“It was good. I guess the movie’s great for people like us—undergraduate students coming from faculty of social and political sciences. For people who understand what democracy is and what does it cost. It’s a festival-class movie. It’s an activist-kind-of-movie. The meanings were scattered around and embedded on symbols. Very symbolic, like simulacra. Even the soundtrack wasn’t served by lyrics but by whistles. I’m sure you will understand and like the movie, as I do, but I guess the rest will not fancy it that much. It was just too difficult to understand if you don’t have prior knowledge about the subject and the context. I watched it with my friend who took Accountancy degree and he didn’t understand even a tiny bit part of it.”
It was my friend’s answer when earlier today I asked for his opinion regarding to Istirahatlah Kata-Kata (Solo, Solitude) movie. It was first premiered at cinema on Januari 19th 2017 but I couldn’t found the right time to watch it up until today. Last night I silently prayed for the movie to last longer on cinemas because I can’t bear any guilt for not watching this award-grabbing movie and thank God the movie was actually expanding cities and playing on more cinemas. The cinema was half-full (note the positivity) and the good news is that almost everyone was youth, approximately on their early or late 20s!
Istirahatlah Kata-Kata is a movie directed by Yosep Anggi Noen. The movie tells stories of Wiji Thukul, a poet who is highly critical and unafraid of Suharto tyranny regime whose words are often yelled proudly by the crowd during political protests—thus, he is declared a fugitive by the regime. The movie covers those difficult times when Wiji Thukul has to escapes from the island of Java and forced to changes his identity several times, leaving his wife, Sipon along with his two children under constant surveillance in Solo.
It was a very slow pace movie, but not the kind of dragging that made you feel bored. It was a very slow pace movie that gave you a sense of intimacy. There’s not much dialogues and backsounds whatsoever. In several parts of the movie you can even intensely hear the sound of Wiji Thukul gulped down his water or when he brushed his pencil against the yellowing paper, you can intensely hear the sound Thomas made when he inhaled and exhaled his cigarette and turned it into ash, you can intensely hear the sound of Sipon weakly sweeping the tiles in a helpless attempt to sweep her insecurities. It was a very slow pace movie that made you feel sorry for almost everything. It was a very slow pace movie and it’s depressing. It’s depressing yet beautiful.
Moreover, I found myself a bit disagree with my friend who said that Istirahatlah Kata-Kata was an activist-kind-of-movie. Here you will not watch Wiji Thukul or anyone else being involved in any demonstration, nor will you watch any scene in which people were screaming at the top of their lungs in the name of democracy. It was not a fiery and raging movie. This movie was intense, but it was as calm as still water. Even when Wiji Thukul’s daughter was being investigated and his books were being plundered, there was no apparent rage being shown. Sipon just held her daughter’s little hand so firmly. Even when an apparatus didn’t bother to queue at a barbershop, bragged about his power and the regime’s authority, there was no apparent rage shown. Wiji Thukul just buried his face behind his hat with chattered teeth. Even when Wiji Thukul couldn’t risk going to the public toilet and having to shit on his home instead, there was no apparent rage being shown. Wiji and Sipon just made fun of the smell, being grateful that they were still alive to smell any. There was no apparent rage being shown, but it left an inexplicable pang in my heart.
Istirahatlah Kata-Kata didn’t depict Wiji Thukul as a mere activist; but most of all, as a human, a husband, a father, a friend. Not merely as a person with principle and dedication, but also a person who got a heart and feelings. The depiction of Wiji Thukul is as flawed as any human can be—missing sleeps, skipping family dinners, losing words and inspirations, being suspicious to noises, having unwritten thoughts putting on ties of colors he dislikes on his exhausted neck, and other emotions any under-pressured man may experiences.
Istirahatlah Kata-Kata was not a movie about loud literal voices being spoken. It was not a movie with bustling soundtracks on every scene. It was not a movie with engaging dialogues that let audiences understand everything without even have to think. Istirahatlah Kata-Kata was a movie about people being silenced. It was a movie about a regime so dictator they could actually shut people down by taking their lives, and they meant it. It was a movie about a regime so full of bastards, but they were afraid of words. It was a movie about words...much more powerful than any swords. Istirahatlah Kata-Kata was a retrospective solemnity that doesn’t try too hard to show its importance. We already knew it by heart.
Istirahatlah Kata-Kata was beyond brave and brilliant. I cried two times during the movie (precisely during the scenes I posted above). Everything about it was so emotional. Watching this movie made me wonder about how it feels like to live in that time. When your government was so sensitive even towards the slightest notion or movement of yours. When nowhere is safe. When government who ideally should be there to protect and uphold all sort of your human rights turned into a wolf that intimidated and silenced you down.
Watching this movie made me realize that all the so-called conflicts and problems we got in our country right now is insignificant compared to what our country experienced in the past. It’s shameful how we now fight each other over having perspective that vary. How we accuse each other for being wrong and condemn them for having different opinions. We worry too much, we fight too much that we forget to focus on what’s important. Our country experienced all kind of nightmares that this generation couldn’t even come close to imagine. Our country had dark, cruel, terrible secrets—and it’s unfair to keep it buried down. It’s a violation to continue being innocent for years to come. It’s time to bring the awareness back. It’s time to talk about it in public. It’s time to stop taking our easy life for granted.
It doesn’t matter whatever degree you took, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a multinational corporate manager or if you’re a labor. Wiji Thukul wrote to fought for all of us. His spirit should reverberate in all of us. Doesn’t know about him and his struggle is one thing, but knowing his name and a glimpse of what he has done yet refuse to know him further as a human is another. He fought for all of us. To watch this movie and to have his name on our mind and heart—even for just a moment, is a way of saying our gratitude. That wherever he might be at right now, he matters. And he lives. He still lives—he always lives all along in our mind and heart. His body might be missing and his whereabouts are unknown, but his voices will always be heard and his being will always be not just respected, but loved as well.
For those who have watched the movie and shared similar perspective with me, thank you for understanding his stories and being fully aware that his unknown whereabouts up until now is something we should not ignore, and please know that it matters. For those who have watched the movie and didn’t quite understand it, thank you for watching—for choosing to watch this movie when you have plenty choices and buying the tickets and helping it to get trending, it’s probably about time for you to read more about Wiji Thukul to understand him more, and please know that it matters. For those who haven’t watched the movie but having the intention to watch it, thank you for keeping this movie in your mind and for resonating his name over and over again, it is because of you that the movie get played on more and more cinemas, and please know that it matters. For those who haven’t watched the movie and didn’t have the intention to watch it, but read this blog entry anyway, thank you for being ignorant with a slight of curiosity—it can kill the cat (or topple down a regime!) if being put on the right place at the right time, and please know that it matters.
I’ve spent hours contemplating the words to say but no combination of twenty six different letters could ever accurately describe how brilliant the movie is or how it has made me feel. Last but not least, writing a movie review is totally not my cup of tea, but Istirahatlah Kata-Kata should definitely be everyone’s glass of water, so I wrote anyway.
It was my friend’s answer when earlier today I asked for his opinion regarding to Istirahatlah Kata-Kata (Solo, Solitude) movie. It was first premiered at cinema on Januari 19th 2017 but I couldn’t found the right time to watch it up until today. Last night I silently prayed for the movie to last longer on cinemas because I can’t bear any guilt for not watching this award-grabbing movie and thank God the movie was actually expanding cities and playing on more cinemas. The cinema was half-full (note the positivity) and the good news is that almost everyone was youth, approximately on their early or late 20s!
Istirahatlah Kata-Kata is a movie directed by Yosep Anggi Noen. The movie tells stories of Wiji Thukul, a poet who is highly critical and unafraid of Suharto tyranny regime whose words are often yelled proudly by the crowd during political protests—thus, he is declared a fugitive by the regime. The movie covers those difficult times when Wiji Thukul has to escapes from the island of Java and forced to changes his identity several times, leaving his wife, Sipon along with his two children under constant surveillance in Solo.
It was a very slow pace movie, but not the kind of dragging that made you feel bored. It was a very slow pace movie that gave you a sense of intimacy. There’s not much dialogues and backsounds whatsoever. In several parts of the movie you can even intensely hear the sound of Wiji Thukul gulped down his water or when he brushed his pencil against the yellowing paper, you can intensely hear the sound Thomas made when he inhaled and exhaled his cigarette and turned it into ash, you can intensely hear the sound of Sipon weakly sweeping the tiles in a helpless attempt to sweep her insecurities. It was a very slow pace movie that made you feel sorry for almost everything. It was a very slow pace movie and it’s depressing. It’s depressing yet beautiful.
Moreover, I found myself a bit disagree with my friend who said that Istirahatlah Kata-Kata was an activist-kind-of-movie. Here you will not watch Wiji Thukul or anyone else being involved in any demonstration, nor will you watch any scene in which people were screaming at the top of their lungs in the name of democracy. It was not a fiery and raging movie. This movie was intense, but it was as calm as still water. Even when Wiji Thukul’s daughter was being investigated and his books were being plundered, there was no apparent rage being shown. Sipon just held her daughter’s little hand so firmly. Even when an apparatus didn’t bother to queue at a barbershop, bragged about his power and the regime’s authority, there was no apparent rage shown. Wiji Thukul just buried his face behind his hat with chattered teeth. Even when Wiji Thukul couldn’t risk going to the public toilet and having to shit on his home instead, there was no apparent rage being shown. Wiji and Sipon just made fun of the smell, being grateful that they were still alive to smell any. There was no apparent rage being shown, but it left an inexplicable pang in my heart.
Istirahatlah Kata-Kata didn’t depict Wiji Thukul as a mere activist; but most of all, as a human, a husband, a father, a friend. Not merely as a person with principle and dedication, but also a person who got a heart and feelings. The depiction of Wiji Thukul is as flawed as any human can be—missing sleeps, skipping family dinners, losing words and inspirations, being suspicious to noises, having unwritten thoughts putting on ties of colors he dislikes on his exhausted neck, and other emotions any under-pressured man may experiences.
Istirahatlah Kata-Kata was not a movie about loud literal voices being spoken. It was not a movie with bustling soundtracks on every scene. It was not a movie with engaging dialogues that let audiences understand everything without even have to think. Istirahatlah Kata-Kata was a movie about people being silenced. It was a movie about a regime so dictator they could actually shut people down by taking their lives, and they meant it. It was a movie about a regime so full of bastards, but they were afraid of words. It was a movie about words...much more powerful than any swords. Istirahatlah Kata-Kata was a retrospective solemnity that doesn’t try too hard to show its importance. We already knew it by heart.
Istirahatlah Kata-Kata was beyond brave and brilliant. I cried two times during the movie (precisely during the scenes I posted above). Everything about it was so emotional. Watching this movie made me wonder about how it feels like to live in that time. When your government was so sensitive even towards the slightest notion or movement of yours. When nowhere is safe. When government who ideally should be there to protect and uphold all sort of your human rights turned into a wolf that intimidated and silenced you down.
Watching this movie made me realize that all the so-called conflicts and problems we got in our country right now is insignificant compared to what our country experienced in the past. It’s shameful how we now fight each other over having perspective that vary. How we accuse each other for being wrong and condemn them for having different opinions. We worry too much, we fight too much that we forget to focus on what’s important. Our country experienced all kind of nightmares that this generation couldn’t even come close to imagine. Our country had dark, cruel, terrible secrets—and it’s unfair to keep it buried down. It’s a violation to continue being innocent for years to come. It’s time to bring the awareness back. It’s time to talk about it in public. It’s time to stop taking our easy life for granted.
It doesn’t matter whatever degree you took, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a multinational corporate manager or if you’re a labor. Wiji Thukul wrote to fought for all of us. His spirit should reverberate in all of us. Doesn’t know about him and his struggle is one thing, but knowing his name and a glimpse of what he has done yet refuse to know him further as a human is another. He fought for all of us. To watch this movie and to have his name on our mind and heart—even for just a moment, is a way of saying our gratitude. That wherever he might be at right now, he matters. And he lives. He still lives—he always lives all along in our mind and heart. His body might be missing and his whereabouts are unknown, but his voices will always be heard and his being will always be not just respected, but loved as well.
For those who have watched the movie and shared similar perspective with me, thank you for understanding his stories and being fully aware that his unknown whereabouts up until now is something we should not ignore, and please know that it matters. For those who have watched the movie and didn’t quite understand it, thank you for watching—for choosing to watch this movie when you have plenty choices and buying the tickets and helping it to get trending, it’s probably about time for you to read more about Wiji Thukul to understand him more, and please know that it matters. For those who haven’t watched the movie but having the intention to watch it, thank you for keeping this movie in your mind and for resonating his name over and over again, it is because of you that the movie get played on more and more cinemas, and please know that it matters. For those who haven’t watched the movie and didn’t have the intention to watch it, but read this blog entry anyway, thank you for being ignorant with a slight of curiosity—it can kill the cat (or topple down a regime!) if being put on the right place at the right time, and please know that it matters.
I’ve spent hours contemplating the words to say but no combination of twenty six different letters could ever accurately describe how brilliant the movie is or how it has made me feel. Last but not least, writing a movie review is totally not my cup of tea, but Istirahatlah Kata-Kata should definitely be everyone’s glass of water, so I wrote anyway.
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