The Unspoken Inner Turmoil of Mothers in "Cerita Lila"

Director Bobby Prasetyo, collaborating with actress and supernatural practitioner Sara Wijayanto, deliberately chose to highlight the inner turmoil and heavy burdens carried by a mother in his latest film “Cerita Lila,” departing from the current trend of horror films based on regional culture. He aims to remind audiences that long-suppressed maternal feelings can bring misfortune to a family, and that mothers are also human, prone to mistakes and not always able to be strong. The film invites viewers to witness complex emotions through the perspectives of characters Tari (Lutesha) and Rahma (Shareefa Daanish), both of whom share a core problem: misfortune in love and the struggle of working hard to support their children. Facing pressure at work and disappointment in their partners and lives, Tari and Rahma choose different paths to resolve their issues. The story, based on real events, uses a clean, non-confusing back-and-forth timeline. It opens with Tari trying to sell a long-vacant house that exudes dark, mystical energy to every potential buyer. Her situation worsens when she and her daughter Nia (Myesha Lin) are evicted from their flat after causing a fire, leading Tari to temporarily move into the empty house rather than face scorn from her ex-husband. Despite a bad premonition, Tari ignores it to create a comfortable home for Nia, whose strong, understanding bond with her mother is prominently depicted. Everything changes when Nia befriends a child spirit named Lila (Firzanah Alya), a young girl still bound to her past and searching for her lost twin sister, Lili.