''Opera Jawa'' (''Requiem from Java'') is a 2006 Indonesian-

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as brea ...

directed by

Garin Nugroho Garin Nugroho Riyanto (born 6 June 1961) is an Indonesian film director. Biography Nugroho was born in Yogyakarta, Special Region of Yogyakarta on 6 June 1961. He was the fourth child of postal workers Soetjipto Amin and Mariah, who eventually ...

that features traditional

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

nese

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...

and

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

in a setting of

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

that is inspired by the " Abduction of Sita" episode from the

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...

.Catsoulis, Jeanette. January 16, 2008. ocation.href?ex=1332475200&en=709faf668585ee66&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink Unrest, a love triangle and swinging hips ''The New York Times''; retrieved 2008-01-23 The film was commissioned for

Peter Sellars Peter Sellars (born September 27, 1957) is an American theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays. Sellars is professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), whe ...

' New Crowned Hope festival in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

. In addition to music by Rahayu Supanggah, the film features

installation art Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called ...

production design by Nanang Rhamat.

Plot

Siti (

Artika Sari Devi Artika Sari Devi Kusmayadi (born 29 September 1979) is an Indonesian actress, model and the winner of Puteri Indonesia 2004 (Miss Universe Indonesia), She also representing Indonesia in 2005 Miss Universe pageant in Bangkok, Thailand. She i ...

) and Setio ( Martinus Miroto) are a married couple living in a small village. They were once dancers in plays depicting the ''

'', but have since retired from the stage to sell earthenware pottery. Siti used to play the part of

Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

, the wife of Prince

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bei ...

, whom Setio portrayed. In an episode from the ''Ramayana'', Siti becomes the object of desire of evil King

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic '' Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. He ...

and is abducted by him. The events of the ''Ramayana'' are paralleled in the characters' real lives when Ludiro (Eko Supriyanto), a butcher who rules over all the village's business affairs, tries to seduce Siti.

Release and reception

Film festivals

''Opera Jawa'' was one of several films commissioned by

for the New Crowned Hope Festival in 2006 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of

. Other films commissioned for the project included ''

I Don't Want to Sleep Alone ''I Don't Want to Sleep Alone'' is a 2006 Malaysian-Taiwanese romantic drama film written and directed by Tsai Ming-liang. Lee Kang-sheng stars in a dual role as a brain-dead patient and as an injured homeless man. The film also stars Norman ...

'' by

Tsai Ming-liang Tsai Ming-liang (; born 27 October 1957) is a Malaysian-Taiwanese filmmaker. Tsai has written and directed 11 feature films, many short films, and television films. He is one of the most celebrated "Second New Wave" film directors of Taiwanese ...

and ''

Syndromes and a Century ''Syndromes and a Century'' ( th, แสงศตวรรษ ''S̄æng ṣ̄atawǎat'', literally ''Light of the Century'') is a 2006 Thai drama film written and directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. The film was among the works commissioned fo ...

'' by

Apichatpong Weerasethakul Apichatpong Weerasethakul ( th, อภิชาติพงศ์ วีระเศรษฐกุล; ; ) is a Thai independent film director, screenwriter, and film producer. Working outside the strict confines of the Thai film studio system, ...

. The film had its world premiere on August 7, 2006, at the Jogja-

NETPAC The Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) is a worldwide organization of 29 member countries. It was created as the result of a conference on Asian cinema organized by Cinemaya, the Asian Film Quarterly, in New Delhi in 1990 at the inst ...

Asian Film Festival. It was then screened at several

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

s, including the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

, the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

, the

Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Fest ...

and Nantes Festival of Three Continents. In 2007, its festival screenings include the

International Film Festival Rotterdam The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Since its foundation in 1972, it has maintained a focus on independent and experimental f ...

, Belgrade's FEST, the

Cleveland International Film Festival The Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) is an annual film festival based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is the largest film festival in Ohio. It was first held in 1977, showing eight films over a period of eight weeks at the Cedar Lee Theatre. ...

, the

Singapore International Film Festival The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) (Chinese: 新加坡国际电影节) is the longest-running film festival in Singapore. Founded in 1987, the festival has a focus on showcasing international films and providing a global platform fo ...

, the

Cambridge Film Festival The Cambridge Film Festival is the third-longest-running film festival in the UK. The festival historically took place during early July, but now takes place annually during Autumn in Cambridge. It is organised by the registered charity Cambri ...

and the

Era New Horizons Film Festival New Horizons Film Festival (previously: Era New Horizons; pl: Nowe Horyzonty) is an international film festival held annually in July in Wrocław, Poland. It has been organised since 2001. It is one of the biggest and most popular film festival ...

. There were theatrical releases in 2007 in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. It received a limited theatrical release in January 2008 at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of t ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

.Opera Jawa (2006) Release dates
Internet Movie Database; retrieved 2008-01-20

Critical response

The film has generated praise from critics, with a rating of 100% (fresh) on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, based on 13 reviews.Opera Jawa
Rotten Tomatoes; retrieved 2008-01-20

Awards and nominations

''Opera Jawa'' won the Best Composer award for Rahayu Supanggah at the

inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugur ...

Asian Film Awards Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

. It was also one of six nominees for Best Film at the 1st Asian Film Awards. It was nominated for Best Feature Film at the 2007

Asia Pacific Screen Awards The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) is an international cultural initiative overseen by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy and headquartered in Australia. In order to realise UNESCO's goals of promoting and preserving the different cultures th ...

. It won the Silver Screen Award for Best Film at the 2007

.Opera Jawa (2006) Awards
Internet Movie Database; retrieved 2008-01-20

References

External links

* * * * {{Silver Screen Awards for Best Film 2006 films 2000s Indonesian-language films 2000s musical films Films directed by Garin Nugroho Films shot in Indonesia Indonesian musical films Austrian musical films