Nadhira Suryadi (left) as the mysterious girl and Rio Dewanto in Optatissimus.

After fatally injuring a farmer in a car accident, a young man spends a night questioning his indifference of God and, ultimately, his purpose in life in Optatissimus.

The movie'€™s main character, Andreas (Rio Dewanto), has never been an atheist, but holds bold apathy in religious endeavor.

Andreas is about to hit rock bottom. He is not getting anywhere with his car salesman job and his boss tells him he was about to be let go. His wife Yunita (Nadhira Suryadi) is growing distant amid the financial trouble hitting them.

Yunita believes the trouble they are experiencing is only a test of faith and requires Andreas to answer God'€™s call, a notion he ridicules.

Needing money to support their life, Andreas decided to sell their only car, an old Morris Mini given as a wedding gift by Yunita'€™s parents. Yunita, despite understanding the call of necessity, is very upset, but Andreas promise he will buy the car back.

One day, out of nowhere come buyers purchasing 11 cars from Andreas, earning him enough cash to buy back the beloved car.

Ecstatic and proud, he drives the car home but hits a farmer, breaking the latter'€™s spleen and rib, putting him in a critical condition.

Distraught by the thought of killing a man and under the threat of his victim'€™s relative, Andreas escape to his church to find its caretaker Piet (Landung Simatupang).

The old man tells him that he is a blessed man, but never realized it. Piet tells him that he needs to look again at his life.

That night, Andreas retraces a number of fragments from his life, this time with a closer look with Piet accompanying him, moving around from room to room in the church compound.

Andreas reminisces about a time when he was lost and hurt his leg while hiking at Mount Semeru, the tallest mount on Java Island, despite climbing the mountain for years and receiving training as a search and rescue personnel.

He remembered getting lost for four days and running out of water before a mysterious girl, who said she had known him for a long time, takes him to a small camp fire. He then woke up in a shack, with an older woman crying and thanking him for helping her find the remains of her lost little sister.

Optatissimus is filled with beautiful landscapes with the back ground of cool-climated Malang, East Java, and the iconic natural spots around Mount Semeru.

The high altitude setting and its fog and countryside smoke lend a somber and dark atmosphere to the movie.

The film also contains heartfelt scenes with some amazing performances from the actors.

The characters speak in lyrical language, which serves its purpose in reaching poetic excellence in a number of scenes. However, the lyrical language is often a burden to the audience.

Poet, actor and director Landung help strengthen the lyrical feel of the scenes. Nadhira, known for her role in last year'€™s Lutung Kasarung the Musical play, managed a convincing performance as the mysterious girl and Yunita.

Rio, a frequent face in Indonesian cinema with at least nine movies in the last two and a half years struggled to breathe life into his character and barely succeeded.

Optatissimus, which is premiered on May 23, is a laudable debut by Dirmawan Hatta in directing a feature film. He had previously written for May (2008), King (2009), Mirror Never Lies (2011) and Keumala (2012).

Optatissimus
(108 minutes, Flix Pictures)

Director: Dirmawan Hatta
Screenwriter: Dirmawan Hatta
Cast: Rio Dewanto, Nadhira Suryadi, Landung Simatupang, Gunawan Maryanto, Rosa Rosadi, Risky Summerbee
Producers: Heru Winanto

'€” Photos courtesy of Flix Pictures

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