Movie Review Lovely Man (2011)

 

Lovely Man | 2011 | 1h 16m
Genre: Drama | Country: Indonesia
Director: Teddy Soeriaatmadja | Writers: Teddy Soeriaatmadja
Cast: Donny Damara, Raihaanun, Yayu A.W. Unru
IMDB: 7.6
My Rate: 6/10

Cahaya's curiosity about her father, Syaiful, who left her for a long time, leads her on a journey to Jakarta to meet him.  This ends with her facing a harsh reality about her father's profession: a commercial sex worker.

Warnings:

Contains violence, sensual scenes, sexual violence, nudity, strong language, smoking, and LGBT themes.

 

Synopsis:

Cahaya (Raihaanun) recklessly travels to Jakarta to find her father, Syaiful (Donny Damara), without her mother's permission. Her mother opposes Cahaya meeting her father because he abandoned them. However, Cahaya still wants to meet the father she misses.

With limited information, Cahaya finally finds Syaiful's residence. But when she arrives, Syaiful has gone to work. Cahaya tries to find Syaiful at his workplace.

Cahaya is shocked to find Syaiful working as a commercial sex worker, dressed as a woman. Cahaya runs away and tries to avoid him. However, Syaiful chases her and asks why she's looking for him, unaware that she is his daughter.

Syaiful is shocked to learn that the woman looking for him is his own daughter. Syaiful initially reacts unkindly to Cahaya's arrival. He feels ashamed of his current situation. However, he eventually tries to open up and spend time with Cahaya

They travel around Jakarta and talk to each other.  Syaiful is actually trying to evade thugs whose money he stole.  Cahaya is also hiding the shocking news of her pregnancy.

Will Syaiful and Cahaya be able to repair their relationship?

 

Review:

Lovely Man has a unique and daring storyline. It tackles a taboo and sensitive topic in society: the lives of man who dress up like a women working on the streets. The film didn't stay in theaters for long due to criticism from the FPI (Islamic Defenders Front). However, in Asia, the film received positive responses, with Donny Damara winning Best Actor and Teddy Soeriaatmadja nominated for Best Director.

However, the story lacks depth. The plot is somewhat confusing and the main objective isn't clear. The conversations and dialogues are sometimes aimless and repetitive. The plot could be improved to be more focused and add depth to the meaning of the story.

The color composition is good, but the camera movement is sometimes shaky. Whether this was intentional or due to technical issues, the shakiness makes some objects unclear and the presentation less neat.

The unclear locations make the story less focused. The characters wander aimlessly, sometimes returning to the same place but with different conditions.  This might be due to limitations in filming locations, leading to the reuse of locations for different scenes.

The acting is good, especially Donny Damara's committed performance. The character he plays has high difficulty, particularly the scene with sexual violence, which is not easy to portray.

On the other hand, some scenes are illogical. For example, when Syaiful gives Cahaya 30 million rupiah at the train station, she carelessly opens the package of money in a public place, compromising her safety.

There's also ambiguity surrounding Cahaya's pregnancy.  Since she's been at a pesantren (Islamic boarding school), how did she get pregnant, and who is the father? This remains unanswered until the end.  It's also unclear how Syaiful obtained the 30 million from the thugs chasing him.

The film's strength lies in the emotions conveyed through each scene. These emotions are effectively communicated to the audience. Viewers can understand the character development and the connections between the characters.

Overall, this film has great potential that could be further optimized, especially the storyline.

 
Memorable Scene:

Syaiful borrows a ukulele to sing a song for Cahaya. Cahaya previously mentioned that her memory of Syaiful singing for her is still vivid. Despite his mediocre singing, Syaiful shows his affection for Cahaya.  This scene shows that despite Syaiful's initial indifference to Cahaya's arrival, he still shows his love for her. He's not ashamed to walk with her, and vice versa.

 
Memorable Dialogue:

"That doesn't mean you'll become like me, or I'll become like you."

 

Ending:

Cliffhanger

 

Recommendation:

Okay to Watch

 

(aluna)