(Trigger warning: Rape, sexual violence) It’s been a while since I walked out of an Indonesian movie with pure joy and sheer hope for the future of Indonesian cinema. Seperti Dendam, Rindu Harus Dibayar Tuntas (with its English title Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash) did just that.
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One of the most underappreciated roles in our society is the labor behind housework and caregiving. There are lots to do to maintain the upkeep of our households — laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc — but these menial tasks keep the household together and, most importantly, keep us alive and put food on the table.
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Near the beginning of summer this year, I heard a loud explosion from outside my house. It sounds like both a bang and an explosion, but what intrigued me was that it doesn’t sound like anything I’ve ever heard before.
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It’s been two days yet I still can’t stop thinking about Red Rocket. Fresh off its NYC premiere at the New York Film Festival, it feels very refreshing to watch the film on a big screen. The premise might be really simple: Mikey, a washed up porn star, returns from LA to his industrial hometown in Texas City. However, Red Rocket is so much more than meets the eye: behind the laughter and the groans, Red Rocket is a grim window to understanding how the neoliberal US empire affects its unassuming citizens in subtle ways.
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I hyped myself up really hard before watching Titane. I’m a pretty squeamish person and I usually don’t enjoy anything remotely close to body horror/body transformation horror, so I told myself after the film won the Palme D’Or that I’ll just sit this one out. However, after seeing how well it was received around the world and giving myself time to brave myself up, I headed to a screening near me.
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I remember my first days in New York City, when I had just freshly transferred to Columbia University from my community college.
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jika saya disuruh memilih memori kesukaan saya di new york, saya harus berpikir lama dulu. namun, di antara semua memori ini, salah satunya adalah perjalanan bersama tante saya ke queens.
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Sometimes, in my subway rides, when I forgot to bring a book or download a short story for me to read, I observe my surroundings. Around me are faces of New Yorkers; people that I might never know, or—who knows—people that I might get to know in the future. Read More
I came out of the theatre baffled. I spat out words—incoherent ramblings—to my poor non-Indonesian friend who thought this trip is some kind of an Indonesian cultural immersion for him. I watched Edwin’s Posesif last night through a screening held by the Indonesian Film Forum in New York City, and I still don’t know how to feel about the movie. Read More
Let’s face it, middle school is the most embarrassing moment of our lives. I feel like I’ve blanked out that part of my life so that I have a hard time piecing it together for this review. Read More
PATRCA 