Film Style in Indonesian Cinema, 1998-2018: Lighting, Production Design and Camera Movement

by Ari Purnama

Overview

Film Style in Indonesian Cinema, 1998—2018 investigates the role of film style during the rebirth of Indonesian cinema following the collapse of General Suharto's New Order regime. Purnama argues that the renewal of Indonesian cinema was influenced by filmmakers who revamped the cinematic images of Indonesian film by foregrounding visual stylisation using cinematography and production design techniques. They transformed the aesthetic of Indonesian film to become stylistically complex with a pronounced degree of visual sophistication, offering local audiences pictorially appealing and engaging cinematic experiences.
Through a close analysis of lighting, production design, and camera movement in contemporary films such as　Sang Pencerah, Laskar Pelangi, and The Raid: Redemption, Purnama highlights the significance of film style and the art of film—making to the cinematographers and production designers who revitalised Indonesian cinema in the 21st Century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781474496629
Publisher:	Edinburgh University Press
Publication date:	05/01/2025
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Ari Purnama is Assistant Professor of Cinema Studies at the University of Oregon.

Table of Contents

List of Figures

Acknowledgements

Part I Exposition: What the Book Sets Out To Do and Accomplish

1. Introduction

2. Towards a Stylistics of Indonesian Film

3. What Can Film Style Do in Narrative Cinema?

Part II Rising Action: How Indonesian Cinema Evolved Aesthetically

4. Evolution By Means of Stylistic Supression

Part III Climax: The Analyses, or: How Lighting, Production Design and Camera Movement Transform Indonesian Cinema Into a Stylistically Complex Cinema

5. Lighting and Visual Opacity

6. Production Design and Diegetic Detail

7. Camera Movement and Textural Reflexivity

Part IV Resolution: Wrapping Up and Looking Ahead

8. Concluding Notes: All the Stylistic Pieces Matter

Bibliography

Filmography

Editorial Reviews

In this engrossing study of contemporary Indonesian film style, Ari Purnama probes the visual appeal and artistic power of a cinema in resurgence. Distinguished by analytical acuity and theoretical rigor, Purnama’s account reveals how post-Suharto filmmakers have innovated upon past traditions, pushing Indonesian cinema to dazzling new heights of artistry.

Gary Bettinson

Film Style in Indonesian Cinema brilliantly extends our understanding of film style. Not only does it synthesize studies of lighting, production design, and camera movement; it goes beyond these studies by analyzing the dynamic cinema of Indonesia: a cinema of intensified darkness, energetic camerawork, and density of detail.

Patrick Keating