Review Of Inang Film, Mother's Love Story Of Struggle Maintains Fruits Through The Kejawen Ritual

JAKARTA - Mother's love throughout life is not returned by the child. Parents, especially mothers, will do everything, even the worst thing for the survival of their children.

This is roughly the outline of the story presented in director Fajar Nugros' first horror thriller film, Inang, which officially opens in cinemas throughout Indonesia on October 13, 2022.

Quoted from ANTARA, Wulan (played by celebrity Naysilla Mirdad) and Eva (Lydia Kandou) are both struggling to save their son from evil forces that want to take over the child's life. This is a reality of life wrapped in the myth of Javanese Wekasan or Rebo Wekasan. The ritual known to the Javanese people is usually carried out on the last Wednesday in Safar Month in the Hijri calendar.

Some people believe it is a bad day so they have to perform rituals in order to avoid misery and all kinds of disasters or trials. There are various versions of the history of the birth of this ritual, one of which cannot be separated from the Mataram Palace with the Sultan Agung, who used to be a conton in Pleret.

This ritual has been held since 1600. At that time, there was a disease outbreak or pagebluk so that people believed it was necessary to perform a ritual to reject the reinforcements of this disease and Rebo Wekasan was held as a form of prayer.

Actually, the myth in society in the era of the presence of advanced technology is still sustainable today. The rituals related to myths are still being carried out by some people in various regions in Indonesia and some are even a special attraction for foreign tourists.

The way people respond to Rebo Wekasan in each region is different. In Wonokromo Village, Bantul, Yogyakarta, the tradition of rejecting reinforcements related to Rebo Wekasan was realized by the creation of a giant glueper which was then distributed to residents or people who attended the event.

Meanwhile, in Banyuwangi, East Java, a tradition of sea picking was held by some coastal communities on Waru Doyong Beach.

In Inang, the Rebo Wekasan ritual was held quite sadistic, at the expense of two lives at once. Blood, sweat, tears and hopes are one. Only those who are determined and truly believe that there is a bad day capable of doing it.

Every 10 years, ritual implementers must provide pregnant women before giving birth as a sacrifice. In return, there are lives that will survive all kinds of harm for the next 10 years. Eva has proven this to her own son until the age of the child reaches the third head. After the age of 30 years, is this still valid?

Wulan was originally the target of Eva and her husband (played by actor Rukman Rosadi). However, he smelled a foul smell slowly and unexpectedly received Bergas (Dimas Anggara) assistance to escape. The escape of Wulan and Bergas is not easy. There is a high price that he has to pay for this.

Fajar slowly buried the audience's mind in the story of Wulan, who was described as an unsecured young woman who earns sustenance in the city of Jakarta. She is only one of many people with a bitter childhood experience who struggles in big cities.

One mistake in his life, namely believing in an irresponsible man. He lived alone. The choice is wrong in life which then brought Wulan to a new chapter as a mother-to-be, without a husband.

Wulan's choice is only three, namely giving birth and raising her child alone, having an abortion at a young gestational age or giving custody of her child to someone else. Wulan firmly chose the third and this choice brought her to the snares of Eva and her husband. However, is this Wulan's final choice?

Like the thriller genre in general, Fajar's various tensions are present throughout the film. Visualization and deafening sounds seem to make some spectators shocked.

For those who don't really like the horror genre, Inang seems relatively terrible. The horror was created without having to give rise to the figure of a creature making the skin stand typical of horror films. The actors' acting through their role played a major role in generating horror. The choice of a place setting, special visual effects are also a strong supporting element.

Fajar really frees the audience to believe in the truth of Rebo Wekasan or only considers it a myth. The end of Inang's story seems to lead the audience to one in two answers. However, according to him, this is not absolute because there are other variables that should be considered.