After shooting “Trigger Warning” with Jessica Alba in Hollywood, Mouly Surya returns to Indonesia, adapting Mochtar Lubis’ 1952 novel “A Road with No End”. Her influences from Hollywood are quite evident (the way music is implemented for example), as much as from Ann Hui (in the style of “Our Time Will Come”) and a bit from Korean cinema, in the style of “Assassination”. Let us see what the mix resulted into though.
This City is a Battlefield is screening at International Film Festival Rotterdam
After a rather ironic intro where a propagandistic news video talks about the ousting of the Japanese Nazis from Indonesia and the greatness of British rule in the country, the narrative centers on the reality of 1946 in Jakarta. Food is scarce, the ‘rulers’ are nowhere to be found, instead implementing Dutch in British uniform and the Gurkhas to ‘keep the order’. Only in their case, order means shooting people in the street essentially for no reason, as the introductory sequences eloquently highlight: Baba Tan, a local grocer who is suspected of helping the resistance is murdered in cold blood, along with a number of other people who just happened to pass from the spot at the time of the operation.
In this setting, Isa, along with Hazil, son of a rather influential local entrepreneur, and a number of other comrades, are part of a cell who are preparing a hit particularly towards the Dutch. In order to do so, they are trying to put Isa, an excellent violinist, along with a number of other ‘revolutionaries’ into an orchestra that will play at a party that is to take place in Cafe Batavia, a gathering place for British NICA officials and the Dutch, in order to murder them. Isa’s wife, Faith on the other hand, tries to keep their family, including their young son, afloat, additionally dealing with her sexual frustration. Eventually, she is led into the arms of Hazil, creating an impossible situation for everyone involved.
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The first thing that becomes obvious here is that the story of the book probably needed a series length, since both the various arcs and the characters seem to suffocate in the 118 minutes of “This City is a Battlefield”. Furthermore, and conjunctively, there seem to be some issues with the direction of the narrative which lingers among family drama, erotic triangle, political thriller with a bit of action, resulting in a movie that goes towards a number of paths, but does not fulfill any of them. Perhaps the meddling of so many producers (it is listed as a co-production between Indonesia, Singapore, Netherlands, France, Norway, Philippines and Cambodia) resulted in this issue, although considering the fact that the movie looks expensive (for SE Asian standards at least) this seemed like a necessity. This actually extends to the editing of the movie, with IMDB mentioning six different editors, including Surya, which is never a good thing.
The above, however, does not mean the movie is without traits. On the contrary, “The City is a Battlefield” has a number of them. The first thing one will notice is the quality of the production values. Shot in a fitting 4:3 (which seems to become a trend nowadays in Asian cinema) the presentation of the city, equally in the interiors, the urban settings and the forests, is impressive, with the job done by DP Roy Muda Dato Lolang resulting in a series of truly memorable sequences. The coloring, which somewhat reminds of the scape in “Marlina”, also works particularly well, adding a noirish essence to the movie that intensifies its overall aesthetics.
At the same time, the social and historical comments about Indonesia at the time are communicated rather well. Particularly the concept of the European ‘saviors’ who present themselves as that but are essentially colonialist oppressors, is quite eloquent in its presentation, with the issues of survival the local face in their hands being indicative. Furthemore, the way the erotic triangle is shaped and the relationship of the three protagonists is explored is quite intriguing, adding a very appealing element of eroticism, and thus, entertainment in the film.
Lastly, the action scenes are both impressive and realistic, with the final one moving more towards the former and the initial one towards the latter. Surya’s direction and the editing finds its apogee in those scenes, which also thrive on the depiction of cruelty and the drama that permeates them, which actually also includes the aforementioned romantic arc.
The acting is also on a high level. Ariel Tatum has the most demanding role and she passes with flying colors, presenting her character’s many nuances with gusto. Particularly the first scene with her in bed with Hazil will definitely stay in mind as one of the best in the film. Jerome Kurnia in the latter role is also convincing, with his ‘sensitive playboy’ persona being depicted in convincing fashion. Chicco Jerikho as Isa has his bad and his good moments, with the casting in his case being somewhat problematic, although in the end, the sum definitely leans towards the positive side.
Although the execution has its issues, the subject matter (the overall story if you prefer), the production values and the acting allow “The City is a Battlefield” to move slightly above its shortcomings, in a film, though, that can be described as a missed chance.
