curhatnya × music monthly • hari kedua di tahun 2018

Gue rasa, gue ini lebih bodoh daripada keledai.

Atau mungkin ini cuma drama awal tahun yang nggak begitu penting tapi dibesar-besarkan atas dasar supaya 2018 punya rasa saja. Nggak penting untuk diomongin juga, but I just want to throw the statement out there to let it sink into my mind. Kenapa ya, ganti tahun tidak terasa bedanya? Sama seperti ketika gue ulang tahun satu setengah bulan yang lalu. Gue masih bodoh dan bercokol di masalah yang sama seperti ketika sedang menjalani tugas akhir. Masih harus tertawa hambar diantara lelucuan yang tidak lucu. Masih harus menjadi gumpalan atom bersama ibu-ibu kereta. Masih mencari bahagia dalam melankoli yang berlarut-larut.

Tapi sebenarnya apa sih yang gue harapkan?

Mungkin gue berharap tiba-tiba gue bangun dari tidur delapan jam yang nyenyak dan gue tahu apa yang gue mau dari hidup gue. Kerja di agensi above the line? Bikin feature film pertama gue? Fasih bahasa roh? Menemukan obat untuk kanker? Ikut misi ekspedisi ke Mars? Punya kekuatan teleportasi?

Entahlah. 

Ngomong-ngomong, sureal juga ya rasanya nggak harus pergi ke kampus, masuk kelas, dan mengedukasi diri mengenai perfilman. Gue cukup rindu dengan atmosfir produktif yang gue lalui sepanjang empat tahun perguruan strata satu, dari begadang untuk mendadak membersihkan kamar kos karena tidak bisa tidur dan nonton film tengah malam bersama teman-teman, tidur di McDonald's dan Starbucks atas nama bikin tugas, sampai kenal sama mbak-mbak Indomaret dan Alfamart in the neighborhood saking seringnya datang untuk emergency snack run.

Kangen deh jadi warga Scientia. Tapi gue sekarang Orange Garden.

:-(

Ngomong-ngomong lagi, ternyata gue adalah pembohong karena pas bulan September 2017 gue bilang gue akan cerita tentang "my well-deserved holiday that I did my waiting for four years for" terus sudah Januari 2018 dan belum gue tulis juga. Mungkin di postingan setelah yang ini. Plis tungguin ya! Sebab gue senang sekali bisa pergi liburan dan kalian harus ikut bahagia sama gue.

Tapi untuk sekarang gue akan bikin daftar musik bulanan (yang juga dari judulnya saja artinya gue bohong juga karena sudah nggak gue update dari September 2017 juga) yang akan bertemakan Tahun Baru sebab gue ternyata seklise itu:

1. Dog Days Are Over • Florence + the Machine

2. Lihatlah Lebih Dekat • Jakarta Movement of Inspiration (OST. Petualangan Sherina)

3. Staying Alive • Bee Gees

4. Sober (맨정신) • BIGBANG

5. I Wanna Get Better • Bleachers
6. Young Volcanoes • Fall Out Boy
7. Blue Skies • Jamiroquai
8. Walt Grace's Submarine Test, January 1967 • John Mayer
9. Homesick • Peniel & Kairos
10. Matahari Pagi • Banda Neira

Sebagai positive vibes untuk menyambut kalender dan agenda yang baru. Untuk tahun ini pun, mari mencari kebahagiaan dan menebar kebaikan.

With love,

your foreign storyteller.

nonton film • Pengabdi Setan (2017)

Source: Joko Anwar's instagram (@jokoanwar)

Posternya yang ini saja soalnya Tara Basro so prettyyy! Daripada foto ibu, ya kan?

The horror film that has taken Indonesia like a raging storm! Sudah cukup lama nggak nonton film di bioskop, dan sekalinya pergi nonton gue sendirian, dan memutuskan untuk nonton film ini. Jujur saja, gue kurang suka nonton film horror; they rarely impress me karena bagi gue biasanya setannya atau kejadiannya nggak mirip. Film horror yang terakhir gue nonton adalah ~The Conjuring 2~, karena teman-teman gue pengen kepoin "film Valak" dan "scene Valak yang serem banget di lorong" dan akhirnya gue terbawa peer pressure untuk ngepoin film ini bersama.

Ya gue ketawa doang sih waktu itu. Mungkin gue yang rusak, tapi scene-nya tuh lucu dan gak believable buat gue? My friends and I ended up breaking the scenes down together in the darkness of the theater and whisper obscene things to each other.

But anyway! We are here to talk about ~Pengabdi Setan~ karya Joko Anwar. Senang melihat animo masyarakat yang besar untuk film-film Indonesia sekarang. Gue nonton film ini di weekday, early afternoon, dengan prasangka kalau teaternya bakal agak sepi, tapi ternyata yang nonton banyak juga. Ada yang bawa anak-anak segala, padahal rating-nya D17 kalau nggak salah. Tapi nggak ada adegan senonoh kayak di film horror jaman-jaman 2000an awal, kok. Mungkin rating-nya karena ada gore-nya sedikit ya. Atau karena... Masalah yang membangun latar belakang karakter hantunya?

Oke, gue akan bahas film ini sebisa mungkin dengan spoiler sesedikit mungkin, ya. Dan disclaimer: Gue belum pernah nonton film aslinya Pengabdi Setan (1980) jadi ini pure review film versi 2017-nya aja dan pendapat gue setelah nonton. Gue nggak ada pengetahuan sama sekali dengan film aslinya dan plotnya dan seberapa bedanya versi 2017 ini dengan versi 1980.

(BTW denger-denger yang versi 1980 jadi cult film di Asia. Cari bioskop alternatif yang screening ah!)

Sekeluarnya gue dari bioskop waktu itu, gue sempat nge-post kesan gue tentang film Pengabdi Setan ini di Twitter:

I feel like it is really well-made. The setting is conveniently haunting, the textbook jump scares work like wonder, everyone in the theater is scared and bracing for the scary parts, it was pretty intense. Tapi yang paling gue suka adalah dinamika ceritanya yang gak melulu setan-setanan. Dialog antara cast anak-anaknya sih terutama menurut gue membantu bikin film ini jadi kayak roller-coaster, ngatur tensi supaya penonton gak tegang, terus pas semua caught off guard, scene yang seremnya dimasukin. Yang paling epic sih yang minta ditemenin pipis malam, soalnya scene lanjutannya pas gitu, kerennn parahhh! Tapi dialog favorit gue sih yang tentang micin, karena candaan itu cukup terkenal di kalangan anak muda sekarang. Long live micin jokes!

Tapi highlight dari film horror adalah bagian yang seram-seram. My favorite one is the "Loh, ibu sudah bisa bangun?" (yang jadi meme-meme lucu di Twitter, pinter banget deh promosiin filmnya) scene, karena cuma scene itu yang bikin gue bener-bener kaget. Sound-nya tahik banget dan camera movement-nya sangat pas. Diulang pula, jadi serunya dua kali. He. Scene impresif yang kedua menurut gue yang "kain putih dan pigura foto ibu". Keren deh efeknya, gimana cara bikinnya ya? Dulu gue sempat jadi kru film Tugas Akhir kakak kelas yang genre-nya horror juga, dan kita sempat mau bikin scene yang sama, tapi gagal. Di bagian ini editing beat-nya pas banget deh, gue suka! Di atas gue sempat bilang textbook jump scares, itu lebih ke arah beat-nya sih. Ketukannya pas gitu seperti yang dulu sempat gue research ketika mau coba bikin film pendek genre horror juga sama teman-teman buat tugas kampus.

Nah tapi beberapa scene seram lainnya kok kayak miss gitu ya beat-nya? Ada momen di mana gue sampai greget sendiri karena ganti gambarnya kurang cepat sepersekian detik sehingga suspense yang sudah gue rasain jadi agak turun sedikit, khususnya di scene "Toni, radio, dan sisirin rambut ibu" dan scene "Rini, mukena, dan cilukba". Padahal build-up-nya sudah asyik banget.

(Heh, penjelasan adegan macam apa barusan.)

So, other than the "ibu sudah bisa" scene, the rest of the film is actually not that scary for me. Jatohnya sih beberapa lucu absurd gitu entah kenapa, bikin nahan ketawa di bioskop karena banyak yang ketakutan. Setting-nya sangat membantu sih sebenarnya di rumah tua remang-remang sebelah kuburan, ada sumurnya pula, sehingga memang mendukung untuk menjadi lokasi cerita hantu-hantuan. Sama desain karakter hantunya juga oke. Klasik dan familiar untuk orang Indonesia, jadi mungkin terasa lebih menghantui. Gimmick-gimmick Suzanna gitu. Tapi yang tertahik adalah sound design-nya sih. Ganggu banget ih parah dah! Nggak ada apa-apa secara visual tapi audio-nya tegang. DAN LAGUNYA SI IBU ITU. Bagus! Banget!

Sama jeritannya Bondi sih melengking banget bikin kaget.

Oiya, filmnya warnanya bagus deh. Agak-agak desaturated gitu. Apa lebih enak disebut remang-remang ya? Soalnya kadang gelap-gelap gitu juga sih gak kelihatan. Tapi gue suka deh color palette-nya, kayak ada pattern warnanya gitu yang ke-notice. Biru, merah, kuning, sama putih? Mungkin ini semacam semiotik buat plot ya? Kayak Rosemary's Baby (1968)? Soalnya pattern warnanya paling keliatan di warna baju. Tapi jujur sampai di akhir film gue nggak nangkap artinya sih. Atau hanya desain palette warna dasar? Tapi bagus lah pokoknya!

Source: Tara Basro's instagram (@tarabasro)

Bukan scene dari film-nya, but I am quite sure that's one of their costumes, hahaha.

Ya kira-kira vibe-nya seperti foto itu, sih? Apa ngga? Apa gue amnesia selektif karena ibu sudah bisa bangun?

:p

Ehem. Oke, pembahasan terakhir gue adalah storyline-nya. Jujur, dengan audiovisual yang menurut gue cukup luar biasa, entah kenapa ceritanya justru agak mengecewakan buat gue. Apa karena ceritanya dipersiapkan untuk memiliki sekuel? Gue merasa ceritanya banyak bolongnya dan plot twist-nya tuh malah kayak? Hah??? Gitu. Paham gak, hehe.

Dari awal tuh berasanya prolog-nya panjang, stretchy tapi kurang jelas gitu. Mungkin karena karakter yang mau diperkenalkan banyak juga, sih. Ya ada empat bersaudara, ibunya, bapaknya, neneknya,  dan ada tambahan bapak ustadz beserta anaknya bapak ustadz. Ramai sekali, meskipun semua karakter punya fungsinya masing-masing tapi kayak ada yang penting gak penting dan berujung pada unnecessary deaths gitu? Dan btw, plot-nya bisa di-breakdown pakai myth structure! Gue baru sadar pas tiba-tiba plot twist sih, yang gue sudah pikir oh oke sudah mau tamat, tapi nggak jadi gitu dan malah shit happens. Padahal gue sudah benar-benar pikir bakal selesai soalnya filmnya rasanya sudah panjanggg sekaliii lebih panjang dari rangkaian KRL dua belas gerbong.

Ceritanya jadi membingungkan buat gue karena seperti ada sub-plot yang nyempil-nyempil, kayak Rini dan anak pak ustadz, bapak tua reporter majalah Maya, omongan bapak dan ibu di penghujung usia ibu yang nggak ke-reveal di filmnya padahal ditanya, Bondi yang mendadak emo sejak dihantui tapi mendadak normal tanpa konklusi, dan lain-lain deh. Plot twist-nya juga bukan ngagetin tapi malah bikin bingung karena the turn is too abrupt? But again, maybe all of this is a grand build-up for a sequel? Who knows? Because I sure don't. Yang gue tahu sih, saking detailed-nya cerita filmnya, gue malah jadi merasa detached dan nggak terhantui gitu. Jadi sekadar simpati saja sama keluarga itu kenapa tragis banget ya hidupnya. Mungkin harus nonton di teater 4DX agar terasa seperti menjadi Toni.

Verdict: ★★★★

Sempat baca postingan sutradaranya, Joko Anwar, di Instagram yang chat ke temannya, katanya Pengabdi Setan (2017) tidak seram dan lebih ke drama. Mungkin itu cuma omongan buat ngebujuk temannya, tapi gue setuju, sih. HAHA. Tapi buat gue filmnya recommended sih! Wajib nonton! If not for the thrill, supaya gaul saja karena yang nonton banyak banget sudah 2 juta lebih. Yakin mau ketinggalan jaman dan nggak ngerti meme ibu sudah bisa? Filmnya bagus kok, suer! Semua review yang gue tulis di atas itu subjektif karena gue memang gak terlalu affected dengan hiburan berbau horror, jadi come and meet ibu yourself!

dora the explorer • from up my Studio Ghibli dream

TOTORO WAS IN TOWN!!

I was a little bummed when they announced about the ~World of Ghibli Exhibition in Jakarta~ because hot damn, the ticket price is not as affordable as I, a college student, can wish for. Also, I do not have too much Ghibli friends (or so I thought) and I do not want to be that awkward solo weirdo that's lurking around alone with huge overexcited smile and a camera. Thankfully, Kevin and Alvin, my school friends, came as my saving grace after an impromptu late night convo about buy one get one Kamikaze on Instagram.

Long story short, I sort of third-wheel them on their ~not date but death~ endeavor (´ε｀ )♡

(I'm kidding. Kevin asked me if I want to go.)

I do not really remember my first encounter with Studio Ghibli goodness, but I remember that となりのトトロ/My Neighbor Totoro is the one that got me in.

I think I watch it in grade school once? It was quite hazy but I am one of the younger kids in my big family and my brother and cousins are like... Old. And they taught me a lot about pop culture earlier than most of my same-aged friends, I guess? I mean, they let me play World of Warcraft on their computer and read their copies of Harry Potter. It also helped that my father is an IT guy so we have our own PC and internet earlier than most households. And any kids my age can testify that the telly used to broadcast a plethora of anime during our prime time television hours.

So yeah, pretty exposed to foreign popular culture there.

(Still can't get me hooked up into American comic books, though. That's for Jason. The most American entertainment I did enjoy growing up is probably Disney.)

Anyway, back to Ghibli.

I then encountered My Neighbor Totoro again in middle school, during an English test. I forgot what the test was about but the teacher lets us watch the film while waiting for our turn. I remember thinking, "Hey, I've seen this!" and then proceed to get sucked into the story of Kusakabe family and their fluffy neighbor. I like them a lot. The pictures are so pretty. Hence, praise the internet for the huge help, I delved into the awe-inspiring, beautiful, lovable world of Ghibli.

My favorite is of course My Neighbor Totoro. My family know, my friends know, even my bosses at my internship place know. The rest of the TOP 5 is probably Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service, Howl's Moving Castle, and From Up On Poppy Hills. No Grave of the Fireflies because it makes me sad, although it got a special mention because it made everyone cry.

Alrighty! With all those boring recap of my history with Studio Ghibli and popular culture in general, let's now talk about the event! The whole ~World of Ghibli Exhibition in Jakarta~ thing actually started with monthly screening of Studio Ghibli films, which I was super excited about because I never saw any of these films on a big screen. I only managed to watch them once because it's on selected cinemas only and all of them are so far away from my house, but yeah, I saw Spirited Away with my friend sitting on my right and A FAMOUS INDONESIAN FILM DIRECTOR ON MY LEFT and I think she's a bit weirded out because I am too excited and smiley and fidgety.

But it's okay because it's dark.

She doesn't even know me.

Then the exhibition opened last month and the review was bad at first it made me worried and skeptical. But I am glad that we went to this exhibition because IT MADE MY DAY SO SO SO MUCH. I think it is the best day of my life. I mean, did you guys see that big and fluffy Totoro??? Well, they also have Nekobus (Eng: Cat Bus, also from My Neighbor Totoro franchise) that is as fluffy as Totoro and we can get in them! I feel like I completed an unknown, deep down from my heart bucket list item as soon as I stepped inside of them.

To explain it briefly: I was so happy that my chin can't lie about it. Also my eyes are just two lines from smiling too hard.

Contrary to the review by the masses, the exhibition is well-managed. There are a lot of staffs milling around ready to help you take photos or explain about stuffs. They can explain about Ghibli films too, for those people who tag along because their beau is going and do not actually know what's happening. It is a good decision to go on a weekday, because from what I saw on the internet (and this one Saturday when I visited Pacific Place Mall, the venue of the event) the crowd are quite crazy on the weekends. So, we happily zipped everywhere, took photos here and there, with little to no queue.

There's this one moment when I just can't get enough of the Totoro floofiness that Kevin teased me that I held the line so I just went, "I am sorry but I love Totoro too much, I apologize but I have to take selfies with them!" to a mom with her child (which were next in line) and she just went, "It's okay I understand we are the same! I want to take lots of photos with Totoro too!" and we low-key fangirl together and I helped them took photos.

I enjoy how well-made the exhibitions are. The Kiki's bakery is very detailed with real breads coated in resin, bottles of jams and sodas, and authentic props like old telephone, cashier, and scale. What got Kevin fascinated though, is the standing broom that he can't comprehend just because it is standing. He repeatedly asked why and how and stare at that broom questionably. He is weird sometimes, heheh. Same details was applied to The Kusakabe's house. I am awed by the way they created the beautifully designed organized mess of the father's office. Kevin's cousin, who's an architecture student, is a part of the team that work on this display, so shoutout to her! (≧∇≦)/

THE HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE IS AMAZING TOO! Super astonished by the details of this display. The intricate design was recreated nicely. It is one of the top notch display in the exhibitions, but I think the lack of background and additional knick-knacks sort of bring down the mood for this one. But I guess making the castle alone is a hard enough job, haha.

But I think their best and most well-made part of the exhibition is the Laputa: Castle in the Sky? It is at the very front part of the venue and they have so many things to display, from the flower robot to floating ships. A very grand welcome indeed, after I made my friends stay in the dark auditorium waiting for My Neighbor Totoro's trailer (which never come, although Kevin has already hummed through a lot of Joe Hisaishi's music). Just next to it is the Spirited Away display, which was almost as grand, but I think lack something. Or probably it is just me feeling salty because I didn't met Kaonashi.

There's more exhibition, like Princess Mononoke, Porco Rosso, Nausicaä, and what I think is Arriety? I didn't took too many pictures but Alvin did. I think she covered all of them, hahaha.

All in all, due to me liking Studio Ghibli works, I rate this exhibition 10/10!!

Me and my friends discussed a bit about this (mostly due to the ticket price versus us feeling really happy leaving the venue) and we thought that it is not for someone who doesn't like or familiar with Studio Ghibli. Like, there's no point in visiting if you're clueless. A bit different than like, in example, going to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studio Japan, which you can still enjoy even though you are not into Harry Potter (like my friend's sister who just tag along because she didn't want to explore alone but ended up enjoying the Harry Potter Experience anyway).

Our happiness level was off the chart, tho. And we did have fun catching up, so the day is a win for me!

---

Most pictures taken with Kevin's cellphone.

I think it was Samsung Galaxy S7.