Opera Jawa
Starring: Martinus Miroto, Artika Sari Devi, Eko Supriyanto
Director: Garin Nugroho
The film: At once an adaptation of a love triangle from the Hindu epic Ramayana and a measured meditation on the social upheaval in modern Indonesia, Opera Jawa is a visual feast that combines traditional Javanese music and dance with installation art and, anchoring all the elements, Garin Nugroho's imaginative cinematic mise-en-scene.
Nugroho has steered clear of relying solely on the cultural exotica that would excite non-Asian audiences. While much of the film's power lies with the thoroughly Javanese score and movements inspired by local dance and theatre, Opera Jawa segues between the old and new, with the cast weaving their way through sets and props by Indonesia's top conceptual artists.
The film's narrative is based on The Abduction of Sinta, a story from the Ramayana which saw the titular protagonist torn between her husband, a gentle and handsome king, and a rival monarch who stops at nothing to seduce her into accepting his love. Nugroho relocates the story to a small rural town in Indonesia sometime in the 20th century, the female protagonist becoming Siti (Artika Sari Devi), who gives up her career of playing Sinta on stage when she marries earthenware workshop owner Setio (Martinus Miroto). The villain Ludiro (Eko Supriyanto), the town's richest man and its de facto tyrant, who begins wooing Siti when the couple's marriage falters as Setio's business flounders.