Siti – Reel Asian 2015

A young woman struggles to care for this song and paralyzed husband in Siti. Siti is a woman, whose husband was paralyzed a year previous in a boating accident. Desperate for money to pay off her outstanding debts, Siti sells snacks on the beach during the while, while selling herself in an illegal karaoke bar at night. With her husband refusing to say a word to her, Siti struggles to support her son and mother-in-law.

Filmed in a stark black and white, the Indonesian film Siti focuses on the titular character, as she struggles to support her family. Siti’s family has outstanding debts from a loan that was made to buy a boat, which ironically was the cause of Siti’s husband’s accident and the family’s misfortunes. Not supportive of Siti going to a karaoke bar every night, her husband remains mute in bed, barely responding as Siti feeds him and tells him about her life.

One thing that is quite notable about Siti is the film’s impressive black and white visuals. The film makes a heavy use of shadow and is often very pleasing to look at. The actual plot of the film focuses on the crossroads that Siti finds herself in her life, with this being a very introspective film that deals with Siti’s personal struggle and slow meltdown. Altogether, Siti is a pretty decent drama, with some excellent black and white visuals.