Yandy Laurens‘s previous film, “Falling in Love Like in Movies” was one of the best films of 2023, with his approach on the ‘film-about-film’ concept being as unique as it was smart. With “A Brother and 7 Siblings” however, he opts for a rather mainstream approach, that definitely aims to please the (Indonesian) audience. Let us see how he fares.
A Brother and 7 Siblings screened at Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival
After the untimely death of his older siblings, Moko, a struggling young architect, sees his dreams for studying for a master go to waste, as he has to become a single parent for a newborn baby, along with three more siblings, Woko, Nina and Ano. At the same time, he pushes his girlfriend, Maurin, away, as she continues on a path he also hoped to follow. His life is essentially tragic, with him barely having time to get work to support his younger relatives, while a bit later, a former piano teacher, even forces him to take in his daughter, Gadis, as he has to move abroad to work.
Gradually, however, some sense of balance appears, while, his older sister and her boyfriend, Eka, also come to help. Even more, with the help of Maurin, he manages to get a decent job. The problems, however, do not stop, while Moko also has to deal with his saviour complex.
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Evidently, Laurens here follows a fable-like path with his story, starting with the way the youths end up being by themselves, and continuing with the whole path of the narrative, including the romantic and the professional aspects. Furthermore, the “Shoplifters” vibe is quite evident, although “A Brother and 7 Siblings” moves into more approachable paths than Koreeda’s masterpiece. At the same time, the who will take care of whom and who will sacrifice the most concepts are rather stretched here, in intensely melodramatic fashion, with the same applying to the duration of the film, which could easily be quite briefer.
The film, however, is not without merits. For starters, there is a very interesting underlying comment about how particularly the men of the previous generation were essentially useless or even problematic and dangerous. The role Eka plays in particular, the piano teacher, and in a way, all the protagonists’ fathers highlights this comment subtly, but quite eloquently, with the same applying to the whole main story here essentially.
Furthermore, the charisma of the protagonists and particularly of Chicco Kurniawan as Moko and Amanda Rawles as Maurin is quite evident, with the two also having a great chemistry between them. Ringgo Agus Rahman as Eka gives a show-stealing performance, with the same applying to Freya Jayawardana as Nina and Ahmad Nadif as Ano, with chemistry, once more, being the key element here. The way Laurens implements humor in the movie, in the most unexpected moments, is also a testament to the prowess his direction, even if some of the jokes do have a rather local flavour.
Lastly, the drama in the movie and the sense of warmth the relationship of all the main protagonists emit is quite prevalent , essentially carrying the movie for the majority of its duration.
Dimas Bagus Triatma Yoga’s cinematography is somewhat excessive in the close ups, but in general works quite well, particularly in the moments many of the characters are together on screen. Hendra Adhi Susanto’s editing results in a fitting mid-tempo, although as mentioned before, the movie could definitely be briefer.
Essentially a soup-for-the-soul type of film, “A Brother of Siblings” is pleasant to watch for the majority of its duration and it could even have been great if Laurens toned down the crowd-pleasing elements and tightened his narrative.
