Kucumbu tubuh indahku

Memories of My Body is Opera Jawa's easier-to-understand-and-more-meaningful-life version

Watched the movie just now. But, learned about the cultural element of the story back in my Anthropology class on my first semester about roughly 15 years ago! And to this day not many Indonesians understand their own cultural traits as told by this movie. Garin's movies are known to be extra extra artistic-or weird, that made them not commercial enough. But, this one's a joy. You should watch it, too!

I've seen three of Nugroho's movies, and found this to be his best of these. Beautifully crafted, frank without being crude; this movie is a must-see for anybody who cares about local culture, and its further development.

In Java, Indonesia, an adult Juno recalls 3 periods of his youth. As a child, he is recruited by a man into Lengger, a traditional dance style, against the wishes of his mother. Older, he serves as an assistant to an aspiring young boxer. Later, he serendipitously meets and joins a Lengger dance troupe. By then, the dance has fallen on hard times, and its practitioners are forced to move from village to village.

There isn't enough dancing to show me that Lengger is a "female dance performed by men". As someone who serves, it is still unclear to me about Juno's sexual orientation or gender identity. He does serve as the "young male lover" - a sort of magic talisman - to an aspiring politician, while ironically as a photo of them holding hands threatens the politician's image and career.

Possibly to bring in the audience at the Inside Out LGBT film festival, the catalog photo is of Juno and the boxer, both shirtless - the part of the story that has nothing to do with Lengger. There are some nice images, but I don't quite get the story.

You should watch this movie now! Out of zone, proud.