Yuni

A simple, honest & grounded effort that's crafted with sincerity and told with composure, Yuni concerns a bright high school girl who is obsessed with the colour purple and is determined to pursue her dreams but finds her world getting smaller when unexpected & unwanted marriage proposals start knocking on her doorstep while community expectations & superstitions further complicate her life.

Co-written & directed by Kamila Andini, the story makes for a fascinating coming-of-age drama but also dives into the patriarchal, conservative & regressive Indonesian society myth & mindset that considers marriage to be the be-all & end-all of a woman's existence. Andini captures all of it from the perspective & emotional journey of her young protagonist and showcases the wrongs that are rooted deeply enough to be considered norms.

The first two acts sustain the interest by covering the titular character's struggles with undiluted focus & raw intensity and Arawinda Kirana's authentic input not only allows the viewers to relate to her character's dilemma but also makes it easy for them to invest in her new experiences. The last act however unfortunately fails to stick the landing and is unable to provide a proper closure to everything that unfolded before and is one aspect that will divide the audience.

Overall, Yuni is a powerful, intimate & heartbreaking portrait of what it's like to be a young girl in Indonesia and doesn't shy away from illustrating the disturbing hardcore beliefs that continue to prosper there in the name of tradition. Benefitting a lot from Kirana's excellent showcase and all the more emboldened by Andini's fine script & candid direction, this coming-of-age drama is an essential & impressive offering from the Indonesian film industry and is undeniably worth a shot.

Obsessed with the color purple and confident in her dreams, Yuni is close to graduating from high school. Her grades are good, her parents supportive, and her future bright. This is until the unexpected and unwanted marriage proposals begin. Some are from total strangers and much older men. Marriage is a "blessing" people insist. Maybe so, but there seems to be no other path for women to choose, or a way for them to choose who they want to walk with. "I used to think I can do anything in life," Yuni says "now I don't anymore." She doesn't know what she wants, but it doesn't make her future dark. Together with a sympathetic boyfriend and a strong female mentor, Yuni plots her path in life. But it may not be up to her.

In Indonesia there are few options for women other than marriage and it is lucky if she has any say in the matter at all. This personal, intimate, and enthralling portrait of a young woman's emotional life reveals these constraints. The camera work is playful, moody, and colorful, like Yuni herself. Sounds and scenes reveal her emotional state. When Yuni is frustrated there is constant construction noise in the background or rainfall. When she is happy and feeling free she is at the seashore or riding her purple moped. Yuni's vital message is that girls are not allowed to participate fully in the world, but they need to.

World premiere seen at the Toronto international film festival. Winner of the platform prize.

This movie not only shows you how traditions vary in other cultures, but only which struggles they cause for the people affected by it. It manages to grab your mind and fully emerges you into this world and you try to imagine what you would do in such a situation or how you could possibly escape it.

A really important story to be told and brought to western societies. The quality of cinematography and sound is of course not on a top notch level, but this isnt important. Yuni shows, that a gripping story is ALL you need for a great movie, no matter if you film it on a RED or an iPhone.

The better and more advanced Indonesian film is, I am very proud. Hoping to get better and have more character in promoting Indonesian local values. Success in competing with foreign films.

What I like about Yuni, it feels honest with the dialogues, dynamics, and the characters. It doesn't shy away from the fact that they are not knowing technology, the contradiction between religious and cultural values, the merit of education in the coastline society. Rather than preaching, Yuni ask us to just follow and feel what she feels.

The honesty allows Yuni to build itself by putting little piece of sequences (e.g. Marriage proposals, friend's weddings, inclusion of side characters), which resembles life in its organic fashion. This type of narration risks to be dragging and boring, but Yuni with its simplicity manage us not only to engage until the end, but to care for the characters.

The ending is a little letdown since it's turning different than the whole vibe of the movie (hence 9/10), but I feel like it's an honor to the girls who already endure the reality. I recommend Yuni for those who enjoy movies like Siti, Perempuan Punya Cerita, Berbagi Suami, and Dua Garis Biru.