Let's get straight to the bad stuff first: Camera work, bad. acting, over done. crying scene, well they tried. sound, let's not go there. Editing, none! But if you watch this film right next to a homesick Jakarta-ite like myself, they'll tell you about the nuances in this movie that the bad translation could never get across. For example, you'll know that there are multiple languages, dialects and slangs spoken in the film, they don't only represent the diversity in the city but also social status, respect, even mood (Eliana mostly talks in a polite dialect to her mom but then when she's angry she turns to impolite Jakarta dialect). And besides anything Garin Nugroho did, I've never seen Jakarta presented as raw as it is in any film. But boy, was I pooping in my pants. From the vendors of delicious food, to the traffic, to the beta fishes in jars. I could almost smell it (that's good and bad). That's the grimy Jakarta I experienced, and I love.
I love this film for evoking that feeling. It's ashamed that it plays a little like a soap opera with the crying and the angry scenes. But for all the absurd quality of the production, the concept, the story and the effort (or lack thereof) are still way more genuine and authentic to the Indonesian experience than almost any corny Indonesian teeny boppy romantic comedy and horror films that are out there.
