Watch Opera Jawa

Opera Jawa is a visually stunning Indonesian film directed by Garin Nugroho, which offers a modern retelling of the ancient Javanese tale of Ramayana. The film beautifully combines traditional Javanese dance, music, and theater with contemporary film techniques to create a unique cinematic experience. Opera Jawa was released in 2006, written by Garin Nugroho and presented at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival.

The film centers around a couple, Siti (Artika Sari Devi) and Setio (Martinus Miroto), who are a happy and hardworking couple. Setio crafts beautiful and intricate puppets, while Siti is a devoted wife taking care of their household. However, their idyllic life gets disrupted when Ludiro (Eko Supriyanto), a rich and powerful man, becomes infatuated with Siti and tries to win her over. In an attempt to get Siti to be with him, Ludiro coerces Setio to create a puppet performance at his daughter's wedding, one that will depict his love for her, in order to impress her.

As Setio begins to create the puppet performance, he is unable to separate his anger and sadness over losing Siti, and these emotions start to bleed into the puppet show. The performance becomes increasingly violent and strange, with characters turning on one another and betraying each other. As Setio's mind deteriorates, and the lines between reality and the puppet show blur, Siti becomes increasingly trapped between her loyalty to her husband and her desire for Ludiro's wealth.

At its core, Opera Jawa is a film about love, jealousy, and betrayal, but it is also a highly stylized and surreal exploration of Indonesian culture. The film's visual style is both striking and memorable, and it makes excellent use of dance, puppetry, and music to tell its story. The temple locations where the majority of the movie is set adds to the stunning visual aesthetic by providing a beautiful backdrop of traditional Indonesian architecture, which underscores the film's focus on tradition.

Martinus Miroto's performance as Setio is remarkable, and he captures the character's descent into madness with both nuance and depth. Eko Supriyanto is equally impressive as Ludiro, who is both charming and menacing as the wealthy suitor vying for Siti's affections.

The film's use of non-linear storytelling is another interesting aspect of Opera Jawa. The tale of Ramayana is broken up into fragments and reassembled in a new order, which emphasizes the story's themes of fate and inevitability. The movie's editing technique makes it difficult to follow the story, but it ultimately adds to the surreal atmosphere and powerfully emphasizes a deep-rooted cultural tradition.

In conclusion, Opera Jawa is a stunning and unique cinematic experience, offering an immersive look into Indonesian culture and storytelling. Though the movie's visual stylization and non-linear storytelling come with some challenges, the film is still an engaging and captivating work of art. It's a must-watch for anyone looking for something different, making it one of the most underappreciated gems of this century.