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'Memories of My Body' collects nominations despite bans
Lost in the maize: A man wearing a mask dances in a corn field in a scene from the movie Kucumbu Tubuh Indahku directed by Garin Nugroho
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ost in the maize: A man wearing a mask dances in a corn field in a scene from the movie Kucumbu Tubuh Indahku directed by Garin Nugroho.(Courtesy of Fourcolours Films)
Film critics and queer activists have praised Garin Nugroho’s Kucumbu Tubuh Indahku (Memories of My Body), which received a total of 12 nominations in the 2019 Indonesian Film Festival's (FFI) Piala Citra award.
It is nominated in the Best Feature-Length Film, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director and Best Actor categories, among others.
Muhammad Khan, who plays the lead protagonist in the film, is competing in the Best Actor category.
Kucumbu Tubuh Indahku had a rocky journey to the Piala Citra awards, as it was banned in several regions, including Depok in West Java and Palembang in South Sumatra, because of its allegedly homoerotic nature. Despite the backlash, the film was chosen in September to represent Indonesia at the 2020 Academy Awards.
“It is the face of contemporary Indonesia,” said film critic Hikmat Darmawan to The Jakarta Post on Friday.
“Indonesia is too big to be compressed into one film, therefore filmmakers should cleverly choose one piece of Indonesia to focus on. The subculture chosen to be presented in the movie is legitimate, as it has been a reality in Indonesia for hundreds of years,” Hikmat said.
“The lead character carries within himself an organically growing traditional culture. Then he encounters other traditional aspects such as gemblak [becoming a lover of one's teacher or mentor] and a modern Indonesian experience such as the 1965 tragedy. He also experiences the early encounters with radio and modern music, modern professions, which in their own ways sculpt him into a unique personality,” Hikmat said.
He also said that sexuality was just one aspect of the film, which made some people reduce the film to "just" a movie about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
Hikmat praised the film's direction, cinematography, acting and music, among other things. In his view, the film set a high bar for Indonesian cinema.
“Personally, I think this film deserves to win Best Picture. It is highly relevant in terms of its social, artistic and aesthetic components. I also think the direction and cinematography deserve awards,” he said.
Paul Agusta, an openly gay filmmaker, also praised the film, saying that it gave fair representation to queer Indonesians.
“It's a very fair, sensitive and humane portrayal. What makes Kucumbu important is that it portrays rural LGBT people, when we're more accustomed to seeing urban ones in our movies. And because it's rural, it strongly shows how LGBT elements have long been a part of Indonesian culture despite conservatives cursing LGBT culture as a western import,” he said.
Similarly, LGBT activist Lini Zurlia praised the movie’s bold representation of LGBT Indonesians in a traditional setting.
“The film, at the very least, opens people’s eyes to the existence of gender expressions in our culture, so that it can be a legitimate counter-narrative to the idea that gender diversity comes from the West,” she said. “I think a good film is one that can encourage discussions."
Besides Memories of My Body, Dua Garis Biru (Two Blue Stripes), a young adult drama about teen pregnancy based on the novel of the same name by Lucia Priandarini, follows in second place with a total of 10 nominations, including Best Feature-Length Film, Best Director for Gina S. Noer, Best Leading Actor for Angga Yunanda and Best Leading Actress for newcomer Adhisty Zara of idol group JKT48 fame.
Joko Anwar’s superhero action film Gundala — based on the comics by Harya “Hasmi” Suraminata — secured nine nominations, including Best Adapted Screenplay for Joko and Best Leading Actor for Abimana Aryastya. Gundala’s recognition at Piala Citra injects critical pedigree into the Indonesian superhero genre, indicating a promising future for films based on local superhero comics.
Historical epic Bumi Manusia (This Earth of Mankind), an adaptation of Pramoedya Ananta Noer’s classic novel, is also vying for top prizes with a total of seven nominations, including Best Feature-Length Film and Best Director for Hanung Bramantyo.
Rounding out the Best Feature-Length Film lineup are 27 Steps of May and Keluarga Cemara. Both are small-scale dramas that gained awards moment.
