Garin Goes Retro in Shakespeare-Inspired Drama Starring Chicco Jerikho, Pevita Pearce
Jakarta. Director Garin Nugroho gives his take on the currently trending retro theme in film making in "Aach... Aku Jatuh Cinta," or "Chaotic Love Poems," starring Chicco Jerikho and Pevita Pearce, which will open in theaters nationwide on Thursday (4/2).
Garin describes his latest movie as being inspired by "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare with cartoon humor a la "Tom and Jerry." The film premiered at the Busan International Film Festival and Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival last year.
Speaking at a press conference in Jakarta on Friday, Garin said the Busan version was longer and has a different ending.
"Mainly, we need a unique way of telling a story about changes in Indonesia. This is like a wild comedy that has never been seen before," said Garin, who also wrote the script for the movie.
Chicco plays Rumi, a boy who falls in love with Yulia (Pevita), a young girl who lives across the street. They grow up and even go to the same school together, but a family feud keeps them apart. Chicco said he is not an avid Shakespeare fan and the script was challenging as most of the dialogue consist of poems.
"I practiced with Pevita a lot, and we repeat our dialogues over and over until it comes naturally between us," he said.
Garin said, one of the ways of making sure his lead actors get used to his story telling in this movie is to text them poems.
"We would text each other poems and just random romantic lines, and they were obliged to reply with equally poetic lines," he said.
The movie is set in the 70s, 80s and 90s as Garin tried to capture cultural changes in Indonesian society. He deliberately did not name the town where his characters live, but the influence of global exposure to Indonesian culture is clear to see. This includes the part where it was not socially acceptable for women to dress up and wear red lipstick. Rumi at one point becomes angry and steals a tube of red lipstick from Yulia after catching her putting on some makeup.
There was also a a sentiment towards imported goods, which is told through Rumi's storyline. Rumi's father sells homemade lemonade and loses his job when multinational beverage companies began selling their products in Indonesia.
The use of such strong symbols, such as red lipstick and homemade lemonade, is what makes "Chaotic Love Poems" stands out among the latest dramas and comedies in theaters nationwide.
"Overall, we wanted this movie to show our young viewers about Indonesia back then. The plot is unique and educative," Pevita said.
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