Kevin Ardilova shines bright in Makbul Mubarak’s striking Indonesian thriller debut Autobiography, with his co-lead Arswendy Bening Swara being our early contender for Best Actor in Orizzonti Competition
The 79th Venice International Film Festival is in full swing and we are excited to be delving into this year’s rich program where we spotted the fourth Indonesian feature film (after Requiem from Java, A Copy of My Mind, and Memories of My Body) competing in Orizzonti section: Autobiography by Makbul Mubarak.
Former film critics turned filmmaker Makbul Mubarak‘s bold and striking debut is a riveting suspense thriller that highlights the fears and beliefs faced by many citizens around the world through the story of a dictatorship in a rural Indonesian town where a young man tasted power for the first time.
The film centers on a young man named Rakib (Kevin Ardilova) who works as a lone housekeeper in an empty mansion belonging to Purna (Arswendy Bening Swara), a retired general whose family Rakib‘s clan has served for generations in rural town of Bojonegoro. When Purna returns home after 19 years to start his mayoral election campaign, Rakib bonds with the older man although he never met him before. With his father in prison and his brother abroad for work, Purna becomes a father figure and a close mentor for Rakib. One day, they found out Purna‘s election poster was vandalized, Rakib doesn’t hesitate to track down the culprit, but an escalating chain of violence begins.
In his first major festival role, Ardilova who recently co-starred in festival hits, Golden Leopard-winning film Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash, and TIFF Platform Prize winner Yuni, delivers a nuanced performance as Rakib. Where other actors would play a single note, Ardilova plays a symphony of emotions here. He sneakily alters emotional details from frame to frame and gives a career-defining performance, but this film’s driving force is veteran actor Arswendy Bening Swara, who would be a serious contender for an acting prize in Orizzonti Section. Bening Swara is marvelous in a rough, stark role, and when Ardilova finally wrests some control from his life in the final act, the outcome was pure gold.
In its mix of social realism with a character study, the film is packed with strong and mesmerizing visuals done by Wojciech Staron who also handled Lidia Duda’s Locarno-winning film Fledglings, transfixing viewers into an engrossing journey in a dream-like land out of nowhere. A bold directorial debut with fine performances and rich in the making, It’s that patient, character-driven, tension-building that repeat viewings will be rewarded. One of the best debuts of the year, Mubarak is a talent to watch.
Speaking of fine performances, The film also co-starred Yusuf Mahardika, Lukman Sardi, Rukman Rosadi, and Haru Sandra with a special appearance by Gunawan Maryanto (Solo, Solitude, The Science of Fictions) in his final film role. Autobiography is produced by KawanKawan Media (Indonesia), and in co-productions by In Vivo Films (France), Potocol (Singapore), Staron Film (Poland), NiKo Film (Germany), Cinematografica (Philippines), FOCUSED equipment and Partisipasi (Indonesia). French-based Alpha Violet holds its world wide sales.
