It has been a rip-roaring few weeks for Indonesian cinema, with the release of a clutch of new films that are expanding the country’s repertoire and cementing it as one of the main entertainment industries to watch in Southeast Asia.
Indonesian cinema has long been known for its penchant for horror films, which first took hold in the 1970s and resonated with audiences who have a deep belief in local mystical and occult superstitions. Even in the present day, blood and gore continue to be big earners for the industry, although lately, directors, writers and producers have been bucking this well-trodden trend with forays into other genres, including sci-fi, literary adaptations, and films that tackle deep-rooted social issues across the archipelago.
First up, and released on April 17, is “Pengepungan di Bukit Duri” or “The Siege of Thorn High,” a dystopian thriller written, produced and directed by Indonesian Joko Anwar, who also recently wrote and directed the smash-hit Netflix sci-fi series “Nightmares and Daydreams.”
The film begins in 2009 at the height of savage race riots across Indonesia that target the Chinese-Indonesian community. (In reality, these took place in 1998 during the fall of then-president Suharto when rioters attacked Chinese-owned businesses and beat, murdered, and raped Chinese-Indonesians in cities spanning Sumatra and Java.)
The film then fast-forwards to 2027, to a dystopian version of Indonesia where race riots continue to consume the archipelago and groups of disillusioned Indonesian youth prowl the streets looking for ethnically Chinese Indonesians to attack and murder. At the center of the film is Edwin, who was in high school when the first riots took place, and is now a teacher at Bukit Duri High School – a kind of “last chance saloon” for troubled youths.
What ensues throughout the film is a brutal meditation on race in Indonesia, and the protagonist Edwin, played spectacularly by Morgan Oey, offers a rare depiction of the racial tensions that continuously simmer across the archipelago and periodically threaten to erupt.
The second film, released on April 30, is “Perang Kota” or “This City is a Battlefield” – which is in turn based on the novel “A Road With No End,” by esteemed Indonesian writer Mochtar Lubis.
“A Road With No End” was first published in 1952, although the script for the film was written and directed by Mouly Surya (who also directed Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts and the Hollywood blockbuster, Trigger Warning), and presents a “Casablanca”-eque version of Indonesia.
In the film, it is 1946, the year after Indonesia gained independence from the Dutch, who ruled the country for over 300 years. However, tensions continue to rage as both the Dutch and the British colonial powers still seek to regain control of the country – under the guise of “saving” Indonesia from Japanese invaders.
Like “The Siege at Thorn High,” “This City is a Battlefield” tackles an important moment in Indonesian history, which is often glossed over, and brings one of the country’s most famous novels to life again for a new audience.
It is understandable that Indonesian cinema tends to stick to a slick formula that works, and this is not exclusive to its film industry, with Hollywood and others similarly following trends that bring in viewers, but Indonesian audiences have also shown that they are keen for a change of pace.
While Indonesian writers, producers and directors have taken up the challenge to produce broader and more complex material, this has importantly been coupled with increased funding and support from streaming services like Netflix and other sources.
“This City is a Battlefield,” for example, which has been praised for looking “expensive” and higher quality than many Indonesian films, received grants from Thailand and the Netherlands, and features a list of co-producers from Singapore, France, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, and Cambodia.
Meanwhile, “The Siege at Thorn High” was produced by Amazon MGM Studios in conjunction with Anwar’s own Come and See Pictures production company, his first collaboration with an American Studio.
Not only is it heartening to see the Indonesian film industry willing to take risks, it is also positive to see backing and funding from foreign investors in Indonesian cinema that allow it to continue to flourish.
With a population of some 270 million people, the Indonesian film industry has a massive potential domestic market and its films continue to smash previous box office records, including in 2022 when the film “KKN di Desa Penari” became the highest grossing Indonesian film of all time, beating the record set by “Titanic” in 1998.
The industry also has potential broader appeal internationally, particularly if it is willing to look outside its horror genre roots to bring more complex and richer stories from Indonesia to the world stage.
If the last few weeks are anything to go by, the Indonesian film industry can certainly boom without the scare tactics.