The Science of Fictions () is a 2019 Indonesian drama film written, directed, produced, and edited by Yosep Anggi Noen. Veteran theater actor Gunawan Maryanto stars as a man whose tongue gets cut off after discovering a film crew shooting a fake moon landing. For his performance, Maryanto won many awards, including the Citra Award for Best Actor and Maya Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
Synopsis During the 1960s, the quiet Siman encounters a foreign film crew filming a fake Moon landing in a desolate part of Indonesia. His tongue is cut out and after this traumatising incident he loses himself in dreams of becoming an astronaut. His muteness and strange, slow-motion gait make him a target for scorn and exploitation. Simultaneously, in the village, a colorful soldier parodies Suharto.
Cast
Gunawan Maryanto as Siman Ecky Lamoh as the actor Yudi Ahmad Tajudin as Ndapuk & Tupon Alex Suhendra as Wanto & Gun Lukman Sardi as Jumik Rusini as Sinak Asmara Abigail as Nadiyah Marissa Anita as kiosk owner Rachel Saraswati as Ermi Pritt Timothy as Hendri
Production Noen conceived the idea for the film in 2012 while visiting Gumuk Pasir, an area near Parangkusumo Beach in Bantul, Yogyakarta. The landscape reminded him of the Moon's surface and gave inspired him to write a story set in the 1960s, during which the first ever Moon landing was a major public interest. It took Noen seven years to realize the idea into a feature film, a time span which he spent to develop the screenplay and seek funding.
Release The film had its world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland in August 2019. It went through months of festival runs abroad before making it to Indonesian theaters in December 2020.
Reception Upon its screening at Locarno, Marta Bałaga wrote for Cineuropa that the film "can’t quite match its ambitions, failing to keep up the interest and brought down by a terrible, sentimental ending" and that "there is no shaking off a certain feeling of melancholy about the entire thing." Reviewing the film for Screen Anarchy, Martin Cudlac was more positive, calling it "a socio-political parable for the age of fake news" that "approaches a hot topic from a slapsticky angle although satire never breaks through as Anggi Noen keeps tight control over the film´s message." Local critic Dwiki Aprinaldi of Cinema Poetica was more critical of the film. Calling Noen's screenplay "abstract", he wrote that the film "seems to say much while in reality it is just a pretentious oration that revolves around itself".
Accolades YearAwardCategoryRecipientResult2019Locarno Film FestivalGolden LeopardYosep Anggi Noen Special Mentions 2019Asia-Pacific Screen AwardsAchievement in CinematographyGay Hian Teoh 2019Singapore International Film FestivalSilver Screen Award for Best Asian Feature FilmThe Science of Fictions 2020Beijing International Film FestivalTiantian AwardYosep Anggi Noen 202040th Citra AwardsBest PictureThe Science of Fictions Best DirectorYosep Anggi Noen Best ActorGunawan MaryantoBest Supporting ActorYudi Ahmad Tajudin Best Original ScreenplayYosep Anggi Noen Best EditingAhmad Fesdi Anggoro Yosep Anggi Noen Best SoundHadrianus Eko SunuFirman SatyanegaraL. H. Aim Adi NegaraBagas Oktariyan AnantaYasuhiro Morinaga Best Art DirectionDeki Yudhanto Best Makeup & HairstylingAnismcaw Best Costume DesignIrmina Kristini 2020Maya AwardsBest Feature FilmThe Science of Fictions Best DirectorYosep Anggi NoenBest Actor in a Leading RoleGunawan MaryantoBest New ActorYudi Ahmad Tajudin Best CinematographyGay Hian Teoh Best Art DirectionDeki Yudhanto Best SoundHadrianus Eko SunuFirman SatyanegaraL. H. Aim Adi NegaraBagas Oktariyan AnantaYasuhiro Morinaga Best Makeup & HairstylingAnismcaw Best Costume DesignIrmina Kristini Best Poster DesignGandhi Setyawan
References
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