aipsun

What's interesting about Budi Pekerti is that it takes the most relevant elements in social media life today: virality, cancel culture, and popularity. In his latest feature film after Photocopier (2021), Wregas Bhanuteja presents characters full of ethical and personality complexity which have to face the nightmare of their actions because of social media which causes the boundaries of morality to become blurred. Wregas is an expert in exploring human emotions and how a person's choices will have consequences, especially those that happen to Mrs. Prani (played extraordinary by Sha Ine Febriyanti) so this film feels very close to us. What Wregas did was so precise and effective that Budi Pekerti deserves to be one of the best Indonesian films in 2023.

With a longer duration than the previous trilogy, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes should be our guide to exploring the past of Panem, the history of the Hunger Games and of course the dark story behind the main antagonist, President Snow. However, what the prequel presents feels shallow, rushed, and unsatisfying. This film is still interesting in terms of visuals, action scenes, characters (especially Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird) and the brutalist architectural setting of The Capitol. The Ballad may not be as good as the Hunger Games trilogy but it quite stands out among the franchise and of course Rachel Zegler can sing.

From the most memorable dialogue (Neng, ikut abang dangdutan yuk? NAJIS LO!) to the most iconic dangdut soundtrack (Jablai, TITI KAMAL SANG), Mendadak Dangdut will always be remembered as one of the best Indonesian comedy-drama films ever. With ambitions like an independent film production, this film focuses on the strength of the dialogue, brilliant acting, and the simplicity of the production design which makes this film a classic or even a cult. This film also marks an era of Indonesian cinema that prioritizes originality, which produces films that are fresh, entertaining and timeless. Moreover, Mendadak Dandut gives a message about the complicated relationship between sisters which seems tacky but in fact this is what we miss.