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'Sampai Jumpa, Selamat Tinggal' questions the redemptive power of love
Director-writer Adriyanto Dewo and his actors, Jourdy Pranata and Jerome Kurnia, dissect the anatomy of their latest Indonesian film and why a single word, or its absence, can fundamentally transform a story.
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At arm's length: In portraying a man struggling with trauma and emotional distance, Jerome Kurnia's body language serves as his character's hardwired response to his present reality. (Adhya Pictures & Relate Films/-)
A
ny cinephile familiar with Adriyanto Dewo's filmography would agree that the film director-writer has always had a soft spot for, what appear to be, cold-hearted characters. That being said, his latest theatrical entry, Sampai Jumpa, Selamat Tinggal (official English title: Goodbye, Farewell), touches on the more draconian side of human aloofness. His characters, this time, are people who deliberately choose a life of non-existence. The ones who prefer to be invisible, who prefer a harsher life instead of a familiar one.
Why the fascination, though?
"I've always been interested in themes of loneliness," Adriyanto, in a conversation with The Jakarta Post, answered. "It's hard to explain why I'm leaning toward that. I've always felt like that's something I want to convey through my characters in a story I've chosen."
As Sampai Jumpa, Selamat Tinggal unfolds, the audience will soon discover that both those who leave and those who are left behind are not exactly blameless saints. The “whys” become too difficult to answer. And then, there comes the time when Adriyanto's characters, just like we mere mortals, must also answer the follow-up question: Now what?
The missing 'L' word
Sampai Jumpa, Selamat Tinggal follows Wyn (Putri Marino) as she attempts to locate her long-lost lover, Dani (Jourdy Pranata), in Seoul. Out of impulse, she begs for assistance from Rey (Jerome Kurnia), a stranger and a fellow Indonesian whom she coincidentally bumps into. As the story unfolds, Rey turns out to be an immigrant worker who may be residing in the country illegally.
