Movie Review Banyu Biru (2005)

 

Banyu Biru | 2005 | 1h 18m
Genre: Drama/Comedy | Country: Indonesia
Director: Teddy Soeriaatmadja | Writers: Rayya Makarim, Prima Rusdi, Teddy Soeriaatmadja
Cast: Tora Sudiro, Dian Sastrowardoyo, Slamet Rahardjo
IMDB: 6.6
My Rate: 10/10

Banyu tries to find peace in his life and goes on a unique journey, after unresolved past issues and work problems that keep getting dumped on him just because he's considered a 'model and reliable employee'.

Warning:

Contains sensual scenes and smoking.

 

Synopsis:

Banyu (Tora Sudiro) considers his father (Slamet Rahadjo) a 'bad' father who was never present in his and his mother's life. Banyu feels that his father is too busy and has no time for them. This gets worse after his younger brother, Biru, dies in the swimming pool, which also affects his mother's mental health.

Banyu, who is starting to grow up, decides to leave home. Before that, Banyu only lived with his father after his mother's death. Banyu then works as a customer service representative at a supermarket.

Life doesn't go as he wants. Banyu, who is considered a model employee, is taken advantage of by his colleagues. His friends always depend on Banyu to solve all their problems. This eventually causes Banyu to experience mental problems. Past traumas and unresolved issues make things worse.

Banyu, who starts to experience severe headaches and also sees strange things, decides to take a break from work and goes to find his father. Banyu wants to meet his father to find answers to all the questions he's been holding back all this time. But his return to his hometown doesn't yield results. His father no longer lives in that house.

Banyu accidentally meets his neighbor (Dian Sastrowardoyo) and falls in love with her. Banyu promises to see her again after everything is resolved. Banyu continues his journey to find his father after getting information about his whereabouts.

Will Banyu succeed in overcoming his adventure of finding his father?

 

Review:

Banyu Biru is Teddy Soeriaatmadja's directorial debut. The story idea is quite interesting, the storyline is unpredictable, and the twist is unexpected. Viewers can feel the roller coaster of emotions from laughter, anger, and sadness that are shown by the main character.

Even though the story is presented with a lot of absurdity, it doesn't make this movie empty. There are many implicit messages that can be learned by the audience. This light-hearted presentation makes the story not boring to watch.

Camera movement, color composition, and some of the effects used are pretty good and not excessive. The transitions between each scene also flow well and make the story flow well. Although viewers might feel a little strange with the character of Butet Kertaradjasa who keeps appearing with various characters, it will all be answered at the end of the story why all this happened.

The acting of the actors is also very good, from the main characters to the supporting characters. Many senior actors also took part in this film. However, we don't see a significant disparity in the acting of these actors.

Overall, this film is interesting, light, and entertaining. Perfect for those who like drama-comedy films.

 

Memorable Scene:

Banyu experiences a severe headache while attending a seminar from his office. Suddenly, his thoughts and imagination run wild. He sees his colleagues dancing around him and he just stares ahead with a blank expression.

This scene depicts the chaos in Banyu's mind with a good analogy. Where Banyu, who is always a people pleaser, keeps his feelings to himself and ends up losing his way.

 

Memorable Dialogue:

"We have to solve those problems ourselves first."

 
Ending:

Cliffhanger

 
Recommendation:

Must Watch

 

(Aluna)