she finds the scarf to be lovely and puts it on, she suddenly is able to dance in the traditional form of ronggeng with so much perfection as if it was done by Sulastri. Larasati seems to be acting under the guidance of Sulastri’s spirit, sometimes seeming to be fully possessed. It is then that four men led by Adit (Revaldo) arrives in the village for a ceremony. They stay in the same guesthouse where the tragedy occurred seven years ago, and there are more sinister events to follow. What could be triggering these events, and what might have happened to the dancer and her lover?

The defence of Ronggeng Kematian :: This movie’s arrival in Amazon Prime Video once again takes us back to the folklore as well as culture and traditions of the lesser-known areas of Indonesia, in the island of Java itself, setting the world to the villages. The movie seems to have realized that the past will remain significant and therefore any folklore can further strengthen a movie. Therefore, the layering seems to be nicely implemented, as we often get a look into the past as much as the present. This does make the mystery more interesting, and it nicely keeps the narrative going. There is also the reality and the magical coming and going. The tension is nicely built not just by the atmosphere, but also through the actions of the characters and the influence of the supernatural. There is that journey to that twist, of which part we will know after some time, but the rest is revealed nicely, and then there is that ending which solves them all. The characters nicely fit into the cultural flavours and situations. Scares do work with the fine visuals that gives a nice touch at all times, for the settings are such boost.

The claws of flaw :: The movie could have always been capable of more, as the premise seems to have already set foot strongly. There are moments which keep pulling it back as we sometimes wonder if there was the attempt to keep the whole thing on the safe zone without going that much into the details. The jump between the timelines might not satisfy everyone, and those who are looking for the usual horror might not get the usual here. The antagonists are also not given much to do in the later part of the film, as they can only act helpless. A few things just seem to happen with the flow and as if they happen because they need to. There is no grand scare, except for the fear added due to mystery and atmosphere; maybe budget constraints were there. There could have been a fine legend being talked about based on the happenings. The early pacing also did have some struggle and confusion, with fear elements holding back for some time. The elements of guilt do not work that strongly around here either.

The performers of the soul :: Claresta Taufan Kusumarina leads the way here with a fantastic performance as the possessed dancer as much as the girl next door who is in love with the boy whom he has always known. The different layers of the character are displayed well by her, even at a time when demonic possession could go so wrong, given the circumstances of the return of the spirit from the other world and its motives. Her body movement during the dance also feels every elegant, even though we are not qualified enough to talk about the dance form. Cindy Nirmala’s dancing skills are also on display very well, and the return from the grave works really well for her. She has her own moments outside the dancing too. Revaldo comes in really well and is well supported by those playing his friends. Chicco Kurniawan makes the viewer feel the terror that is hidden beneath the happy village and its culture and traditions. The roles played by these characters despite not seeming that relevant, are all significant to the overall movie.

How it finishes :: There is something about the Indonesian folklore and ancient beliefs that keeps us interested at all times. Indonesian movies have surely kept us interested, especially the one superhero movie which made us wish that we had our own – Gundala; post which we had Minnal Murali and Lokah Chapter One: Chandra. Then there was the classic horror in the form of Impetigore and a twisted thriller in the form of Photocopier. Ivanna and Grave Torture also had moments which made them work. The movie does not lag behind, even though there are moments when it could have raised the level. We do see that the movie mostly does its job very well. With cultural flavour and scares, along with being a tale of vengeance, this one run strong without deviating from its purpose, a quality that many horror movies have ceased to have. We are brought close to the Indonesian horror yet again with this one, and we hope that there will be many more horror based on folklore, as we remember Stree from around here too.

Release date: 28th March 2024
Running time: 98 minutes
Directed by: Verdi Solaiman
Starring: Cindy Nirmala, Claresta Taufan Kusumarina, Chicco Kurniawan, Krisjiana Baharuddin, Dito Darmawan, Allan Dastan, Elang El Gibran, Nungki Kusumastuti

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Vampire Owl: I remember taking the photocopy of the Vampire Deed of Blood.

Vampire Bat: It is originally called the Nocturnal Crimson Deed.

Vampire Owl: That reminds me of the movie, Nocturnal Animals.

Vampire Bat: Do you remember the other Indonesian movies we had watched?

Vampire Owl: Yes, two of them – Impetigore and Gundala.

Vampire Bat: They were some very interesting flicks with a divergence.

Vampire Owl: Yes, one horror film and a superhero flick.

Vampire Bat: It took us some time to watch another Indonesian movie.

Vampire Owl: Well, we can’t watch them all, right?

Vampire Bat: We never get to watch enough of them after the arrival of corona virus and the following warning.

[Gets a blueberry cake and three cups of Wayanad tea].

What is the movie about? :: Suryani (Shenina Syawalita Cinnamon) is a college student who is also part of the theatre group at the campus, named Mata Hari. After the performance, she returns home to a very strict father and a mother who is always working, far away from the city. At home, she finds out that their performance called Medusa et Perseus in the Student Theatre Festical was accepted for the Asian Student Festival in Kyoto, Japan; her father asks her to focus on her studies. There is a party at the house of their leader Rama Soemarno (Giulio Parengkuan) to celebrate the triumph, but her father does warn her against it, especially related to consuming alcohol and wearing revealing dress. Another girl, a senior named Farah (Lutesha) also asks her not to go to the party, and advices her to instead focus on getting the scholarship that she had always wanted. She feels that Farah is saying so because he was kicked out of the theatre group. The group also finds the suitable sponsors for their flight tickets to Japan.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: The party feels more wild than she had expected, and forgetting what her father had told her, she decides to have the alcohol, even though not without difficulty in drinking it for the first time. She also forgets the earlier decision to leave the party before it gets too late, as she enjoys a lot under the influence of the alcoholic drinks. In the morning, she wakes up very late, and arrives for the scholarship interview on the next day just in time. But she is embarrassed in front of the interviewers who had checked her social media, which had her pictures of drinking alcohol and enjoying the party. Even though she has good scores and attendance, they reiterate to her that drinking alcohol and attending late night parties are not Indonesian culture; they are looking forward to give scholarships to students who set good examples and not those who could go on to become nuisance for the society in the future. They also added that instead of doing work within her department which was Computer Science, she was wasting time with theatre. She had also attended the interview in party wear, and has to walk out of the room humiliated.

And what more is there for the girl in trouble right now? :: The teacher asks her to join the class only after paying her fees, which she can only do with the scholarship. Back at home, she comes to know that her parents had received the message that her scholarship was terminated due to inappropriate conduct. Her father throws her out of the house for breaking the religious laws by drinking alcohol, and tells her that everybody knows about it now, as some guy was carrying her back home, knocking on each door on the way to know her residence. That had caused a big mess in the neighbourhood as it was three in the morning, causing humiliation to the whole family. He asks her to leave and spend time in repentence. The leading performer of the theatre, Anggun (Dea Panendra), the party host Rama (Giulio Parengkuan) and the group leader Tariq (Jerome Kurnia), are all ready to help her, but nobody knows what exactly happened in the drunken state and who uploaded those pictures of her being drunk at the party. Now, she has to find it out herself, can she?

The defence of Photocopier a.k.a. Penyalin Cahaya :: Photocopier nicely goes through the adventure from the beginning to end, keeping us curious, and as a part of the whole mystery that is happening around here. Shenina Syawalita Cinnamon nicely goes through the role of the desperate student hoping to prove to everyone that she didn’t do what she was accused of doing, also desperate to get her scholarship back. The feeling of a curious as well as a sad and depressed girl is always there. Lutesha plays the next person to be of interest here, and her role is also worked out with quality. Dea Panendra as Anggun and Jerome Kurnia as Tariq remain strong parts of the work too. Ruth Marini and Lukman Sardi who plays the protagonist’s father are strong with the emotional side. There is no questioning the movie’s emotional strength as much as its strong elements of mystery, which seems to be almost impossible to solve, unless passed on as hallucinations or with a high dose of luck added here and there. Giulio Parengkuan and Chicco Kurniawan also have their moments.

Positives and negatives :: This is one of those movies which could have actually gone darker with its contents – instead it chooses the safe path. It still has its dark side hiding in plain sight, but strong enough. There seems to be a certain amount of hesitation in taking the risks with this film too. The movie has its fine setting in different parts of Indonesia, and this is a tale which could be put in the worlds of a few other nations too. With a few red herrings, it makes one feel that the innocents and the culprits and vice versa, while also making one wonder if there is actually any mystery about all of these or if it is already in the head. In a movie which feels close enough to reality, you won’t expect this many twists and turns, but there are many, and most of the characters here are not really what they seem. The movie talks about privacy in a world of mobile, CCTV and hidden cameras as well as the factors working on physical and mental health. The movie ponders on life, friendships, trust and betrayal at the same time. Still, there is the question about the uploading of the photos in social media that remains – the film seems to be too abstract about that.

How it finishes :: This is the third Indonesian movie that I am watching, and there was a certain interest in watching such a movie during our earlier trip to Bali too. This is that kind of a movie which doesn’t want us to skip forward even if it is not that quick – we do feel the need to be part of it. The negative effects of social media and lack of safety during night parties are the two things that this movie adds along with the interesting investigation that goes on here with the thrills and twists. It is also a reminder that people and things around are not the same as what we think they are. The movie reminds us that nobody is safe, and not everything that you hear from the most trusted people are true. Well, we know that those who are too rich and influential always gets away unless facing someone of a similar or higher status – in the case of celebrities, we have seen how people get away with everything. Well, not with Photocopier, as it does have the power of many. As it follows a realistic route, there is no stopping it from being something we can connect at points.

Release date: 8th October 2021 (Indonesia); 13th January 2022 (Netflix)
Running time: 131 minutes
Directed by: Wregas Bhanuteja
Starring: Shenina Syawalita Cinnamon, Lutesha, Chicco Kurniawan, Dea Panendra, Jerome Kurnia, Giulio Parengkuan, Lukman Sardi, Ruth Marini, Mian Tiara, Yayan Ruhian, Landung Simatupang, Rukman Rosadi