Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

I had no memory of the first Arisan film, so I had to go back and read my review to get some context before I watched this second part. As the original source material, this film is not queer per say, in fact it is so much more about a group of female friends, but the stories of the prominent gay characters continue here as well and I think it deserves a mention rightly here on my blog. The film kicks off 8 years after the events of the first film happened. The gay couple Sakti and Nino have broken up. Meimei is now divorced and Andien is now a successful person after losing her husband. We have a few new characters who join as well. The film starts with Meimei anther young son (or is it her friend's) spending time on an island getting therapy from a doctor Tom. The two have connection but we are later told that Meimei has cancer and is dealing with her issues. Nino now has a much younger boyfriend and this makes Sakti not happy, He has still not completely gotten over his ex. His ...

A story of love and journey of reconciliation between a religious daughter and an estranged transvestite father over the course of one night in the streets of Jakarta. It gives a very interesting perspective from two different angles and doesn't sugar coat anything. The film kept it real with respect of emotions, truth and the bond between the two. The story is simple. A 199 year old girl Cahaya, a deeply religious person with strong Islamic values comes to Jakarta to meet her estranged father who left her when she was four. She somehow has an address for him. To her complete surprise, the father she is looking for turns out to be the face of a stranger, a transvestite man named Ipuy, working as a prostitute in the streets at night. In the initial minutes after encountering each other, both are shocked at the turn of evens. The innocent Cahaya is crushed at her father's choices and hesitant. But over the course of the night they wander in the streets of Jakarta until the dawn a...

I actually never knew and to be honest, didn't expect to see an Indonesian film with gay characters at its center. The film released almost 19 years back, so I can only imagine what a scandal it must have been to release this in mainstream cinema. Compared to other Asian countries, whose tolerance for LGBTQ members is much higher and accepted, countries like Indonesia and Malaysia are still struggling. The film is primarily about two best friends. Meimei is a successful working woman married to an equally successful man. But they not having children is starting to cause stress in their relationship. We then meet Sakti, a young charming man, one of the most eligible bachelors in town, her colleague. Sakti has been dealing with his gay feelings and has been seeing a psychiatrist for this. Although he does a good job of portraying himself straight. A grow of successful wealthy housewives have a weekly/monthly gathering where they gossip and Meimei is invited to these gathering. One da...