Whenever I talk to people from Malaysia or Indonesia, they do not fail to mention that the mainstream cinema of their countries, and essentially the most popular movies, consist mostly of horror and romantic movies. These titles are very rarely exported, to festivals for example, but it seems that in recent years, Netflix, in its constant search for context, has decided to pick up a number, thus allowing them to reach an international audience. Perhaps the reason is the success of directors like Joko Anwar, who has managed to raise the horror genre to rather high levels. Ruben Adrian attempts to do something similar with “Spirited”, by mixing horror with fantasy, in a combination that is quite popular nowadays.
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“Spirited” or “Jagat Arwah”, the Indonesian name of the film, opens up with an introductory scene about the mythology that forms the main story, which is as generic as possible. A powerful object named Jagat Stone is the reason for the balance between the spirit and the human realms. The Aditya Clan are in charge of protecting the stone, but (surprise, surprise) there are some evil guys who want to get their hands on the stone and plunge the world into chaos. Raga, a young man who wants to be a rockstar, has no clue that his father, Sukmo, is actually a member of the Clan, continuously pinning him down for his lack of ambition and overall demeanor, with the relationship of the two being in a rather bad spot. When Sukmo is killed, however, Raga has to embrace his messianic properties, with the help of Dru, his father's bodyguard, and of Jaya's, his father's collaborator. As two mysterious women, Nonik and Kunti also become part of the story, Raga has to make a number of decisions and decide who his friends and who his enemies are.
The reason this movie is on Netflix, and will probably be popular in Indonesia, is quite evident, if one takes a look at the cast. Claura Kiehl, who plays Nonik, has almost 9 million followers on Instagram, Sheila Dara Aisha, who plays Kunti, 1.2 mil, Ari Irhamm, who plays Raga, 3.6 mil, and Ganindra Mimo, who plays Dru, 1.3 mil. As such, the popularity of the movie is guaranteed, but unfortunately, as is usually the case with similar castings, quality is not. And if Kiehl and Aisha can somewhat hold their own, despite their badly written characters, the same does not apply to the aforementioned men, who end up portraying paper thin characters without any particular artistry. Essentially the only exception, in terms of characterization and acting is Oka Antara as Jaya, who emerges as the most interesting character throughout the movie.
As it becomes obvious, though, the main issue of the movie is the writing, with the main story being as cliche as possible, from the general mythology to the young superhero who does not know his legacy and is unwilling to save the world, to the villains who appear as allies and everything between. Plus, the main protagonist is rather unappealing, essentially an immature boy who does not know how to handle himself at all in any aspect, with his behavior becoming quite annoying after a fashion. Dru's arc could hold some dramatic interest through the failing bodyguard concept, but Ruben Adrian unfortunately chooses to deal epidermically with the whole thing.
On the other hand, in terms of production values, the movie is definitely on a good level, maybe with the exception of the presentation of Dru. As such, the various SFX, starting with the introductory ones, are impressive, with the same applying to the presentation of the girls and the various fight scenes. Especially the last one is where the movie finds its apogee, both in terms of drama and production values, to the point that one could wonder why there was not more of this in the rest of the film. The coloring is also good, while Yadi Sugandi's cinematography captures both the urban and the bucolic and the supernatural setting with gusto. Lastly, the mostly stoner music also works well when it is heard through the film.
Perhaps “Spirited” will find some merits with the fans of the stars of its cast, but as a movie, it makes very little sense, resulting in a spectacle that is barely watchable.
