The Forbidden Door is a film which is unique in the current Indonesian cinema landscape, confirming director Joko Anwar’s position as the most ambitious and unconventional scriptwriter and director.
What is unique about The Forbidden Door comes from, above all, its cinephile stance - there are many cinematic references used in the film. As in the case of the other works written or directed by Anwar, The Forbidden Door is a skilful pastiche of genres, in which film noir, psychological thriller and even splatter film are combined for the enjoyment of postmodern cinephiles. In the case of this film, however, there is an explicit homage to the films and imagery of a particular auteur: one David Lynch. It will not be difficult for the audience to recognize the series of suggestive references and reminiscences, both visual and narrative, from Blue Velvet to Twin Peaks and Lost Highway to INLAND EMPIRE.
Beyond these delights for the most discerning of cinema lovers - Joko Anwar is himself an avid film watcher, with a particular preference for genre films - The Forbidden Door is defined by an extremely complex screenplay which leaves the audience with quite a few questions and doubts even after the end credits (let’s just say that there’s there is something to watch even after the credits)…
The second chapter of a trilogy which began with Kala (2007), which was not a big success, The Forbidden Door’s protagonist is Gambir (Fachri Albar), a sculptor who is enjoying a rather unexpected popularity thanks to his series entitled “Maternal Moods”. The sculptures in question portrays women in various stages of pregnancy, naked and in various poses, and each of them contain a secret, at the suggestion of Gambir’s wife Talyda (Marsha Timothy). This secret is causing him many sleepless nights, and as if that weren’t enough, Gambir is also suffering from a period of sexual impotence. Johnny, the art gallery owner, knows of this problem and is using it to blackmail him to continue with his series of sculptures, as it is making him a lot of money. One day, however, a mysterious cry for help appears before Gambir and Talyda’s front door: Tolong Saya! (“Help me”!) Before long, this sentence begins to appear in every aspect of Gambir’s life - someone, somewhere in the city needs a timely intervention from Gambir… He, however, becomes consumed by worry and delirium, which makes him question his relationships with his wife, his mother, the gallery owner and his best friends, Dandung and Rio. His anxiety climaxes with the most bloody Christmas dinner seen on film in recent years.
Joko Anwar weaves so many elements into The Forbidden Door that others would probably be able to create screenplays for three films with what he has used. He keeps the audience on their toes from the beginning of the film: after the initial conversation between Gambir and Talyda, a crane shot shows us a nearby cinema and the words “Now Showing”, which seems like a reminder from Anwar of the fictional nature of this story. Nonetheless, his control of the various narrative tones and twists in the plot is exemplary. All this makes for a film which is disturbing and fascinating at the same time, exploring significant themes and obsessions like maternity and abortion, the relationship between reality and imagination, childhood trauma and crises of masculine identity. The mise-en-scene, photography and art direction - particularly Gambir’s sculptures and the unsettling painting that covers the “forbidden door” - all show a refinement and originality which is rare in Indonesian cinema. This exuberant creativity is even evident in the opening credits, which are, without doubt, the most delectable seen in an Indonesian film in years - the same is true for the film posters. The Forbidden Door has a lot in common with Fiction., the other feature film written by Joko Anwar last year: their fascination with the fine line between imagination and reality, the fact that they are unabashedly genre films and that they are both undoubtedly the artistic highlights in recent Indonesian cinema - and finally, they are both being presented at Udine this year!
Paolo Bertolin