Memories of my Body

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.

Garin Nugroho has been widely acknowledged by the Indonesian film industry as one of the most prominent local filmmakers, even though most of his films aren't commercially released. After the festival rounds, his newest movie Memories of My Body can be watched in the cinemas. I am the person who bought the ticket due to worries of the movie's sudden disappearance after one or two-week screening. As a disclaimer, this is my first time watching Nugroho's feature film.

This movie told a lengger dancer Juno, whose retold his experience who move from one to another "guardian" that seeks something from his body. One might consider this movie is an LGBT+ drama, but what's fascinating about this movie is the Javanese culture that frequently used in the language, attitude, and society. Goes beyond the debatable theme, this movie's strong point lies in the Juno's current scenes with his expressiveness and the past ones who appear so natural.

The dynamics between Juno's life are described realistically without being extravagant. Still, some of the scenes are too packed with showing some art performances (which I found quite redundant and boring), but as a whole movie, the development of Juno's personality is captivating to see. The use of medium long shot feels so effective to translate the emotion and actions of Juno through his life.

I keep asking myself in the middle of the movie why I can't like this movie more? And at the end, I discover that this movie using a sequences plot that makes me difficult to understand the climax of the film. It's mostly fragments of a man's life that actually in real life, might be much relatable. But, having the story not connected with Juno's present day and not escalates without any Juno's significant character development, make it hard to follow.

As this movie explores something different than you might see on the cinemas. It's a movie that I would recommend for those who want to know a movie that appreciates the local culture without many judgments and comparison - just a portrait.