lovers discourse,

Saya tertarik membeli  DVD film ini lantaran dituliskan bahwa ini adalah sebuah omnibus,-satu film yang berisikan beperti Paris(dan NewYork) i'm in Love atau  genre horor juga ada , yaitu  4bhia. saya suka nonton omnibus,karena sederhana saja,bisa menikmati beberapa cerita, dalam sebuah film.Seperti sebuah permen dengan aneka rasa.

Lovers discourse juga memiliki nilai lebih,karena inilah film omnibus buatan Hongkong yang pertama kali saya saksikan.Satu sisi,saya penasaran.Cerita apa saja yang bakal ada di dalamnya.Sisi lainnya, saya sudah menduga bahwa film yang mengangkat kisah cinta, ditangan sineas Asia,terlebih Hongkong, tidak akan semanis Hollywood atau seromantis eropa.Mohon maaf jika saya sepertinya terlalu mengakimi,berdasarkan pengalaman menonton saya yang belum banyak ini..

Lovers Diiscourse dibuka dengan sebuah hubungan pria-wanita,yang entah sepasang kekasih atau selingkuhan,-yang pasti digambarkan dengan sangat 'biasa', namun hangat dan  penuh keriaan.Mereka bertemu ditengah keramaian,menghabiskan malam bersama, berakhir di sebuah  taman. dengan keadaan teks yang 'datang dan pergi', saya mempu merasakan obrolan yang hangat, kekangenan yang sangat dan cukup buat saya untuk menyimpukan bahwa hubungan mereka sungguh penuh hasrat.Sesekali, interaksi diantara mereka  mengingatkan saya pada film  Before Sunrise, namun Lovers lebih terasa adanya 'chemistry' .Bisa jadi juga karena Eason dan Karena lam mampu memainkan dengan sangat baik.Walau sempat ada adegan cium yang kecil serta pegangan tangan, film ini tidak ingin mengakhiri dengan sebuah kesimpulan.

Sedanfkan cerita kedua, tampaknya sutradara Derek tsang lebih ingin bermain-main.Melalui sosok Kay tse,  seorang wanita penjaga sebuah laundry kiloan yang tertarik pada pelanggan setianya, Eddie pang yang tentu saja  tampan nan rupawan.Setiap kali Eddi datang, kay tampak sangat cuek,kikuk dan melayani sebagai sebuah rutinitas.padahal seusai itu, ia mengumpulkan setiap barang yang tertinggal disaku baju maupun celana,bahkan ia membayangkan menghabiskan waktu bersamanya.

Penggambaran imajinasi Kay, ditransfer dalam sebuah adegan imajinatif yang menampilkan sosok Eddi digantikan  oleh boneka.Kay begitru ekspresif dan cerita serta menikamti setiap kebersamaan bersama eddi,eh..si boneka. Perhatikan adegan ketika Kay membentang selimut dan membayangkania tidur di selimut tersebut.manis,sekaligus menyedihkan.Karena kerikuhan dan keragan,kembali menghinggapi ketika di alam nyata mereka kembali bertemu

Cerita ketiga, ada twist yang menjadi tidak penting lantaran bagusnya permainan tokoh wanita,Kit Chan, yang berperan sebagai wanita separuh baya yang ditaksir oleh teman anaknya.Dengan tatapan mata,gerak tubuh yang sangat minim, penonton dapat menangkap pesan dan rasa yang ingin ditularkan.

Pada bagian ke tiga ini juga keterkaitan antara cerita Idan II serta III mulai ditampilkan.Persimpulan diantaranya tidak terasa 'maksa' harus berhubungan,namun cukup menarik dan beda dengan yang beberapa omnibus yang pernah saya saksikan.

Cerita keempat menghimpun semua cerita,sekaligus menyajikan cerita cinta yang manis sekaligus berbumbu balas dendam, cemburu  dalam bentuk yang lain. oh ya...lagu penutupnya juga bagus banget.Dalam film yan g jauh dari hingar bingar serta penonjolan pada bahasa tubuh serta setting, keberadaan musik sungguh sangat menolang.

Lovers menyajikan kepada kita sebuah film yang bukan saja memuat beberapa cerita, tapi juga menyisipkan sejumlah rasa dalam satu kemasan.Kita tertawa,sekaligus tertegun, juga terkagum dengan kemampuan teknis akting,sinematography bahkan editingnya.Namun bukan berarti tanpa kelemahan.Beberapa motif dalam cerita,masih terasa janggal.Namun bisa dimaafkan,terlebih ini adalah karya pertama dari duet derek tsang dan chi man wan

selamat menyaiksikan...

Making Movies With a Message

Be it Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” or “Monty Python’s Life of Brian,” any film that takes on the subject of religion is bound to stir controversy.

Filmmaker Hanung Bramantyo’s latest film, the enigmatically titled “?,” is a study of the role and state of Islam in modern Indonesian society. Released on Thursday, the film was stirring up heated debate and protests long before it ever reached a projection room or darkened theater.

But for Hanung, a director known for exploring religion’s role in modern society in his movies, all this hubbub is old hat. His response to the controversy — like the last time and the time before that — is simply to say that the movie is meant as a personal and honest interpretation of the current religious landscape in Indonesia, with no malicious intent toward any person or group.

Of course, this explanation doesn’t sit well with everyone, especially those who feel that they have been singled out by Hanung’s critical lens.

A group called Banser, which operates as the youth wing of the country’s largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, has been among the more vocal critics of his latest film. The group objects to a scene in which young Banser recruits are seen being paid to perform tasks that would normally fall under one’s charitable duty as a good Muslim.

For Hanung, it’s just one of the pitfalls a director faces when he chooses to take on the subject of religion. But filmmaking wasn’t always this complicated for him.

Born in Yogyakarta on Oct. 1, 1975, Hanung began his career directing romantic dramas.

He won best director awards in 2005 and 2007 at the Indonesian Film Festival (FFI), with his romantic comedies “Brownies” and “Get Married,” the latter of which starred Nirina Zubir and Agus Ringo and featured a cameo appearance by the pop-rock band Dewa. It went on to become the most-watched film of the year and the young director seemed well on his way to a cushy career as the king of romantic comedies.

But it soon became apparent that this graduate of the Indonesian Islamic University’s School of Economics in Yogyakarta had a different path mapped out for his career. Gradually, his films began taking on much heavier subject matter and themes. He eventually settled on religion, specifically Islam in modern Indonesian society, as the central theme for his movies.

His successful film adaptation of the best-selling novel “Ayat-Ayat Cinta” (“Verses of Love”), by renowned author Habiburrahman El Shirazy, set off a wave religious-themed movies in 2008.

In a country where nearly 90 percent of the population is Muslim, Hanung opened the cinematic floodgates when it comes to portraying Islamic lifestyles and issues in popular film.

But along with all the success and breaking down of barriers has come a fair amount of controversy.

In 2009, his film “Perempuan Berkalung Sorban” (“The Girl With the Keffiyeh Around Her Neck”) was widely protested by Muslim clerics.

“Sang Pencerah” (“The Enlightened”), a biopic on the life of Ahmad Dahlan, an important figure in modern Islam’s development in the country, also caused a stir when it was nominated for the best picture award at the FFI and was later withdrawn when festival committee members intervened, saying the film did not warrant nomination.

For all the controversy, the director’s approach to religion in his films is actually quite simple.

“All I try to do with my films is to present different perspectives. The only way we can wage a proper battle against the stupidity and ignorance that causes so many problems in our lives is to strive for a well-rounded and informed viewpoint,” Hanung said.

The filmmaker and father of two sat down with the Jakarta Globe between rehearsals for a role in the musical comedy “Laskar Dagelan” (“Comedy Troop”), which was recently staged at Taman Ismail Marzuki in Central Jakarta. Here’s what he had to say:

What do you want to say with your films?

Everything does not happen with one clear intention. Things just happen.

Now everything can be and is easily politicized and used by certain groups or political parties for their own gain. Take the word ‘pluralism,’ for instance. Once I say I’m fighting for pluralism, faith and cultural diversity, some people will immediately become my opponents.

I don’t want that. I don’t want my new film to be used as a conduit to attack those opposed to what I believe. But it seems it’s just inevitable that people will call this film a battle cry for pluralism. It’s been hard from the beginning, as some investors pulled out fearing this exact situation.

With ‘Sang Pencerah,’ I wanted to look at Islam from different angles through the figure of Ahmad Dahlan, who was the co-founder of the Muslim organization Muhammadiyah. Islam today is easily associated with intolerance toward people of opposing faiths, acts of terrorism and even violent theology.

What I’ve known all along is that Islam is a religion that brings a message of peace, truth and inclusiveness. It’s an open religion that is strong, beautiful and elegant. In this film I try to show how religious intolerance can tear all that down. I believe that it is the opposite of what we should strive for here.

‘Ayat-Ayat Cinta’ also landed you in controversy, as there is a character who converts from Christianity to Islam. Your new film, ‘?,’ has a similar character. Could you explain why?

Please remember that ‘Ayat-Ayat Cinta’ was adapted from a novel. It’s actually the author’s right to answer that.

My duty as a director is to present the visual version. There are very personal reasons that make the character convert from one religion to another.

The decision [to convert] was not an act of coercion and not done under pressure, as it was a personal wish. Besides, I find there are details [in the novel] that I skip because they are too risky to portray on screen. Bringing a novel to life on the screen can somehow limit a director’s freedom, which to me makes it a challenge. I have to be able to negotiate because it’s eventually recognized as my work, too.

The ‘?’ film experiment is more or less based on my own observations and experience. My mother has Chinese blood and converted from Christianity to Islam. My siblings are Muslims and Catholics.

Are you on your way to branding yourself as a maker of religious films?

Not really. I made teenage romantic dramas in the past. And there is also ‘Catatan Akhir Sekolah’ [‘End-of-School Notes’], which portrays the lives of troubled young people.

If I have to be known for one cinematic trait, I’d like to be known as a director who fights against stupidity and ignorance. I think these two things are our common enemies and they must be fought against.

It’s a battle we can’t afford to lose, because these are the root of a lot of problems plaguing the country. What I mean by stupidity has nothing to do with a lack of formal education. It’s a tendency to play dumb or turn a blind eye.

We’ve seen a lot of wilful ignorance lately. We’re educated and know the laws, but we just don’t have the guts to enforce them and, as a result, we will all suffer.

With ‘Sang Pencerah,’ you tried to represent Islam as a truthful and peaceful religion. Why then did you get so much criticism from Muslim figures?

Some people didn’t get the message. They called me a liberal Muslim who wants to change the face of Islam.

But I don’t want to dwell on this controversy. I have to move on with my beliefs and other people are entitled to have opinions about my work.

I’ll let my films speak for me because my films are my statements.

With ‘?,’ you are receiving even more criticism. What do you think of this?

The title represents my intention. I want to ask the general public if it is still important to be different or not.

I learned my lessons from the previous films and tried to make this new film better. People might say that I am trying too hard to explain everything, but I’m just employing what I learned from past films and people’s reactions.

Bringing up such a sensitive issue as faith, did you have problems with the film censorship body?

I respect the body and its function in the industry, so when I submitted the film I offered to meet with them for discussion if they found any scenes they felt needed to be taken out. They granted me that request.

One of their objections was about a pig head shown on display at a Chinese restaurant that Muslims were frequenting. The scene stayed, but some others are gone.

I did get a lot of protest from the Islamic youth organization Banser, because this film depicts a young character who is applying to Banser as if it were a job, giving the impression that service in the group is nothing more than a money-making profession.

The Banser chairman was invited to the film premiere. He made a point of telling me that they protested because Banser is a voluntary organization that focuses on social activities for the greater good. I accepted his explanation and rested my case. I think the misunderstanding has been ironed out.

Tulisan ini juga diterbitkan di koran dan website Jakarta Globe, klik disini.

Film Rindu Purnama, Malangnya Purnama.

Dimuat majalah Garuda, edisi Februari.

Seorang anak jalanan terjepit pertarungan cinta antara gadis kaya dan guru miskin. Karya perdana Mathias Muchus sebagai sutradara.

Tema cinta dan keluarga dilebur dalam film Rindu Purnama buatan Mizan Productions ini. Plot pertama adalah saat Purnama, seorang anak jalanan, tertabrak mobil hingga menderita amnesia. Si empunya mobil bernama Surya, pengusaha gila kerja yang tampan dan jomblo. Bertolak dari kisah nahas itu, keduanya justru menjadi dekat: Surya merawat Purnama di rumahnya.

Drama dimulai saat Purnama tiba-tiba menghilang. Dalam pencarian, Surya berjumpa dengan Sarah, seorang guru bagi anak-anak jalanan. Pria tampan bertemu guru cantik dan baik hati. Dunia memang tidak adil. Mudah ditebak, keduanya kemudian jatuh cinta.

Lalu muncullah Monique, putri pemilik perusahaan tempat Surya bekerja, yang bukan kebetulan juga menaruh hati pada Surya. Terbakar cemburu, ia menggagas pembangunan proyek perumahan yang akan menggusur rumah singgah Purnama dan tempat Sarah mengajar. Surya pun terjepit dilema: mengikuti suara hati atau godaan uang.

Film yang skenarionya ditulis Ifa Isfansyah ini menarget penonton keluarga. Menjadikan anak jalanan sebagai tokoh film memang bukan fenomena baru. Kita tentu masih ingat film fenomenal Daun Di Atas Bantal karya Garin Nugroho atau yang terbaru Alangkah Lucunya Negeri Ini. Bahkan tahun ini juga ada film yang mengangkat anak jalanan berjudul Rumah Tanpa Jendela garapan Aditya Gumay.

Karakter Purnama dan teman-temannya yang di kehidupan nyata memang berstatus anak jalanan berhasil memikat simpati. Mereka menampilkan potret riil kejamnya ibukota di mana anak-anak telantar belum dipelihara oleh negara. Problem film justru dihadirkan oleh dua perempuan yang berseteru memikat Surya. Monique dan Sarah bagaikan karakter bawang merah dan bawang putih di sinetron. Walau sama-sama cantik, warna keduanya terlalu hitam-putih: Monique pengusaha muda yang rakus dan ambisius, sementara Sarah ibu guru cantik berjilbab yang berhati mulia.

Bumbu komedi dihadirkan oleh ”si kembar” Edwin-Djody yang berperan sebagai preman yang bertugas mengusir Purnama dan kawan-kawannya. Mereka mengingatkan kita pada sepasang bandit bodoh dalam film Home Alone.

Dari segi akting, selain Salma Paramitha yang mampu bermain sangat natural sebagai Purnama, Ririn Ekawati juga berhasil mencuri perhatian saat memerankan Sarah. ”Saya harus mengekspresikan kesedihan sekaligus ketegaran. Menangis, namun air mata tidak boleh menetes,” kata Ririn yang juga sempat bermain sebagai tokoh antagonis dalam sejumlah sinetron.

Film yang memakan waktu syuting tujuh hari ini sebagian besar mengambil lokasi di sekitar Jakarta. Sinematografi yang disajikan menawan, termasuk saat menampilkan kawasan kumuh. Dari segi penyutradaraan, walau telah hampir 30 tahun malang-melintang sebagai aktor, Mathias Muchus mengakui menemui kesulitan ketika harus menggarap film keluarga. “Film yang saya buat ini diperuntukkan bagi semua kalangan,” kata peraih Piala Citra melalui film Istana Kecantikan ini. ”Jadi saya harus menemukan kreasi-kreasi yang bisa diterima oleh semua orang. Dan itu bukan hal mudah.”

Film Hanung? Komedi Aja Kontroversi

A ? for us

Local movie-goers do not need to feel sad and moping of the recent high popularity of horror films that particularly are not scary at all--especially ones with lines of international and local adult movie stars as their ‘zest’--there are also films that do not always sell sex. Still some exist, though not many, creative workers and investors in our movie industry that produced films which conveyed important message for their audience.

One of them is “?” (question mark), a movie directed by Hanung Bramantyo and produced by Dapur Film and Mahaka Pictures. At the beginning, this movie was provocatively started with a scene of an unknown young man who was stabbing a religious leader/figure. The perpetrator then immediately sped up on his motorcycle, not overtaken by the masses. The next scene, the audience was taken to the lives of three families in one of Semarang’s corner. The first one was a family of China descendant, represented by Kat Sun Tan family, the owner of a Chinese food restaurant who employed a number of Muslim’s employees. Nonetheless, the son, Hendra, was not interested at all to the restaurant. Then there were a mMuslim couple, Soleh and Menuk, who lived in an economic mediocre. The last character was Rika, a widow who converted from Islam to Catholic. Rika lived with her son, Abi, who embraced Islam dearly. There were also Surya, an infamous Muslim actor who had a crush on Rica.

With such a storyline as mention above, Hanung without a fright was chosen quit a sensitive issue regarding recent different religious life. From converting religion’s scene to the explosion in a church’s scene, they might trigger criticisms from some parties who felt cornered. However, if you watch this film carefully, you will also find that actually Hanung asked the audience to live in harmony to the religious diversity in the real life. Like the scene when a bunch of Banser members guarded a church, or when Menuk prayed her Sholat in the restaurant that was illustrated adjacent to her employer, Sun Tan Kat, who was setting his incense, executed the congregation of Confucianism, and many others.

Intentionally or not, there were numerous comedy scenes inserted in. Through these humours audience were expected to not only laugh, but also think, even feel the bitterness in the same time. Like one when Surya (Agus Kuncoro) was rehearsal a role of Jesus Christ in a mosque, and Pak Ustadz caught him. Also when Surya was burst into tears inside his Santa Claus’ costume after entertaining a dying child, and so on. To some extend, the comedy had certainly spiced up the rythm of the story, and later on made the film much more enjoyable to watch without ruining the message.

The success of this movie should also be regarded to the role of Zaskia Mecca, the casting director, who has made the all the casts of this film deserve to be called ‘the right actor fot the right role’. Especially for senior actor, Hengky Soelaiman, who played as the restaurant owner, Kat Tan Sun, and Agus Kuncoro who played as the infamous actor.

Regardless the theme and the casts, the movie is still having the exact same weakness as the other Indonesian movies. Every character’s personality is prepared in a hurry. In developing plot, there are some ‘surprises’ which leaves questions to the audience. However, the question mark or obscurity in this movie is deliberately left out for the spectators who watch it, to

Interview With The Director Of Merah Putih

'Red and White are not just colors of the flag'

Iwan Setiawan , Contributor , Jakarta | Sun, 08/23/2009 1:19 PM | Screen

Almost every year, people come up with new fun ways to celebrate Independence Day. Many others prefer to observe the occasion in more solemn, low key ways. With his latest film, Yadi Sugandi followed his heart's deepest yearning to showcase his care for Indonesia.

He was asked to direct Merah Putih (Red and White) only three days before production began. Initially filled with doubts, the director of photography for the teen flick Tiga Hari Untuk Selamanya (Three Days for Forever), managed to convince himself taking up such a tremendous challenge would be worth it.

"I didn't want to see a movie about Indonesian history which is fully produced by foreigners," Yadi says.

Merah Putih was released last week and has generated mostly positive comments from film critics, who have praised it for offering a fresh look at the founding of the nation.

Starting out his career as a photographer, Yadi is no stranger to the film industries both at home and abroad. Among other accolades, he was named the Best Director of Photography in Asia Pacific 2001.

"Lots of people, our great grandparents, struggled, shed their blood for the Merah Putih *the national flag*. It is essential for us to reflect and understand why this nation needs and deserves to be defended and to be proud of" he said.

Loaded with action, Merah Putih is an epic drama that takes place in the first days of an independent Indonesia, during the time when the Dutch and their allies tried to reinvade the burgeoning nation.

The drama unfolds when youths from all walks of life join the struggle to fight the common enemy and defend the country's newly embraced freedom. Merah Putih is the first of a planned trilogy, which will cost a total of Rp 60 billion.

Yadi, however, does not call his work a "history film", because many parts of the film are fictitious.

"We tried to combine facts with action, drama and comedy. Our primary objective is to encourage nationalism and pride in being part of Indonesia," he said.

In the film - which stars Rahayu Saraswati, Darius Sinathriya and Lukman Sardi - Indonesia's plethora of cultural roots and ethnicities are wrapped in one big nationalistic theme.

"There are high moral and social responsibilities that we have to deal with during the conception of this film. But for such a great purpose I dared myself to take risks," he said.

"At least now our young movie buffs can see the reason why the flag means a lot to us.it's not just a piece of cloth that we hoist on Independence Day."

The involvement of foreign crew members, including producers Rob Allyn and Jeremy Stewart as well as script writer Rob and Conor Allyn, was the talk of the industry long before the production process began.

Yadi said there were lessons to learn from the production, as it was hard to get people from the entirely different cultures to work together effectively.

"The producers and scene writers are foreigners and of course, they think and create the story plot in their realm. But this is a film about Indonesian nationalism, based on our history. As a director, I had to be realistic and told them that not all of their ideals could be realized. There were times when I took the liberty to change things and fortunately, everything ended up on the right track," he said.

Nevertheless, Yadi says he learned a lot working with his experienced foreign coworkers.

"We still can't handle these great special effects. And there was once incident when we had to call a weapons expert from Australia to fix a rifle broken during the shooting,

"Another example was when we had to burn a village. They covered the roof with a chemical liquid to make the fire last longer, so I could get longer view to shoot. We don't have that sort of meticulous knowledge."

Being the only film on nationalism currently screening at theaters filled with sex and horror-comedy flicks, Yadi hopes movie buffs will enjoy Merah Putih and take home its message.

Departures, Puisi Kematian Yang Menggelitik

Ketika pengumuman Piala Oscar 2009 lalu menyebutkan Departures sebagai peraih film berbahasa asing terbaik (The Best Foreign Movie), saya langsung penasaran mencari filmnya. Alasanya sederhana saja, saya suka film asia dan penasaran pengen tahu kayak apa film yang dianggap terbaik ini. Apalagi ketika saya cari data, ternyata film ini juga memenangkan sejumlah penghargaan di Jepang sana.

Setelah sempat mencari namun tidak berhasil menemukan, secara tidak sengaja seminggu yang lalu saya berhasil menemukan dvdnya.

Ceritanya terbilang sederhana. Mengenai seorang pemain cello, yang beristrikan pembuat we. Karena group orkestra tempat pemain cello ini bubar, maka ia bersama istrinya pulang ke kampung halaman, tinggal di rumahnya yang kini kosong. Ibunya meninggal, ayahnya pergi meninggalkan keluarga, ketika ia berusia 6 tahun.

Memulai hidup baru di kampung halaman, ia melamar pekerjaan yang memberi kata petunjuk 'Departure' pada iklan yang dipasang. Ia menduga, iklan lowongan kerja pada sebuah tour and travel. "Mungkin menjadi tour guide" kata istrinya.

Ketika ia temui, ternyata pekerjaan yang tersedia sebagai asisten pada sebuah biro jasa penyiapan jenazah, sebelum di makamkan.

Sampai sini, dimulailah sebuah cerita yang sangat inspiratif, gambar-gambar puitis nan simbolik serta dialog-dialog sederhana yang sangat menyentuh dan 'melelehkan air mata'.

Departures telah memberi pengertian yang 'manis' mengenai kematian, melalui satu persatu 'upacara' persiapan jenazah yang dilakukan tokoh utama. Mulai dari seorang lelaki yang atas kehendak orang tua dimakamkan sebagai wanita (karena semasa hidupnya, lelaki tersebut selalu ingin jadi wanita), seorang ayah yang seluruh wajahnya ditempel bibir oleh anggota keluarganya sambil tertawa dan menangis hingga seorang anak yang meminta maaf di depan jenazah ibunya yang semasa hidupnya kerap ribut dengannya. Ditambah lagi dialog penjaga rumah kremasi yang bicara mengeai kematian. "Pembakaran ini seperti gerang, menuju kehidupan lain. Oleh karena itu, sebelum membakar jenazah, saya selalu membisikan, "sampai ketemu lagi".  

Dengan sangat manis, Departures juga menggambarkan betapa pulang ke kampung halaman, memulai hidup baru bukanlah hal sederhana. Di atas jembatan, tokoh utama film ini menyaksikan ikan-ikan samon yang berusaha melawan arus, tetap berenang. Beberapa ikan tampak mengambang, mati. Seorang tua yang melwati jembatan itu berkata, "Mereka sangat ingin kembali ke tempat mereka dilahirkan. Walau tidak semua berhasil" (dalam hati, saya tersenyum. Inget fenomena mudik di negri tercinta).

Departures juga bicara mengenai kehilangan pekerjaan, memulai hidup dengan pekerjaan yang dianggap 'tidak pantas' dan bagaimana mempertahankan kecintaan akan pekerjaan.

Akting beberapa pemain utamanya mampu mengantar emosi yang ada dengan baik. Sangat baik, bahkan. Satu-dua teman saya, menyembunyikan diri ketika tertangkap basah menangis. Dengan ekspresi yang sangat tidak berlebihan, rasa jijik ketika harus menangani mayat seorang nenek yang telah 2 (dua) hari meninggal,  tanpa menunjukan gambar mayat yang membusuk atau rasa sesal seorang anak tanpa tangis yang meraung-raung. Hanya dengan menyatakan, "ma, i'm sorry".

Ah, maafkan saya jika terlalu mendetail atau merusak kenikmatan anda menonton, nantinya....

Saya ingin menutup note saya dengan perkataan sang sutradara, saat diwawancarai sebuah media, " I was dealing purely with the project, without trying to be “too art-house” or “too commercial.”...

Selamat, anda berhasil!

The Boat That Rocked

Adalah teman saya (Emmy dan Evi) yang sedang ngobrol betapa bagusnya film ini dan langsung membelikan film ini buat saya tonton. "Bagus, yang bikin Richard Curtis, orang yang bikin Love Actually dan Nothing Hill" kata mereka.

Oke, aku pun terbujuk.

The Boat That Rock, mengangkat kehidupan sebuah kapal yang berfungsi sebagai stasiun radio terapung ditengah laut yang disukai banyak pendengar dari berbagai kalanga, karena memutar musik rock dan penyiar yang eksentrik, bahasa yang asik dan pembahasan hal-hal yang unik, seperti menyiarkan langsung pernikahan, menceritakan kisah cinta, hingga tips bercinta.

Dengan sangat manis berbagai kisah cinta, kehidupan remaja yang menjelang dewasa, peran pemerintah sebagai penjaga moral yang berusaha menutup radio, issue lesbian, saling berpilih, namun tidak membuat penonton pusing apalagi kehilangan kendali cerita. Ini memang hebatnya Curtis, yang telah teruji di dalam Love actually.

Keunggulan film ini juga ada penampilan setiap aktor yang prima, mulai dari Keneth sebagai politisi yang 'dingin', Bill Nighy, penyiar dengan nama udara The Count yang meledak-ledak,dan lainya. Bagai sebuah orkestra, aneka karakter berhasil dimainkan dengan baik, menghasilkan tontonan yang memikat dari awal hingga akhir.

Saya juga terkagum-kagum dengan bagaimana memadukan setiap adegan, kisah, emosi dan lagu-lagu yang dipilih sebagai 'latar' . Lihat saja, bagaimana ketika lagu 'Mariane' dimainkan ...sungguh menyentuh dengan apa yang dialami Carl. Apa yang dialami Carl ? anda harus nonton..;)

Kalaupun ada hal 'lain' yang ingin saya catat dari film ini, 'rasa lelaki' dalam film ini sangat kental. Bahwa ada juga karakter perempuan yang ditonjolkan, tapi kurang mewarnai. Tapi mungkin memang ini dimaksudkan sebagai film Rock N Roll, kapal dan penyair , yang semuanya identik dengan lelaki.

Well, selamat menyaksikan...