Very rarely does the title of a film capture its narrative so accurately as in the case of “Stranger by Fiction”, a short that is weird, filled with humor and in an audiovisual style that seems to have taken some loans from Wes Anderson.
“Stranger by Fiction” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
As we learn through narration, Bonar, a filmmaker from Jakarta, has arrived at a hotel at Pelabuhan Ratu beach to search for inspiration about his new film. On the third day, however, when he returns to his room, he realizes that his laptop has been stolen. Thinking the housekeeper is the perpetrator, he asks the ever-smiling receptionist about what happened, but to his surprise, he can only speak in Sundanese, with the same applying to the rest of the guests and staff, who also seem to find something very funny in this situation. A perplexed Bonar tries to figure out a way to solve his problems in a language he does not speak, but eventually, a mysterious woman named Lilis approaches him, and in Indonesian, asks him to shoot a film about her grandparents, and then she will reveal who has his laptop. Bonar reluctantly agrees, and soon finds his protagonists in his room, Lilis taking over as director, and him having to work much more than he anticipated.
The combination of a totally surrealistic story, the frequent and fast cuts that transition into totally unexpected scenes, the rather fast delivery of dialogue, and the constant change of very fitting music result in a film that is quite entertaining and funny, while also highlighting all of its technical aspects. In that regard, DP Insan Burhansyah's framing is excellent, as much as his composition, which result in a number of impressive images in the film, both in the exterior and the interior shots. The same applies to Idan Firdaus's editing, whose frequent and abrupt cuts communicate the overall sense of quirkiness that permeates the narrative in the best fashion.
The acting, by Bryancini Galgala as Bonar and Ananda Virya as Lilis is also in complete resonance with the short's aesthetics, with the antithesis deriving from his almost stupefied confusion and her exemplification of knowing exactly what is going on and what she wants works excellently for the narrative. The fact that both of them also end up dancing and singing (Galgala's out of tune singing is hilarious) is another testament to the quality of their performance. The rest of the cast is also great, with both the grandparents and the receptionist adding much to the narrative, while the sudden laughter of the people portraying the staff and guests will definitely stay on mind.
All of the above, seemingly unconnected, styles and “tropes” come together in the most delightful way under the direction of Roufy Nasution, who manages to give meaning to surrealism while highlighting a comment about the fact that inspiration can come from the most unlikely places.
