High expectations overwhelm 'Gie'<\/p>\n
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Gie; Drama, 2 hours 27 minutes. Starring Nicholas Saputra,
\nJonathan Mulia, Sita Nursanti, Indra Birowo. Directed and written
\nby Riri Riza; A Miles Films production (Bahasa Indonesia). **1\/2
\n(out of ****). Opening on July 14.<\/p>\n
Gie was one of the most anticipated movies of the past year for a
\nfew reasons, but mainly because the majority of local productions
\nhave ranged from plain bad to abysmal, with very few exceptions.<\/p>\n
Another reason is because the emerging contemporary film
\nscene, after it was crippled during the 1990s, has been dominated
\nby (bad) teen and horror flicks. So, a mature drama about an
\nuncompromising political activist who died young was expected to
\nbring some depth and a drop of inspiration to the scene.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, the film was made by Riri Riza, the most
\ncelebrated figure in the local industry, whose films, whether his
\ninvolvement was in direction or in producing (count Rumah
\nKetujuh\/Seventh House out), have been milestones for their
\nquality.<\/p>\n
Recently, a local film observer and critic even accused the
\nCannes film committee of cronyism, as the committee had picked a
\nnot-so-stellar Singaporean film over Gie. The critic admitted he
\nhad not seen the latter, but for the aforementioned reasons, he
\nthought it had to be a great film.<\/p>\n
After watching the movie, however, it's clear that the people
\nat Cannes are not stupid.<\/p>\n
This movie, sadly, falls flat due to its lack of focus, lame
\nscreenplay and dialog, as well as its skin-deep approach to Gie's
\ncharacter and Indonesian politics.<\/p>\n
This is very unfortunate because Gie, or Soe Hok Gie, was a
\nlegendary student activist whose sharp and critical writing has
\nbeen immortalized in several books.<\/p>\n
Born in 1942 during World War II, Gie came into the spotlight
\nas a student at the University of Indonesia's School of
\nLiterature, when he was actively involved in the 1960s student
\nmovement against the Soekarno government.<\/p>\n
A prolific contributor to several publications at that time,
\nGie was daring, frank and unbending in his ideals; a quality
\nunmatched in his successors until today.<\/p>\n
Leading a modest life, he once sent a lipstick and a mirror to
\nformer fellow student activists who sold out later and became the
\nvery legislators they used to criticize.<\/p>\n
His idealistic approach, however, often left him isolated, but
\nhe could not care less. An avid mountain climber, Gie died in
\n1969 while scaling Mount Semeru in East Java.<\/p>\n
Riri Riza's film is the first to portray Gie's life.<\/p>\n
It begins in Gie's teenage years, set in a Chinese-Indonesian
\nneighborhood. The film started out well and continued so for the
\nfirst half-hour, although the pace was too slow, and the audience
\nfinds out the critical, idealistic and anxious character of the
\nyoung Gie (played quite well by newcomer Jonathan Mulia).<\/p>\n
These traits are revealed in how he sticks up for the poor,
\nhow he stood up for his best friend, Han, who was physically
\nabused by his family, and other scenes.<\/p>\n
The excellent cinematography, the intricate setting with great
\ndetails promised that better things lay ahead over the next two
\nhours.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, it does not deliver. The characters are
\nportrayed in a superficial manner -- for example, Gie likes to
\nread, speak up, watch art films -- distancing the viewers instead
\nof letting us relate to him, let alone be inspired by him.<\/p>\n
Gie is also overwrought by lame and preachy lines about
\npolitics, which leaves the impression that the filmmaker does not
\nreally have knowledge on this subject, but is hardly trying to
\ncover it up.<\/p>\n
Perhaps Riri should have focused on, say, the friendship
\nbetween Gie and Han, the latter of whom was a victim of the
\nmassacre of Communists, as he was a sympathizer of the Indonesian
\nCommunist Party (PKI). Or maybe he could have focused on the
\nfriendship between the activists, or Gie as a rare-breed activist
\nhailing from the Chinese-Indonesian community.<\/p>\n
Instead of focusing on a specific theme or event, it appears
\nRiri was trying to tell too many things at once, that the movie
\nbecame a montage of events and is often confusing, not to mention
\ndull.<\/p>\n
In a bid to humanize Gie, Riri also inserted some mushy
\nromance, which only made the characters even more flawed.<\/p>\n
The actors are not damaging to the film, but are not really
\nconvincing in their portrayals either, particularly Nicholas,
\nwhose average work here only reminded of criticisms as to why a
\nEurasian actor was picked to play a Chinese-Indonesian.<\/p>\n
Even the thematic score and songs on the original soundtrack
\nare baffling. The already unimpressive music should have been
\nsubtle, but instead it often drowns out the narration. And then
\nsuddenly, a rock song blares on screen and (gasp!) it's Bob
\nDylan's Like A Rolling Stone -- which is very much not in tune
\nwith Gie's rigid portrayal and the tone of the film.<\/p>\n
Nearing the end of the film, all we were waiting for was the
\nmoment Gie dies. Which is, needless to say, really, really sad.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/high-expectations-overwhelm-gie-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}