Garin Nugroho has built a career on expanding cinematic expression occasionally across boundaries, occasionally following interdisciplinary paths. “Samsara” a black-and-white film that is silent in terms of dialogue but filled with music, seems to be a title where the Indonesian’s style finds its apogee.
Samsara is screening at Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival

The story takes in place in Bali (where the film was actually shot), circa 1932 . Darta, a man from an impoverished family, who is rejected by the wealthy parents of the woman he loves, Sinta, makes a bargain with the Monkey King, performing a dark ritual to gain wealth. In this case, the wealth is mirrored in a rather expensive ornament Darta presents to Sinta, who eventually agrees to marry him. The two live happily and have a son after a while, but the deal turns out to be a curse involving the son being given to the Monkey King, while Sinta has to occasionally breastfeed both him and other monkey infants. Tragedy becomes a reality when the son reaches a young age and wants to return to the house to be with his mother, violating the boundaries between humans and animals.
The comments about choosing the easy way and ‘selling your soul to the devil” are not exactly unique, but this is definitely not the focus of “Samsara”. Instead, by choosing to implement an approach that is filled with tension and energy, deriving from both the combination of traditional and beat music (which actually sounds a lot like industrial) and Dayu Ani’s choreographies, he comes up with an audiovisual extravaganza that makes it very difficult to avert your gaze from the screen even for a second.
Particularly the various violent scenes will definitely stay in mind, with the movement of the physically impressive Ario Bayu and the rest of the cast being rather impactful, especially in the way the music and the movement come together. It is also here that both Batara Goempar’s overall excellent cinematography and Beck’s editing, with the cuts frequently being dictated by the music, find their apogee. The calm and dramatic moments are also impactful though, with the presence of Juliet Burnett as Sinta dominating, with her presenting her character’s transformation in the most impressive fashion.
Furthermore, the way Nugroho has incorporated various aspects of Indonesian tradition in the narrative, including Gamelan orchestra, traditional mask, masks and Wayang, essentially makes the film function as a tribute to local folklore, in an element that definitely enriches the narrative, giving it an essence that borders on the documentary, even if in an exhibition-like style.
All in all, and although the truth is that realizing the story and what is happening is not exactly easy, “Samsara” is a truly impressive film, which even stretches the concept of experimental cinema, in paths, though, that can actually appeal even to ‘the masses” particularly due to the excellent combination of image and sound.