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'€˜A Copy of My Mind'€™: On love, politics & Jakarta

Courtesy of Lo-Fi FlicksBringing together the stories of regular people, the complexity of life in Jakarta and politics in an engaging movie is not an easy task, but director Joko Anwar unites them well in his latest movie, A Copy of My Mind

Novia D. Rulistia (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sun, November 22, 2015

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'€˜A Copy of My Mind'€™: On love, politics & Jakarta

Courtesy of Lo-Fi Flicks

Bringing together the stories of regular people, the complexity of life in Jakarta and politics in an engaging movie is not an easy task, but director Joko Anwar unites them well in his latest movie, A Copy of My Mind.

A Copy of My Mind serves as a time capsule of Indonesia, especially Jakarta, exploring life in a city that is marred by political corruption.

The drama, set in contemporary Jakarta, begins by showing the life of Sari (Tara Basro), a beautician at a cheap beauty salon in Jakarta who entertains herself in the evening after work by watching pirated movies in her cramped room.

Upset when the DVD she buys does not have proper Indonesian subtitles, she returns it to the store to demand an exchange.

Instead of giving her an exchange, the seller introduces her to Alek (Chicco Jerikho), who produces the subtitles for the DVDs.

Alek is required to provide subtitling for several DVDs every day, relying on an automatic translation service on the Internet.

As Sari is about to leave the store, Alek sees her stealing a DVD and confronts her, telling her to come to his house, saying he will otherwise shout to attract people'€™s attention.

At the house, Alek shows her all the pirated DVDs he has worked on and lets her take some titles.

Sari, who dreams of having a home theater, starts to frequently visit Alek'€™s house to watch movies, and their romance blossoms.

Sari then finds a new job in a more upmarket beauty salon where she must undergo two weeks of training before treating any customers.

Bored of having to watch the senior beautician handling customers, she asks her boss, Bandi (Paul Agusta), to give her a client. He refuses, but offers a compromise by sending her to give a facial to one of his customers, high-profile convict Mirna (Maera Panigoro), in prison.

At the prison, Sari is surprised to find out that Mirna'€™s cell is more like a hotel room complete with a home theater set and a shelf full of DVDs.

While Mirna is in the bathroom, Sari steals a DVD, believing it to be a fantasy movie. But the DVD turns out to be evidence of a political corruption deal involving the candidates of the presidential election, which puts the couple in danger.

Despite the budget limitations '€” the movie cost around US$17,200 to make '€” its execution is top notch.

The 161-minute movie gives a careful and detailed view of the surroundings, showcasing some true aspects of Jakarta: street-side food vendors, traffic jams, thugs, illegal motorcycle races, the music of the city and, of course, the pirated DVD haven.

Moreover, through Sari, the audience gets a glimpse of the life of people from lower-income brackets, who make instant noodles for their daily meals and wake up soaking wet with sweat as they sleep with no air conditioning.

'€œJakarta is a contradictory city, but poetic and endearing at the same time. So I want to give the real picture of Jakarta, without added sugar,'€ Joko said before a screening of the movie held as part of the Indonesian Film Festival (FFI).

Joko also shot the movie amid the festivities of the campaign period for the 2014 presidential election, giving authenticity to the movie by showing the real state of Jakarta at that time.

The story is solid, engaging and entertaining in many parts thanks to the presentation of the city'€™s many ironies. However, the plot moves too slowly before it finally peaks at the three-quarter mark of the movie.

Tara and Chicco give bold performances, both as individuals and as a couple. The movie is one of five nominated for the FFI'€™s Piala Citra, the nation'€™s most prestigious movie award. It has been screened at the Venice Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and Busan International Film Festival.

A Copy of My Mind, which will hit theaters in February 2016, has earned a total of seven FFI nominations: best picture, best director, best actress in a leading role, best actor in a supporting role, best sound editing, best original score and best cinematography. The awards night will be held on Nov. 23 at Indonesia Convention Center (ICE) in BSD City, Banten.

Joko Anwar directs teh film A Copy of My Mind
Joko Anwar directs teh film A Copy of My Mind
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A Copy of My Mind (Lo-Fi Flicks, CJ Entertainment, 161 minutes)

Director: Joko Anwar
Cast: Tara Basro, Chicco Jerikho, Maera Panigoro, Paul Agusta, Ario Bayu

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