Life-to-life Film Review: Horror Of Household Stories With Good Visuals

Laura Basuki - Ario Bayu (screenshot)

JAKARTA - The second week at the beginning of 2024 was colored by a number of film genres that were released. One of them, Semati's life directed by director Upi Avianto.

The poster, which looks mysterious, turns out to explain the different premises of Indonesian films released in recent months. This film has the main theme of marriage peppered with horror and suspend.

This film also stars three Citra Cup winners: Laura Basuki, Ario Bayu, and Asmara Abigail. Of course, the collaboration is also highly anticipated by the audience and the results can be seen through this film.

Semari Semathi tells the story of Renata (Laura Basuki) who lives with the idea that a wife must serve her husband. This departs from the condition of her mother who often experiences domestic violence, but continues to be loyal to her father.

Renata also grew up and found her soulmate, Edwin (Ario Bayu). The marriage that she thought bore fruit actually made her experience a similar situation to her mother. Towards the age of the third marriage, Edwin's attitude was even more abusive and indifferent to him.

Renata felt alone, because Edwin also forbade Renata to travel or leave the house. In the midst of that situation, Renata began to feel that there was a woman who lived with her and Edwin. However, every time he told about it, Edwin considered it hallucinatory or lying.

In the midst of this situation, Renata met with Asmara (Asmara Abigail), a neighbor of her apartment who often appears eccentric. Asmara was present to provoke the world of Renata, who had been focusing on Edwin and began teaching Renata about loving herself.

The presence of Asmara made Renata start to feel not alone, but she also felt even more disturbed by the voices of women she heard when she herself was in the apartment. Renata suspects Edwin is having an affair, and Renata is determined to save her marriage.

The story rolls out in a mysterious way, making the audience continue to be curious about what happened. The multi-layered sub-plot is full of complexities connected thanks to Renata's character. Laura Basuki has been impressive since she appeared in the first scene.

Laura shows the fragility of someone who is trapped but unconscious she is trapped. The story centers on dogma or religious opinion which often mentions that a woman must submit to men.

This narrative was clearly conveyed thanks to Lukman Sardi's presence as a priest. His appearance was short, but impressive.

In addition, this story is also supported by good visuals and cinematography. How they choose the point of view so that the audience is carried into the story is also very interesting. The nuances make this story even more intense.

There is a color transition that supports the story, starting with the dominance of dark blue which makes the situation of Renata and Edwin cold, but becomes red and colorful when Renata is with Asmara.

The slightly complicated flow, with too long duration, causes some hole plots. But that doesn't change the impression of mystery that has caught the attention of the audience.

The film Sehavi Semat presents a story of marriage and a relevant household in the community but with a mystery spice that Upi has presented in total. As a result, Semati's life looks fresh in the midst of the release of Indonesian films so far.

The film Sehavi Semat could be seen in Indonesian cinemas starting today, Thursday, January 11.