Recipient of the Sonje Award in this year's Busan, “The Sea Calls for Me” rounded up the impressive presence of Indonesian film in the festival this year, along “Yuni” and “Photocopier”.
“The Sea Calls for Me” is screening at Busan International Film Festival
Sura, a young boy, is living alone, without his parents, in a rundown fishing village. He earns money for chores, mostly in the local fish market, while he is waiting for his father to return, something that does not seem particularly likely. One day, he finds a broken sex doll washed ashore, and tries to fix it. He patches “her” up, and then asks another local boy, older than him, to help him by loaning his pump. Sura, being so young, does not want the doll for sexual reasons, but as a surrogate from the most important thing missing from his life. Soon, however, the other boy comes asking for the doll too.
Tumpal Tampubolon directs a film that is equally delightful, sensitive, and dramatic, focusing on the blights of life of the lower “castes” of Indonesia, the need particularly for kids to have a family, and the absurd ways they find to cope with this ellipsis. This last aspect, and the way the sex doll is implemented is one of the best aspects of the narrative, as it emerges as both rather smart and hilarious at the same time.
The second great aspect of the short is its finale, which manages to criticize violence and the places it derives from, assumption, and to highlight the goodness in people and the different ways children can come to age at the same time, while surprising the viewer in the most ingenious way. Both the build up and the conclusion of this part are excellent, in another testament to the great ideas Tampubolon implemented in his film.
The production values are also on a very high level. Vera Lestafa captures the almost dystopian setting with realism and artistry, while not omitting to present the beauty that can be found in every seaside place. Rita Yossy's production design is also excellent in the same regard, and in the way the interior of the rundown hut is presented, while Kelvin Nugroho's economic editing allows for both the story and the comments to unfold comfortably in the 18 minutes of the short.
Lastly, Muhammad Umar's acting in the protagonist role is excellent, as he manages to catch the essence of the movie in a laconic, but also quite eloquent fashion.
“The Sea Calls for Me” is a masterclass in short filmmaking, and one of the best titles we have seen this year.
