PHOTOCOPIER (2022)
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| Critic No. 260 |
Written by: Henricus Pria, Wregus Bhanuteja
Produced by: Rekata Studio, Kaninga Pictures
Casts: Shenina Syawalita Cinnamon, Chicco Kurniawan, Ltesha, Jerome Kurnia, Dea Panendra, Giulio Parengkuan
Music: Yennu Ariendra
Language: Indonesian
Genre: Crime / Drama / Mystery
SYNOPSIS:
After losing her school scholarship when photos of her at a party surfaced online, Suryani pairs with a photocopy worker to piece together what happened.
REVIEW:
This is the first feature from Jakarta-born Wregas Bhanuteja, following a series of critically acclaimed, award-winning short films, Lembusura (2015), Prenjak/In The Year Of Monkey (2016) and No One Is Crazy In This Town (2019). Photocopier is a powerful, thought-provoking debut that not only may connect best with audiences in the domestic market but also certainly promises to garner the interest of the festival circuit.
The film kicks off with Sur (Shenina Syawalita Cinnamon), a first-year computing student, finding a welcoming family in the campus theatre company. Following a party to celebrate a prize-winning production, Sur wakes the next morning blurry from something more than drink, with a blank space in her memories of the evening. The next morning, she gets rejected by her scholarship council when they saw her drunk pictures on Instagram which were uploaded without her knowing. She starts to suspect that one of her friends might have behaved inappropriately and sabotaged her. Using her computing skills, Sur sets out to uncover the truth about the night.
Bahnuteja delivers a compelling tech-thriller that really highlights the inequalities of Indonesia’s conservative society, both economically and sexually. More than a crime thriller, through all the obstacles, when Suryani is humiliated when she tries to voice out her truth, Bhanuteja boldly translated the film into a bold social commentary. The problem with most crime mysteries such as this has always been the genre’s preoccupation with glamorizing the detective by emphasizing the twist and turns of the plot. When this happens, sometimes even good stories can leave the plight of the victim as an afterthought. In Photocopier, Bhanuteja puts the protagonist, Sur front and center of the plot. Watch out for the interesting metaphor that he brings about through the parallel subplot of increasing dengue cases in the area, revealing my thoughts on this might spoil the climax for you.
It shows how she copes with her shame and confusion by taking a frank look at the way survivors are treated and disbelieved – and most importantly – by making Sur the agent of her own quest for justice without any other characters solving it for her. Photocopier hinges on the disparity in institutional support given to the rich and poor, the patriarchal nature of Muslim families in Indonesia, and the dangers of social media. I feel that these 3 themes are fairly universal and thus in due time, the film should gain lots of attention from a worldwide audience. Realism makes the film very authentic and genuine. The only sore thumb I could think of is the episode with the old dodgy taxi driver that feels too filmy and least believable given the grounded treatment.
On the performance front, Shenina as Sur and Chicco as Amin struck me the most with their casual, subtle performances with the former showing so much promise through the film to emerge as Indonesian cinema’s next big actor. Gunnar Nimpuno’s raw, handheld camera work and dirty frames bring us closer to the uneasiness of Sur and also paints a nice metaphor of the muddled atmosphere/flawed society. I found that Yennu’s haunting score effectively intensified the journey of Sur without disturbing or overstating any emotional graph.
VERDICT:
‘Photocopier’ is a riveting Indonesian mystery drama that intriguingly paints a picture of the deep-seated inequalities in the country and the struggles faced by sexual harassment survivors who are silenced by it.
CELLULOID METER- 4/5:
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