Tear-jerker 'Ungu Violet' presents beautiful picture of Jakarta
Tear-jerker 'Ungu Violet' presents beautiful picture of Jakarta
Lisabona Rahman, Contributor, Jakarta
Director Rako Prijanto's debut feature film, Ungu Violet, is a tear-jerker of a love story. From screenwriter Jujur Prananto of Ada Apa dengan Cinta? and featuring actress Dian Sastrowardoyo, the movie was anticipated with high expectations.
Dian plays Kalin, a bus conductor who is accidentally captured on film by photographer Lando (Rizky Hanggono) and rises to become a famous cover-girl model.
Fortunately, the story doesn't end there, and in fact, this is only the beginning. Ungu Violet focuses more on the sad love story between two protagonists and on slowly uncovering intricate details about their lives.
Kalin seems to be a girl born under a curse: She has lost both parents and loses a grandparent, one after the other, nearly loses her sight and is dumped by the love of her life.
The central love story between Kalin and Lando is almost irritatingly tragic, with Lando withdrawing from the relationship because of his fear of losing her -- but with a twist of ironic denial. In this, Ungu Violet revisits the themes of heartbreak and fatal illness, two of the most common themes in 1970s Indonesian melodrama and pop novels.
Kalin's relationship with her manager, which is a third side to a love triangle, however, was very weak and unconvincing. Expectations for Ungu Violet was at least met with a surprisingly attractive panoramic shot of Jakarta from a bird's eye view. One of the most beautiful is the funeral scene, which manages to convey sadness and loss without slipping into hysteria or spookiness that are typical of other Indonesian films.
The director's fascination with color compositions perhaps accounts for the bizarre, repetitive title of this movie -- ungu means violet in Bahasa Indonesia. Rako tries to use red consistently in developing Kalin's character and blue for Lando, a stereotypical gender association that recalls the signs on public toilets. Apparently, Ungu Violet refers to the union of these two colors, symbolizing the reunion of a long-lost love.
Unfortunately, Dian's acting has evolved very little since Ada Apa dengan Cinta? Her performance was promising in the first half of the movie, but slips toward the end. She does a good job portraying a naive, ordinary girl and in the scene when Kalin calls her grandmother in the middle of a fashion show, but that is it. She somehow retains a childish quality to her voice throughout -- it works brilliantly for Kalin the bus conductor, but fails to show Kalin's maturity after what she goes through.
Meanwhile, Rizky's constantly murky facial expression all through the film was a bit disturbing, probably because the kissing scene, the only chance for him to show emotion, was censored.
However, the movie's sub-plots offer some very strong details to fill out this tragedy. Ungu Violet tries to depict the gloomy lives of the urban middle class, a theme that seems to be Jujur's forte. Kalin's rise to stardom, which initially appears to be the solution to her family's financial problems, doesn't come cheap in the end, and she sacrifices quality time with her grandmother for fame.
Kalin's best friend's affair with a married man is also revealed brilliantly in a brief dialog. Similar to what he achieved in Ada Apa dengan Cinta?, Jujur once again shows his talent in providing a critical description of modern-day urbanites.
The movie also gives an interesting insight to the ups and downs in the life of a model and a photographer, perhaps two of the most sought-after jobs among young people these days.
Beginning with Lando's instinct as a photojournalist to document a pickpocket on a bus, the story then proceeds to show the pressures of working in the mass media: Following his failure to meet deadlines, he falls into commercial wedding photography. Lando's presence during Kalin's grandmother's funeral also provokes an ethical question as to the role of photographers in the life of a model.
Despite its flaws, Ungu Violet definitely stands out among other local films currently playing at theaters. It has everything a good film should have: great camerawork and interesting characters. All in all, it presents a beautiful and exotic picture of a city and its people, with a striking resemblance to contemporary Chinese and Korean cinematography.
And do watch out for the soundtrack -- it's lethally melancholic. ** out of ****
Ungu Violet premiered on June 23 and is still showing at select cinemas in Jakarta.