Opéra Jawa

To sum up my feelings towards the movie, I'd say it's pretty and well-played.

I'm Indonesian and the movie was played at some Indie movie festival. There were easily 250 people but during the movie about 30 people left.

• This is either because they didn't like the aspect of Indonesian traditional singing (slow and can be annoying for your ears!) - Or because the version shown was only subtitled in French.

So my advice to you is if you don't want to discover Indonesian culture and are only interested in Hollywood-typed movies with happy endings and pretty actors, pass by. Otherwise, enjoy!

I saw this film at the Toronto International Film Festival. The name of the movie should have warned me that the movie will be an Opera! The movie was all song and dance, more in the lines of Phantom of the Opera. I would have enjoyed the movie more if I knew the language. Listening to the songs and reading the subtitles just doesn't give the correct feel. The dances were traditional Indonesian. The movie was a visual treat and the dance performances were really good. The story is a modern interpretation of an Indian Hindu mythological story called the Ramayana. In Ramayana, Sita, the wife of Prince Rama, is abducted by a the king of Lanka, Ravana. Ravana wants to have Sita for himself. Prince Rama and his brother Lakshmana fight Ravana to reclaim his wife. In Opera Jawa, the role of Ravana is played by Ludiro who tries to lure Siti into his life despite her marriage with Setio. The classic victory of good over evil story of Ramayana has been very nicely adapted for the modern day.

This movie is not for everyone. In fact, I have my doubts about how many people are capable of appreciating it. Those who are ready to experience something completely new are in for a real treat. This is the only movie I have ever rated a 10. Why this one? Because there is nothing else remotely like it. It is not possible to write a spoiler for this movie. The more you know about it ahead of time the better you will be able to appreciate it. However even with no preparation this film has the power to move you in hard to explain ways. Even if it had no subtitles... I am not a fan of dance, or of musicals, but the combination of the 2 here along with stunning visuals and symbolism is irresistible. I could not take my eyes off the screen! This movie is amazing!

Apart from being full of colors and sweet melody, the cinematic opera falls short of achieving that true great flavour that one has come to savour out of the classic Javanese Dance dramas and Ramayana in particular. The dance style is Javanese, the singing and music too is Javanese, but at heart its a poor copy of western operatic genre. The body too is lacking and ultimately it seems to empty and devalue the otherwise fantastically rich Javanese tradition of its soul. I think in the long run, it comes down to the script which as it turns out is badly written and is in need of improvement. You cannot pull the opera simply by saying that it is a tribute to those who died at the hands of injustice. The script has to carry the intent otherwise in-spite of its colour, song and music it will fail. Embellishments don't take you far when it comes to poetic drama if the raga happens to be not in sync with the rasa.

Sorry for such a harsh review. Maybe I was expecting too much out of it.

First, I want to gently contradict one statement, often made of this film and repeated here. There ARE other movies like this. If you want to see a reasonable model of what Garin Nugroho has done, I would direct you to the work of Carlos Saura, especially "El Amor Brujo." But that being said, the stunning richness of this movie far eclipses Saura at his best. There are visuals both large and small, dances both grand and intimate, songs both poetic and profane, and story-telling elements both epic and contemporary. The frame shifts rapidly between modern and ancient, between emotional and refined, and on and on.

Now, permit me to ask a question of any Indonesian readers. Who was the intended audience for this film? I ask because I am far more familiar with Javanese culture than most Americans, but found the cultural references and symbolism far deeper than I could catch. It made me think that this was created for a strictly Indonesian and a predominantly artistic/intellectual audience. But with its extensive European connections, is that right? Did he create it for people like me, educated artsy types the world over?