Banyu (Tora Sudiro), lonely and bored to death with his customer service job, decides to return to his village after a 10-year absence. He's spent years bottling up the pain of losing his sister and mother, and holds anger against his father (Slamet Rahardjo). Along the way he crosses path with eccentric folks who bring him closer to understanding how to love and be loved.
The clever little film explodes with color and scenery from around remote areas of West Java and is quite a change of pace and style from the usual horror and teen flick genre that commands the Indonesian movie industry. It was quickly panned by the Indonesian press for trying too hard to be surreal while at the same time delivering a vague message. Nevertheless, Sudiro, a relative newcomer to acting, handles the pressure of holding up the movie and is actually quite effective performing alongside the veteran Rahardjo.
Slank, a local Indonesian rock band, has recorded effective theme music based on a classic and sentimental song by Ismail Marzuki. All in all, this film - if it is ever exported and sold outside of Indonesia - will charm anyone who likes independent films whether they are non-Western or not. Two thumbs up and a big thank you to Teddy Soeriaatmadja for making Banyu Biru ("Blue Water").
The clever little film explodes with color and scenery from around remote areas of West Java and is quite a change of pace and style from the usual horror and teen flick genre that commands the Indonesian movie industry. It was quickly panned by the Indonesian press for trying too hard to be surreal while at the same time delivering a vague message. Nevertheless, Sudiro, a relative newcomer to acting, handles the pressure of holding up the movie and is actually quite effective performing alongside the veteran Rahardjo.
Slank, a local Indonesian rock band, has recorded effective theme music based on a classic and sentimental song by Ismail Marzuki. All in all, this film - if it is ever exported and sold outside of Indonesia - will charm anyone who likes independent films whether they are non-Western or not. Two thumbs up and a big thank you to Teddy Soeriaatmadja for making Banyu Biru ("Blue Water").