The Gathering!

a fresh & clever movie, finally some good screen adaptation on the wealthy indonesian pop culture life style, this movie is in some way light on the outside but heavy on the inside has an entertaining & intelligent shape all in one, a wake up call for the indonesian film and especially soap opera industry that the theme of entertainment for the people is rising to a higher level of standards.

what amazed me is this film still taste & feel ( in a ethical philosophical way) indonesian not abducted like janji jony which doesn't taste indonesian, so the concept of arisan is indonesianized of American not the other way around, which in the day ahead creates its own special tone for the indonesian movies industry, that point i think deserves a respect

bravo.., Ms nia dinata you have done an exiting breakthrough trough your innovative well crafted quality movie, that i hope will stimulate the birth of another high creativity & intellect movies in the near future, salute.....

"No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world"

• john keating, death poet society

Other than the actors "sometimes" talks stuttered, & a "not so good" sound (especially when the actor "Surya Saputra" talking, cos he's lips looked barely moved, I really couldn't understand What he was saying, thank God, before I bought the VCD, I already saw it in the theater) It's refreshing to have a well made movie from Indonesia,& an added bonus cos it has a clever dialog that you don't see in other "cliche" Indonesian movie. It also break the Dogma that a good Indonesian movies, is the one with a traditional, classical artsy movie, with a longgggggggg dialog & scene. Don't get me wrong, I still like those kind of movies, but sometimes the Director is a bit selfish, to make movie that only good in visual & difficult dialog but not enjoyable for the audiences.

Plizzzz, Indonesian film maker, make more movies like this.

Witty,fresh,very daily style... Represented some indonesian life style....in some spots....But two thumbs up for this first gay themed with kissing scene.Especially if we think about muslim majority people.Two thumbs up for Director Nia Dinata and Tora Sudiro who played as gay man, Good work you guys

It's hard to find Indonesian film that could make me come back for second time to watch it. But it's different. Director Nia Dinata did great work.One subject that I enjoyed most were dialogues....different than many indonesian cinema, very daily style. Actually it's not new idea but it happened in a muslim country and focus on three best friends lives, but the center of this story are about being gay and Tora Sudiro played as good as he can. He deserve to get my TWO THUMBS UP and more,represented as some gay men did. As usual gay style show us sissy and freak and ridiculous people. we can't find easily gay men on cinema as good man as part of the society. But it did.Arisan is one of good movie I ve ever seen, please don't compare with brilliant Hollywood cinema,okay...

ARISAN (The Gathering) is a fine little story about the ins and outs of Jakarta's wealthy class - sort of an Indonesian Beverly Hills 90210/Melrose Place sitcom. The characters include frustrated wives, jealous wives, career women, cheating husbands, man-hunter girls, and two gay men - one closeted and one open. The film explores the social dictates of society and the jumbled events that occur when family or friends try to match make.

The cast is young and attractive and handles the material well. The problem with the film is the emphasis on clothes, fancy homes, cars, and all the trappings of the wealthy class. An 'arisan' is a gathering where friends come together, pitch in $100. each and pass the hostessing around to various locales where their main conversation is fairly shallow gossiping. But this film, though drowning in the over-the-top trappings, has many sensitive issues well discussed and played. For a film from Indonesia it is a terrific change from the usual horror flicks that originate from their studios and as such bodes well for a new movie industry that obviously has the ability to become important. It is funny, tender, very colorful and entertaining: some judicious editing could have pared this overly long movie into a fine little film. In Indonesian and English with subtitles. Grady Harp