Running with Joni
***
Joni had to go through many hurdles as he ran carrying a roll of film. This is Joko Anwar’s debut as he appears with a group of top actors.
JANJI JONI
Director & Writer : Joko Anwar
Actors : Nicholas Saputra, Surya Saputra, Rachel Maryam,
Mariana Renata, Ria Irawan
Production : Kalyanashira
***
THE hot and dusty wind of Jakarta hit his face. But riding on his motorcycle, Joni always tries to fulfill a simple promise:
to deliver a roll of film, from one theater to another, right on time. His promise is to fulfill the dreams of the movie-goers, if only for a while. He promises, through the roll of film he delivers on time, to bring the viewers to a fantasy world where all links to the real world are cut off. Films, in Joni’s words, “are the best gift of art ever possessed by man.”
This is the voice of the director, Joko Anwar, a film-crazed man who trained at the Bandung Institute of Technology, but feels that film is the place for him to speak out (read I am very close to the gay community). The film Janji Joni (Joni’s Promise) is his first debut as a director – following his script of the film Arisan, which shocked the Indonesia public.
This film begins as an introduction to the world of creativity and the distribution of films. It is a world, a ‘swimming pool’ where film-makers like Garin Nugroho, Mira Lesmana, Riri riza, Nan T. Achnas, Rudi Soedjarwo and Nia Dinata, swim around. The theme of this film is about them. As such, it must be admitted that the humor in the film is likely to be easier understood by them or those who are made over the world of films (Indonesian).
They are people like Joni (Nicholas Saputra), who is proud to work delivering films. One day, he meets Angelique (Marian Renata) at the lobby of a movie theater. Unfortunately, Angelique comes with Otto (superbly played by Surya Saputra) , a boyfriend with a penchant for easily losing his temper. While she waits for her boyfriend who seems to get angry at anyone he considers as dull-witted, Joni uses the opportunity to introduce himself to Angelique. They talk, and they promise to exchange names after Joni manages to deliver his roll of film on time. (more…)