Under the Tree, a film by Garin Nugroho.
Related to Indonesian Visual Cultures, this film is the best film to watch. Why? Because this film tell us about Bali Cultures and also included Indonesian realism in the story. As we all know, Bali is the most beautiful place in Indonesia for someone who wants to know more about art. Garin Nugroho choose the best place for his film. Beside the story he also want to show us about the art, Bali culture, and also the message for this film itself.
This film is about three woman. Maharani, Kaler, and Dewi. Three woman who has many conflicts in their life. Three different stories about three women whose life-changing crises may or may not be related to magical elements of Balinese culture.
The film focuses more on character development of the three women to varying and often unbalanced results.
The opening scene of a Kecak dance performance that ends with fire from torches being scattered may jolt some, but the film’s multiple plots flow fairly smoothly with a cautious bump ahead: one part of the story focuses on Maharani, a young woman from Jakarta who comes to Bali to look for her birth mother, but finds herself drawn to Balinese dance and trapped in a child-trafficking web.
At the same time, Nian, another tourist from Jakarta, escapes her mindless life as a celebrity living in a disgraced family, only to find a comforting figure in a mysterious artist.
The strongest of the crop lies in the story of heavily pregnant 40-year-old radio DJ Dewi whose world comes tumbling down when a scan reveals her fetus is malformed and the unborn baby will have be mentally impaired.
Despite a slightly ambiguous closure to her story, with a reference to a particular Doris Day song to conclude the fate of her life and her baby, Dewi’s part resonates more strongly than Nian’s aimless wandering journey or Maharani’s constant curiosity with no apparent resolution to move her character forward. It does not help either that Maharani’s story shifts and gets bogged down by a scene-stealing character of a jealous dancer well past her prime
Besides the story, this film is also tells us about Bali Cultures. Kecak Dance, Panoramic views of Bali, Bali’s actor and actress are included in the film.
Acting performances may not be Garin’s strongest suit in filmmaking. In fact, performance in Garin Nugroho’s films that have not been sitting well in terms of conventional narrative films with lures of dramatic acting skill.
“This film is a social critic to the suicide phenomenon in Indonesia. Even a family committed suicide but no one cares, even the government. The government should actually feel disturbed by the phenomenon, since committing suicide is not part of our culture. Under the Tree tries to deliver this message, since trees are linked to human lives.” – Garin Nugroho
So, who is Garin Nugroho?
Garin Nugroho is a film director from Indonesia. His films emphasize esthetics, but contain sociopolitical messages. Among the issues he has discussed in his films are multiculturalism, politics, intercultural communication, and his vision for a “New Indonesia”. However, he has faced criticism that his films are too difficult for the general public to understand. He has made many films, such as Under the Tree, Opera Jawa, Cinta dalam Sepotong Roti, and many more.
References:
http://resensi-resensi-film.blogspot.com/2010/06/under-tree.html
http://montase.blogspot.com/2008/05/under-tree-tiga-kisah-dalam-satu-pohon.html
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/01/11/some-magic-remains-buried-039under-tree039.html
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/10/23/suicide-cases-inspire-garin.html
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/09/11/garin039s-film-premier-london-film-festival.html
Visual Cultures 