The concept of harassment in the work place and the way the MeToo movement has intently dealt with it lately has been a topic that cinema has been dealing intently with during the last few years, with films like “Kim Ji-young: Born 1982” being among the first that come to mind. It seems, however, that there is another aspect to the whole concept, and that in some countries, like Indonesia in this case, the law of omerta still applies.
“Please Be Quiet” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
The story begins in the office of a company, where two colleagues and friends, Sara and Putri, are joking about their job, a bit before they leave for the night. Eventually, their boss, CEO Benny comes into their office and asks Putri to stay a bit longer in order to finish another deadline. The girl complains that she has not finished the assignment she has in her hands at the moment, and Sara volunteers to handle the new job herself. Benny, however, insists for the former to stay. Sara leaves, but eventually realizes that she has forgot a USB stick and returns to the office, only to find Benny making an “indecent proposal” to Putri. The girl runs away, and Sara also leaves unnoticed after a moment. The next day, to her surprise, she sees Putri in a whole other light, while soon she decides to confront the boss herself.
William Adiguna directs a 20-minute short which is split into two parts, the first one taking place during the night and and the second during the day. The timing actually plays a role in the narrative, as it gives him the opportunity to present one part as a neo noir thriller and the second as a horror movie with social repercussions. The combination works excellently, as it allows to keep the short both entertaining in its diversity and to portray his remarks from different perspectives. The first aspect benefits the most by Russell Wijaya's cinematography, particularly in the way he presents the night scenes and the “peaking” one most of all, with Adiguna's own editing also functioning quite well in that regard, through a very fitting pace, that gives a sense of movement to a movie that essentially takes place in a single location.
The shock of what Sara witnesses the next day is also well presented, while also serving a contextual purpose that becomes even more leveled in the finale. Even more shocking, however, is her behavior when she confronts her boss, in the most impressive scene in the movie, also for his attitude, which pragmatically presents the reality of how things work in Indonesia and how different the situation is from the US. Truth be told, her behavior somewhat mixes the message, essentially putting blame on both sides, but in the scope of presenting the issue from all sides, it works quite well.
The acting is also on a high level, if a bit TV-like on occasion, which is actually something that applies a bit to the whole story. Sheryl Sheinafia as Sarah presents her shock, resolve and disillusionment quite eloquently, while Verdi Solaiman as Benny makes a rather convincing “villain”. Canti Tachril as Putri is good, particularly in her cheerful interactions with Sheinafia.
On a last note, the work on the sound could have been a bit better, particularly in the “mute” moments, although not to a point to falter the overall sense the short emits.
“Please Be Quiet” is a very interesting film, that manages to make its pointed comments through a genre approach that also offers entertainment.
