Film Review - Mama

Review Text-MAMA

Title:                  MAMA

Production Year:   2013

Director :            Andy Muschietti

Producers:           J. Miles Dale, Bárbara Muschietti

Writers:              Andy Muschietti
    Bárbara Muschietti

Screenplay by :     Neil Cross
    Andy Muschietti
    Bárbara Muschietti

Cinematography :  Antonio Riestra

Genre:               Horror

Starring:          Jessica Chastain
 Nikolaj Coster Waldau
 Megan Charpenter
 Isabelle Nélisse
 Daniel Kash
 Jane Moffat

Duration:        100 minutes

Language:        English

Distributed by : Universal Pictures

                                MAMA

Mama is a terrible horror film which is directed by Andy Muschietti, produced by J. Miles Dale, Bárbara Muschietti and distributed by Universal Pictures. This film is based on Muschietti's Spanish language short film "Mama" and it was released in theaters on January 18, 2013. This film is quit scary, horrible and full of surprise at least for half the scene. This film makes a lot of sense that interest those who enjoy watching horror film.

       The movie is about two little girls named Victoria and Lily who are abandoned by his father in the forest cabin. They are raised for five years by a ghost who is a crazy mental patient previously and she has died. They love her and they feel that a ghost is their Mom. When they are found by their uncle, Lucas and his girlfriend, Annabel, they take that two little girls and adopt them. At first, Victoria and Lily indicate a wild child behavior but after a few days Victoria becomes a normal child while Lily still looks like a trouble mental child.

A ghost called Mama is very creepy. She feels jealous and angry because that two little girls have real parents now. A ghost has felt that two little girls are her children because she has raised them for five years. Mysterious things start happening in the house and everyone feels the presence of a ghost.

       The greatest thing about this film to me is the setting and plots are interested and horrified. It makes a viewer who watches it set thinking what will happen in the next scene and does not want to move from the seat. The film indicates the affection, love and care from the uncle and his girlfriend to the family. The deficiency of this film is no doubt through the ending. I am sure most viewers are very disappointed with the ending that are strange and very confusing. I just put up a flat face after watching this film since its ending is very disappointing. Apart from the above shortcomings, Mama is still a horror film that is entertaining and fun.

      This is a wonderful horror film with a good storyline. The sound design is superb, the cinematography is stunning and the performance of all starring are pretty good, but it does not mean you are going to like this film if you do not like the horror genre. Well, no matter. I recommend this film for all ages especially the horror film’s lover. The powerful message delivered by Mama is a big love, care and affection of family which appears more touching than creepy and scary as should happen.

Novel Review

Novel Review - Perahu Kertas
By Mardhatillah

Book Title      : Perahu Kertas

Author           : Dewi Lestari “Dee”

Publisher        : Bentang Pustaka and Truedee Pustaka Sejati

Editor             : Hermawan Aksan

Distributor     : Mizan Media Utama

Pages              : 444 pages

Size                 : 20 cm x 13,5 cm

Release date    : August 2009

ISBN              : 978-979-1227-78-0

Price                : Rp 69.000,-

Language        : Indonesia
Genre              : Romance

I absolutely love this novel entitle Perahu Kertas. It is an Indonesian novel which is written by Dewi Lestari Dee. The manuscript of this novel is written in 1996 and was dead for 11 years. However, this novel can be finished in 55 days because of perseverance of a writer. Perahu Kertas is the sixth book of Dee after Rectooverso, Madre, both of the books are the collection of short story and the success of trilogy Supernova. At the first time, I think this novel just will tell about the love story of teenager. That is why, I do not really excited to read this novel. However, apparently after reading this one, it slowly evolved into an interesting novel and more complicated story than I thought. This novel tells the story of a teenager towards the process of maturity which starting from Kugy and Keenan big dream, a complex relationship between them, Kugy and Noni friendship, Keenan problems with his father, Kugy teaching in Alit school, continue with Keenan-Luhde and Kugy-Remi relationship.

Perahu Kertas talks about two adolescent named Kugy and Keenan who love each other by passing some complicated events in their life. Dubbed as one of the strangest person on earth, Kugy instantly feels a weird and strong connection with Keenan, whom she picked up from the train station with his cousin and the cousin's girlfriend. Affair between Kugy and Keenan as indeed destiny, both of them are dreamers. Together, both of them are in a long way towards realizing their dreams. Time by time ,the friendship between Kugy and Keenan is slowly wide apart, they are living with their own lives. The feeling that had seemed unattainable grow back, just like their dreams.

The story begins with Keenan who is an intelligent, artistic, and full of surprise person. He recently graduated from high school, who for six years living in Amsterdam with his grandmother. Keenan has the talent in painting and he did not have goals other than becoming a painter, but the deal with his father insisted he left Amsterdam and returned to Indonesia to continue his study in a university. Finally, Keenan is received in college, in the Faculty of Economics Bandung.

On the other hand, Kugy is an unique girl who is cheerful, cute but messy. She does not really think about her appearance, she is a girl who likes to fantasize and imagine something. She has a dream to be a fairy tale writer. Since childhood, Kugy really like a fairy tale. Not only has the collections and libraries, she also enjoys writing stories. Her goal is, she want to become an interpreters tale, but Kugy consideres that fairy tale writer is not aware to be a profession which received a convincing and easy environment. Do not want to escape from the world of writing, Kugy continued her studies at the Faculty of Letters.

Kugy graduated early and immediately decided to look for a job, she got a good job at an advertising production. There Kugy meet with her boss, he is Remi a handsome man which friendly and kind. While Keenan went to Bali to add insights on art and continue working. In Bali Keenan met a gracefully  girl named Luhde. Both of Kugy and Keenan has found their love, but their feeling can not lie.

Between Kugy and Keenan now facing a lot of problems which makes it all seemed impossible. Maybe, painting and fairy tales was never meant to be together. They are cannot express their true feelings to anyone, Kugy Writing a letter to sent to the Neptunus. Hoping the Neptunus would hear her screams were never spoken. The only thing that she remains is writing just the Perahu Kertas which floats in the river. Kugy even feel the letters that make her able to survive sane and strong. Her Story to the Neptunus whether there is or not. It is not a big problem for kugy, the most important thing she could breathe when she see Perahu Kertas floats. Now Kugy and Keenan face the complicated life which full of mystery and obstacles. Will Kugy and Keenan’s strong connection called “radar” work each other? Will a fairy tale writer unite with a painter ? Will Kugy and Keenan are born to be a couple or not?

This novel makes me want to read it again and again. The greatest thing of this novel to me is Dee style in writing was the one who managed to make everything be wonderful, sweet, and touching. The language that is used was very poetic, the story that mellow bring me away to the inside of the story. The other side which make me like this book the character of Remi or Remigius Aditya. Although he has appeared in the middle of the story, I felt the character of Remi is more steady, principled, determined, as well as fun. Moreover, the expressions of his love for Kugy think really feels genuine. Besides, the deficiencies of this novel are the readers tend to can guess the ending of the story, less challenging in terms of romance. The story is too much setting place so readers can get confused in understanding it. In some part of the novel, the story is convoluted that arise in boredom of readers. However, the rest of this novel is very interesting.

Perahu Kertas is a wonderful novel of Dee with an interesting storyline. We can learn from this novel that Heart is not to choose love, but it is chosen by love. Each heart can only re-surrender in love with a flowing stream somewhere. Like a paper boat that washed away in the trenches, in the pond, in the river, but it always comes down in the same place. I recommend for teenagers and adolescent to read this novel although the story is sometimes bitter, hurt, and doubt. However, this story is fulled with idealism, friendship, funny, tears, happiness, sadness, affection and love. This is one of the worthy novels I have ever read.