'Biola Tak Berdawai' not all stringless<\/p>\n
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Biola Tak Berdawai. Drama **1\/2 (out of four stars). Starring Ria
\nIrawan, Nicholas Saputra, Jajang C. Noer, Dicky Lebrianto.
\nDirected by Sekar Ayu Asmara. Produced by Kalyana Shira Film (In
\nBahasa Indonesia).<\/p>\n
There must be a purpose beyond anything that God creates, people
\nsay. So how, exactly, to explain the existence of
\nmultihandicapped children?<\/p>\n
As a reminder to the able-bodied of how fortunate they are? Or
\ncould it be a warning from Mother Nature that there is a great
\npower larger than life, whom human beings simply cannot fight?<\/p>\n
Such children -- as stated by Bhisma, a character in the movie
\nBiola Tak Berdawai (The Stringless Violin) -- are like violins
\nwithout strings: beautiful, but they cannot be played.<\/p>\n
Multihandicapped children are but one of a number of themes
\nthat feature in the latest Indonesian film, which opened in
\ntheaters on Friday.<\/p>\n
A sophomore effort from Kalyana Shira Film, after last year's
\nCa Bau Kan, Biola is an improvement on its headscratcher-epic-
\nwannabe predecessor.<\/p>\n
At first, Biola seemed to be another, pretentious, local
\narthouse film that merely imitated other great pictures. The
\ncinematography is indeed excellent and the music score really
\nhaunting, but it also turned out that the plot and story worked
\ntoo.<\/p>\n
This film may not be as fluent as Riri Riza's Eliana Eliana,
\nwhich came out last year and so far is the best of the recently
\nreleased, big-screen movies.<\/p>\n
A feature directorial debut from Sekar Ayu Asmara, one of Ca
\nBau Kan's producers, who also wrote the script for this movie, it
\ncertainly has shortcomings (illogical scenes, ridiculous action,
\na dull plot). But, on the whole, Biola is somewhat touching and
\nleaves its audience with something to think about.<\/p>\n
The film brings us two women: Renjani (Ria Irawan) and Mbak
\nWid (Jajang C. Noer), both of whom have dark clouds hanging over
\ntheir past.<\/p>\n
A former ballerina, Renjani, 31, is a rape victim who aborted
\nher fetus. Mbak (sister) Wid, whose mother is a prostitute, is a
\ndoctor trying to make up for her mother's deed, that is, getting
\nrid of her unborn babies.<\/p>\n
Together, Renjani and Mbak Wid take refuge in an orphanage
\nlocated in Yogyakarta, taking care of multihandicapped children.<\/p>\n
One of the children is Dewa (Dicky Lebrianto), an autistic and
\nbrain-damaged, eight-year-old orphan the size of a five-month-old
\nbaby, on whom Renjani pours all her love and affection.<\/p>\n
One day, the child reacts to Renjani's dancing, which brings
\nher to the conclusion that music therapy can probably heal him.
\nDuring the effort, Renjani encounters Bhisma (Nicholas Saputra),
\na much younger violinist.<\/p>\n
He falls for Renjani, as she does for him, but the latter
\nstill cannot come to terms with a past that has become a
\nstumbling block between the two.<\/p>\n
This movie is a comeback for noted actress Ria Irawan, also a
\nformer child actor who once received an award for her role as a
\nmaid in the 1988 movie Selamat Tinggal Jeanette (Goodbye
\nJeanette).<\/p>\n
Not a bad comeback, but she does not really give of her best
\nin her portrayal of a wounded soul, as it is sometimes
\nunconvincing and unnatural.<\/p>\n
But most off-putting of all is Mbak Wid's character.<\/p>\n
While portraying brilliantly a strong-willed, single mother in
\nEliana, Jajang is surprisingly ridiculous when playing a doctor-
\ncum-psychic.<\/p>\n
The supposedly eccentric and bitter Mbak Wid becomes a real
\njoke, with bad makeup, unnecessary histrionics and absurd
\nstatements on how life and everything in it are a riddle.<\/p>\n
Nicholas, however, shows some improvement, although not much,
\nin playing a tortured artist, in strong contrast to his portrayal
\nof a high-school student in last year's huge hit Ada Apa Dengan
\nCinta? (What's Up With Cinta?).<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, newcomer Dicky (a nonautistic eight-year-old in
\nreal life, but with a growth problem due to a blood disease),
\nreally steals the show.<\/p>\n
Another shortcoming includes lapses into pat dialog,
\nespecially that between Renjani and Mbak Wid, and illogical
\nscenes, where Renjani often leaves Dewa by himself. (On the
\nbeach? -- come on!)<\/p>\n
But thumbs up, once again, for the excellent cinematography
\nand the gripping score. The latter is a debut effort from
\nmusician\/conductor Addie MS of the Twilite Orchestra.<\/p>\n
All in all, however, this film is not a disappointment, given
\nthat there are many debuts being made here. In fact, it is a
\npretty neat attempt at depicting a rather complicated issue.<\/p>",
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