Film Review: The Forbidden Door

The new hairdo, will never do.

The Forbidden Door (2009)

Overall Score: 83%

Certified: Trumpeter Swan

Score Breakdown:

Performance: 75% Plot: 90% Script: 85% Visuals: 80% Music: 90%

I've had my fair share with Indonesian movies. Let's just say that majority of the movies made to fill the cinemas are not worthy enough to be paid for. Especially with the Horror and Comedy movies that is trying to combine it with sexual themes that makes me feel like poking my eyes out. Well, at least I think so. But this is different. Actually, that is how I honestly feel about the entertainment industry. There are good ones, though. I'm not saying all of them are bad in my eyes, but it takes time to wait and effort to find a good movie, or bands and music and literatures. Usually I find the indie department of entertainment undiscovered, or unappreciated, where as the best movies, music and stories come from the minds of Indonesian indie artists. It's nice that this movie, The Forbidden Door is an indie art that went mainstream.

The Forbidden Door was not a commercially successful movie in its own country, but gained positive praises from the world, as it was screened on numerous international film festivals (usually that's what happen to almost every good entertainment in Indonesia). It was adapted from the literature novel of the same (Indonesian) name, penned by Sekar Ayu Asmara.

The Forbidden Door (Pintu Terlarang) is a psychological thriller that has this claustrophobic feeling. It tells a story of Gambir (Fachri Albar), a top best-selling sculptor who is at his highest peak of career. His art is an exploitation of pregnant women, where his statues are all involve pregnant women, posed in compromising positions. In his succesful life, he have his mother Menik Sangkoso (Henidar Amroe), his best friends Rio (Otto Djauhari), and Dandung (Ario Bayu), and a loving-but-actually-deceptive wife, Talyda (Marsha Timothy). When we thought everything is going well, it turns out that there's a lot of secrets and mysteries in his life that we will find along this movie that involve babies, a secret organization, a child, and of course murders (I don't really know what more can I expose without risking any chance spoiling the movie, sorry).

Along the movie, the cast performed very well. Fachri Albar successfully portrays a weak, helpless character and a strong, powerful men. His character is put in a very scary position, it's nice to see such struggle throughout the movie. And it helps since his face is beautiful. Talking about beauty, Marsha Timothy played a mysterious, alluring and an exotic character. Her grace and deceptiveness plays a great role in adding a thrilling atmosphere with her beautiful and classic face can easily express various emotions. Their chemistry is wonderful in creating a toxic relationship and marriage. Other supporting character like the best friends and the mother, turns out not so supportive after all - in a good way. I mean, their character's involvement in the story is more then just supportive, it held a key to this whole mystery. Everyone has performed their characters at their best. 

The plot is very fast-paced. It kept my heart racing throughout the entire movie. It's a psychological thriller, so it does play with your mind and have a killer ending. Although, I could already partially tell what's the ending's going to be like, I wouldn't say that this movie is easy to guess, or an open book. The setting and the visuals is very unsettling. The brownish, orangish and reddish color theme of the setting, the old roads and buildings, pieces from the 50's, from the Warholian era can be seen in this movie. Even the building, the places, it has tension on every tiles, every staircase and every walls. The music is brilliant. It's so theatrical, so performance art and stage drama. The music, the opening sequence and the fonts used in this movie brings us back to movies - American or international movies in the past, like in the 70's. The combination of classical, backward themes such as settings and music, and the modern dynamic literature gives a good turnout.

Near the end, I think that the story gets a teensy little bit boring. It doesn't bore me to death, but maybe because I can sense the ending, I lost my excitement. Also, there's a little disappointment when it comes to the property usage in near the end. All I could say is that there will be blood, but the blood here, and the realness of how the blood would come out is a little loose. It wasn't as  brilliant as how it was seen in Macabre (Rumah Dara) (2010), that was directed by The Mo Brothers that had a very realistic presentation of blood, violence and gore. But overall Joko Anwar has directed another great great great movie. His movies are always stunning, not to mention his production of a musical (that unfortunately I did not catch). He's one of the pioneers that would help the future in Indonesian entertainment. This is his first movie that I've watched, and I'm looking forward to watch his past works, and wait for him do magic in the future. 

+R