Lovely Man

At last another interesting Indonesian movie hits local theater at my place :D.  Reading all the great comments on its posters intrigued me to watch this movie. Bukan, gue enggak lagi bicara tentang poster "Kakek Cangkul" yang di posternya menjelaskan bahwa hantu yang satu itu merupakan suami dari Nenek Gayung. I'm talking about "Lovely Man".

 What made me so curious about this movie was the fact that this movie got wonderful reviews at various film festival and American newspaper. In fact, Donny Damara got "Best Actor" at Asian Film Awards for his role in this movie.

from merdeka.com "Donny Damara won award for his role in  Lovely Man"

The Plot

Saiful (Donny Damara) left his wife and daughter, Cahaya (Raihaanun Soeriaatmadja), when Cahaya was just 4 years old. Now, at 19 years old, just graduated from pesantren ( dormitory school which focusing on religious education for Moslems) and now facing trouble she didn't know how to handle it, Cahaya comes to Jakarta. She hopes when she meets Saiful, she can get to know him better and her father can give an answer to he problem. 

All her life, Cahaya's been picturing Saiful as an ideal father, masculine and doing a normal job in Jakarta. So  imagined how surprised,confused and disappointed she is when she finds out that her father is a transgender called Ipuy.  If that's not surprising enough Ipuy's job is a street hooker. 

Ipuy is as surprised and mad as her daughter. He got enough problem on his plate, like the man whom he stole 30 million rupiahs for his Genital Correction Surgery from is angry and been chasing him. Now, he has to answer all the question from his own daughter about the reason he left his family and living the life he's living.

Ipuy finally decided to acompanny Cahaya in one condition : he only accompanies Cahaya for one day and after that Cahaya can never contact or reconnect  with him anymore.

My Thoughts

I love this movie. 

Okay, let's talk about the story first. This movie is like answering my curiosity from Sanubari Jakarta. You know, that comment about how I want to watch a story about a transgender in Jakarta who became transgender because he wants to be and really feel he's in a wrong body. Not only that, this movie can display how the relationship between Ipuy and Cahaya progressing slowly and neatly. It happens in one night, but there's no rush to change their relationship condition. It's one of the reason of whhat makes this film beautiful as it is.

Donny deserves that award. He looks so pretty as a transgender! Also how fierce he acted quite pictured the way transgenders whom I've seen in Jakarta streets. The character is also lovable,at least for me. Ipuy is not ashamed for who he is and what he does. Ipuys even said to Cahaya, his job is also a real job and the money he received from doing it also real money, not monopoly money (haha :D). He does it not because he has to, but because he wants to. He enjoys what he does and who he is. Woohoo, go, Ipuy! XD

Oh, and don't forget about Cahaya. There's a scene at Nasi Padang Restaurant where Cahaya took off her jilbab to make the situation less awkward between her and Ipuy. I mean, wearing a jilbab  is a commitment to cover your body from the outside world. Women can remove it  only when she's with her husband, family, or gal pals in private place. Removing your own jilbab in front of the public is a serious thing and sometimes it can be considered as an inappropriate thing a woman can do. So what Cahaya did was really sweet. It's as if she's willing to do anything so she can get to know her father better.  And as time goes by, she's no longer mad and ashamed about Ipuy anymore, but proudly can say, "Kenapa harus malu? Dia 'kan bapak aku." ("Why should I be ashamed? He's my father.")

As for the film technique, well, I'm not an expert about it. One thing for sure,  Soeriaatmadja  succeed to picture the contradictory things I used to see in Jakarta.There is more to Jakarta than modern city lit by lamps and bright towers. 

Conclusion

Alurnya memang agak lambat. However, kalau udah pada terbiasa dengan film Jepang atau Korea yang bertema serius, you'll enjoy this movie as I am.
This is a unique story about father and daughter relationship. It's heartwarming story and succeed to make me laugh and  almost cry, especially at the end of the story (bener deh, akhir filmnya tuh mengharukan buat gue!!! ;) ). There's a message that I love from what Ipuy said in this movie : It's not always about living your life in right or wrong things. We can's just run from the problem because we scared to get hurt by it. Just like a child who likes playing under the pouring rain. Pouring rain doesn't mean we have to stand under the shelter to avoid rain. Instead, we can enjoy the pouring rain as a blessing.