Lima, despite its flaws, is still a worthwhile, at times heartfelt, movie to watch.

Propaganda was quite the hill to die on for Indonesian filmmakers of the past.

Usmar Ismail — possibly the greatest Indonesian filmmaker of all time — and a number of other filmmakers were once recruited by the Japanese to make it; the national cinema, in one way or another, learned its code. Unity was as important as the labor-intensive pursuit of its conduit.

It is a little bit trickier these days when Indonesian art has matured and learned the language of freedom.

Lola Amaria’s film Lima (Five), made by her production house Lola Amaria Production, was born out of her concern for the many ways our national values, Pancasila, are no longer practiced.

The film was released on May 31, a day before the commemoration of the birth of Pancasila. Its conceit is simple: Five directors — Shalahuddin Siregar, Tika Pramesti, Lola, Harvan Agustriansyah and Adriyanto Dewo — each portray one value through one narrative thread. The film is not propaganda because it is not
prescriptive.

Upon seeing Lima, the weight of Lola’s concern seems invisible.

If anything, the message of the film is just another parroting of the boring and preachy advice that diverse Indonesians should unite.

Which begs the question: why do we need to see this film? Can we just want to see this film?

Lima tells the story of three siblings — Fara (Prisia Nasution), a former athlete and current coach of a swimming team, Aryo (Yoga Pratama), a part-owner of a distro, and Adi (Baskara Mahendra), a student.

As an omnibus, the film weaves together melodramatic storylines that represent each of the five values of Pancasila.

The topic of religion dominates the beginning of the film. We see the siblings’ mother, Maryam (Tri Yudiman), in a hospital bed, living out her last days. Formerly a Protestant, she had reconverted to Islam when her husband passed away.

Through the lens of religion, we see the micro details of the family’s preparations for her eventual death (“are we burying mom or her religion?”): Whether Aryo is allowed to bury the casket despite being a Protestant, whether the local mosque can take care of the procession of a former Christian.

The first director, Shalahuddin, sneaks in a bit of symbolism through nail polish and fake teeth — Maryam insists to her youngest son that her fake teeth not be removed upon her death, to the chagrin of her Muslim family.

This section does the best job of conveying the film’s thesis because it is not burdened by the weight of continuity. It is also richly shot, ensuring that the grief the siblings experience — Adi and Aryo put some of that nail polish on — does not subside too soon.

Lima gets in trouble as the movie progresses, though credit must go to the editor for making the handing of the baton feel seamless.

Fara is tasked with selecting one swimmer to compete at the Asian Games, however the owner of the club insists that she should go with a “nation-born” athlete. This spells trouble, as the clear frontrunner, Kevin (Raymond Lukman), is a Chinese-Indonesian.

Prisia’s portrayal of a conflicted Fara is decent — telegraphing her rightful anger and befuddlement potently. But the way this section is packaged is both cloying and clever.

First there is the mention of Kevin’s parents’ death during the 1998 riot. This is clearly rooted in reality, but it does not add anything to the story — it feels like the persisting subscription to a trope.

The twist, however, is better in that it makes sure that the racial sensibilities are conversely rooted in crass expediency.

At its core, Lima is a family movie; it operates in the same breath as, say, Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums. But the other storylines, like Adi’s realization that street vigilantism is bad, or the splitting of Maryam’s estate in the wake of Aryo’s firing from his company, feel rushed.

The family stuff, however, is admirable for the rounded and well-acted portrayals of the siblings.

Their interactions, thanks to the script by Titien Wattimena and Sinar Ayu Massie, are not contrived. But my favorite of the clan is their loyal housekeeper, Bi Ijah (Dewi Pakis), who leaves her own children for the siblings. There is a sweet and clever mirroring when her storyline wraps up at the end.

Bi Ijah is the moral centrifuge for the family and a source of narrative continuity for the film — almost as if we’ve been seeing her own family throughout.

So why do we need to see this film? Years of seeing creative freedom unfold has given us the answer: We do not. The fact the message of Lima does not land perhaps speaks volumes more about the very situation the film comments on than the film itself.

The closeness of the siblings is also a reflection of the movie: Like a family, Lima does not have to be perfect. It just has to stick together, that’s all.

__________________________

Lima

(Lola Amaria Production; 90 minutes)
Directors: Shalahuddin Siregar, Tika Pramesti, Lola Amaria, Harvan Agustriansyah and Adriyanto Dewo
Cast: Prisia Nasution, Yoga Pratama, Baskara Mahendra, Dewi Pakis, Tri Yudiman, Ken Zuraida, Aji Santosa.

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