Joko Anwar is a former film critic turned director by freakish fate. I have had the honour to see most of Joko Anwar's projects (be it as writer or director) and it must be said that he is one name to be remembered. As potentially one of the great director's of his generation. Even more so that with each movie he seems to break his own limits and go one step beyond... irrespective of budget restrictions.
Dead Time: Kala is a weird movie full of Tarantino type homages, but at the same time distinctly different and inventive. The film is essentially neonoir with a touch of horror and a sprinkle of... (as not to spoil anything I'll keep my mouth shut). Very nicely shot with a lot of class and some memorable scenes gives this movie a clear voice with which Anwar has attacked the unsuspected audiences at home, but also at international festivals. Acting is suitable, albeit there are some glitches here and there with no actor really raising the bar.
What's the movie about? A mystery story set in an alternate Indonesian reality. A tale of murder, violence and corruption with unnatural creepy crawlies hiding in the shadows. An honest policeman and a narcoleptic journalist find themselves entangled into a case of a bizarre murder of five people.
Special effects is definitely the weak point of the movie with some of them very iffy and unconvincing (especially the CGI). Some of the story-telling could use a bit of fine-tuning, but all in all Joko Anwar is someone who has a vision and more importantly knows how to mold it into a movie. However you can still see that the director is on a learning curve, but his newest movie "The Forbidden Door" shows how quickly he is learning his trade and very soon this will be the breakthrough director of Indonesia, widely renowned and highly regarded internationally with the likes of Chan-wook Park and Takashi Miike.
