Intervju med Joko Anwar
Joko Anwar er kjent for sin særegne, sterkt visuelle stil, som påkaller både Hitchcock og Almodóvar. Bli nærmere kjent med den indonesiske filmskaperen i dette intervjuet.
«The basic purpose of making movies, I think, is to voice your opinion about society. But you have to do it in a form of entertainment.»
When Joko Anwar was five years old he peeked through the ventilation window at the local cinema. He had no money to buy tickets, so he continued to look through the window and started to dream about being an actor. Anwar studied aeronautical engineering after High School, but his interest in film got him a job as a reporter and film critic instead.
We ask Joko if working as a film critic has shaped him in any way as a director:
– I never enjoyed working as a film critic because I had to note down the pluses and the minuses of a film. I like to just sit back and enjoy a film. But I guess it helped me in the way that it made me think about what works and what does not work in a movie. You can't really learn the greatness of a filmmaker, because it’s his or her own art. What you can do is sidestep the mistakes that other filmmakers made in a movie.
Anwar seems to be quite a film buff, and the fact that he prefers enjoying films than critiquing them is quite clear when we ask about the films that have influenced him the most.
– I grew up watching Kung Fu films and B-movie flicks. I guess those have been my biggest influence. But two movies that really made me convinced to make films are Legend of Eight Samurais (1983, Kinji Fukasaku) and True Romance (1993, Tony Scott). Those movies really blew my mind. It's cinematic and so exciting. I also love old Indonesian B-movies. They are just outrageous. I'm not sure if they have inspired me, though. But I love the badness in a movie. I think they're poetic.
The inspiration of these kinds of films is apparent in Anwar’s thrillers, but unlike most B-movies, Anwar’s films are praised for their original screenplays and great cinematography. It must also been pointed out that there is a distinctive personal style to his films. Anwar claims however that he is not very conscious about those things:
– I never focus on visuals. Every decision that I make is purely according to what I think will make a scene work. I might use framing, lightings, sound, music, etc. Not for the sake of style, but for how to nail a scene so people will get what I'm trying to say or what I want them to feel. So I don't really know if I leave a signature in my films. If people think I do, I guess it's a good thing then.»
Currently Anwar is working on the trilogy A Copy of Trilogy, in which the first part will take place in Jakarta’s upper class, the second in the lower class, and the third in the discord in between. It seems more political than his earlier films, and he is quite clear about why he is a filmmaker;
– The basic purpose of making movies, I think, is to voice your opinion about society. But you have to do it in a form of entertainment. So people will be entertained while watching your films, but after the movie ends, there'll be something important stuck in their mind. That is your statement about society.
We are showing three of his latest films at the Films from the South Festival. These trailers will give you a hint of what you can expect: