Best Indonesian Movies of All Time
Focusing on local made films now, will always be on progress cuz i'll add films if they worth to be on this list. Ranked based on my preference.
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- DirectorYandy LaurensStarsRinggo Agus RahmanNirina ZubirAlex AbbadBagus, a screenwriter, reunites with his high school friend and crush, Hana, who is still grieving from the loss of her husband. He wants to convince her to fall in love once again, just like in the movies.Probably the most flawless film from Indonesia that i've watched. Yandy used to be my lecturer back in my college days and the only intellegence i've known in Indonesian film industry. Such a simple story told with such wit and understanding of what film and filmmaking is. Every aspects (comedy, plotting, dialogues, etc) is within it's proportion and very much... how do i say it: Yandyesque. Definitely an auteur to watch in the future.
- DirectorGina S. NoerStarsAdhisty ZaraAngga YunandaCut Mini TheoA young couple violated the boundary without knowing the consequences. They try to take responsibility for their choices and their innocence is tested when the families who really loved them knew, then forced into their chosen journey.One of the best Indonesian film i've watched. Many Indonesian say this film is about sex education. while it's a part of it, it's more of a genuine portrait of how some Indonesian families would react and deal with pregnancy outside marriage. clashing with moral values that's rooted from religions, old age beliefs, family pride, etc. All intertwining with one another and created this masterpiece. Don't be fooled by the poster and expects over-romantization from this film because it's really not that kind of film.
- DirectorRichard OhStarsFachry AlbarRaline ShahReza RahadianAda is a successful woman with her career, however she is afraid to fall in love with someone else. However with the help of her friend (Reza Rahadian) she meet with Rafian. Rafian is able to makes her fall for him, however the big question is, will she be in love ? will both of them will meet together again ?It's 2022 and i, a young guy had already a stranger to love, this beautiful film really opens up doors for everything bitter and sweet from the past and encourage me to celebrate it. The two characters in this film represent me, the person who can create something out of what seems to be nothing (works better under the influeance of songs and surroundings) and the other one who slaps the first one and says: "it's not that deep". Yet both personas are longing for one thing, that archetype: love, the out of comfort zone, and this film reminded me of that.
- DirectorKimo StamboelTimo TjahjantoStarsKazuki KitamuraOka AntaraRin TakanashiA psychopathic Japanese executive accidentally triggers a journalist's 'dark side'. They begin to connect over the Internet and make a complicated bond.The first Indonesian film that i called a masterpiece. Not a lot of people liked it the first time they wayched it cuz it was promoted to be similar as The Raid, when it's a whole different film. It's about two different people from different background, connected on the internet and share the same problem: how they deal with the "killer" inside themselves.
- DirectorKamila AndiniStarsHappy SalmaLaura BasukiArswendy Bening SwaraNana, a gentle, beautiful young woman, escapes a violent anti-communist purge. Afterwards she lives comfortably as the second wife of a rich Sundanese man but her past re-emerges in her dreams.A genuine story about a woman whose life is driven by a sense of fulfillment of her obligation and duty, held back by her past and guilt, and haunted by her longing for desire whom face has withered. The film almost didn't antagonize any of the characters and their decisions. that's the magic that Kamila Andini always presented in her films, it's more about explorations of good and bad, of pleasure and pain, of black and white, and their in betweens.
- DirectorMouly SuryaStarsLadya CherylDonny AlamsyahKinaryosihAlisha (Ladya Cheryl) never feel comfortable staying in her cool and spacious home until one day she meets Bari (Donny Alamsyah) who introduces her the meaning of love.Probably the best from Joko Anwar (although he's just the writer for this film) and what introduces me to Mouly Surya. The main character in this film is the villain, the anomaly, the one that you don't sympathize with. Yet, very interesting and amusing to watch. A truly unique experience watching this film.
- DirectorRichard OhStarsAnjasmaraJoko AnwarDjenar Maesa AyuYahya, a low-class employee, finds a suitcase on an empty street. The suitcase is suspected to contain robbed money from a bank. This results in everybody giving the once invisible Yahya the royal treatment, with the hope to get a little reward in return. But Yahya is determined to keep the suitcase, until a series of events in his life prompt him to consider his decision.I grew up with the image of prophet Muhammad and even learned some christian perspective of jesus, both are what people would call the spotless man, without any sin. The concept might sound unrealistic, unachievable, but heaven is what you're gonna get if you can manage, yet the price is suffering. Yahya does not only understand that, he possesses that archetype, he couldn't help it but to be virtuous which is impossible to be when you live Jakarta. His ultimate desperation is not only the obsticles that he has to get through, but also his confusion of himself and his surrounding: why can't he be a bit dirty to get through? Yet he's not built that way.
- DirectorEros DjarotStarsPitradjaya BurnamaChristine HakimRudy WoworTjoet Nja' Dhien assumes the leadership when her husband Teuku Umar is killed in an ambush. Dhien's charismatic presence and power of survival motivate the locals to join and later continue their opposition to the Dutch in Aceh in 1896.It's a shame that i only get to watch the 109 minute version because it's pretty clear that there are some details that has been left out. Christine Hakim is the best actress that Indonesia has ever had. The spirit of Tjoet Nja' Dhien lives through her performance: a strong willed woman whose jihad's knows almost no boundaries.
- DirectorMakbul MubarakStarsKevin ArdilovaArswendy Bening SwaraHaru SandraA young man working as a housekeeper in an empty mansion. When its owner returns to start his mayoral election campaign, the young man bonds with him and defends him when his campaign is vandalized, setting off a chain of violence.It's rare to see an Indonesian film to have a well-developed hitchcockian character where the villain's psyche is tangled and intertwined; thus creates an out of the ordinary complex. Audiences also said that in a film industry where horror films are produced by the dozens each months, Autobiography trampled them all by being genuinely scary.
- DirectorIfa IsfansyahStarsPrisia NasutionOka AntaraSlamet RahardjoYoung teenagers who fall in love live in poverty in their small village in the 1960s. The girl, Srintil, is a dancer blessed with dancing moves that said have a certain magic. The boy, Rasus, leaves the village to join the army force.The differences between this film and KKN di Desa Penari (both involves woman dancing) is that this is a great piece of filmmaking. Ifa is certainly one of the most outstanding director in Indonesia, his understanding and way of presenting the details that makes a film is good will always be better than Hanung whose weapon is cheap romances and cries.
- DirectorJoko AnwarStarsNicholas SaputraMariana RenataRachel Maryam SayidinaA film delivery man promises a beautiful young woman to deliver a film reel on time to a movie theater. But the the whole city seems to conspire against him.With this film, we know that Joko is going to be the next big thing in Indonesian Cinema. he understands and loves cinema and filmmaking that his first film is about film roll delivery and the obstacles. It's almost everytime we watched any Joko Anwar films the star of the film would be him, because we want to indulge ourselves with the cinematic experience that is design by him.
- DirectorBene Dion RajagukgukStarsArswendy Bening SwaraTika PanggabeanBoris BokirA married couple stages their divorce in order to encourage their estranged adult children to return to their hometown.This has proved that Bene Dion is not only funny, but also a brilliant storyteller. Coming from batak tribe/ethnic group made him familiar with their stereotypical characters already, put them in Bene's comedic style plot, and you'd have this masterpiece: a human story about what it is to be a family.
- DirectorNan Triveni AchnasStarsChristine HakimDian SastrowardoyoSlamet RahardjoBerlian and her teenage daughter Daya are on the run from political violence. Constantly daydreaming that her absent father will return, young Daya chafes under the stern hand of her mother. Forced to move inland from their seaside home to a desert of constantly shifting sands, the pair settle down to their familiar antagonism. Finally, Daya sees a vaguely familiar face shuffle in from across the wasteland.To live as poor people is a curse that you need to free yourself from, there's almost no romantization other than the will to live by constantly moving. The story centre around Berlian and her daughter living through trials that is life. Where they live is a no place for a single mother to raise a daughter. The daughter is played by Dian Sastro whom a master at playing as a naive girl (both here and aadc) protected by her mother.
- DirectorRahabi MandraStarsVino G. BastianAnya GeraldineAlzi MarkersThe brothers' struggle to find money to save the family from debt, without the mother's knowledge.Homo sapiens is the only homos that hadn't went extinct, one of the contibutor is because of the survival instinct that we had against all obstacles, and don't forget that we were born to be able to achieve and overcome anything with our akal. this film depicts that, a family of homo sapiens surviving under modern obstacles and pressures to be able to have a better living standards. My mom said to me when she first came to Jakarta, she didn't know any skill to survive but she definitely born with the skill to be able to possesses skills to survive. But it's not just about capitalism, there's human story; what makes us unique from other animals, that aspire us as a surviving species to never give up and to fight so we are still deemed to be worthy of this inheritance: triumphant over the earth.
- DirectorRichard OhStarsJoko AnwarFachry AlbarArio BayuIt was based on a movie maker, he try to explore what he wants in his career, and his struggle, on how he want for his dream to be come true.While Janji Joni is a love letter to film roll deliveries, Melancholy is A Movement is a cynical letter to Indonesian film industry, that's the only thing i remember about the film. I have to admit that i vaguely remember any of the detail about the film, but this is what introduces me to one of the best indonesian filmmaker: Richard Oh. I only remembered that i enjoyed it very much at the theater filled with only 3 people (including me and my friend).
- DirectorKamila AndiniStarsArawinda KiranaAsmara AbigailSekar SariIn her last year of secondary school, a bright Indonesian student is determined to pursue her education and resist getting married, despite the expectations of her community.Indonesia is a conservative and traditional country where people has not much room to improvise and innovate by straying out of the solar system, or at least in most areas. I wasn't trying to villainize most of my own people as being that also keeps lots of things in order and keeps the society rolling. But for an Indonesian girl like Yuni and many others, it's a dilemma, as for straying out is not to fail the system, but to seek better selves and better future. Yuni is about a character many are found mostly nowadays where women feels trapped in a web built by many participants throughout a long period of time that they seem unable to see the way out.
- DirectorJoko AnwarStarsFaradina MuftiReza RahadianWiduri PuteriTelling about the punishment of the grave which occurred after a man was buried.Joko Anwar and his most psychotic character and twisted imagery. As expected, there's a scene that Will make most muslim pray 5 Times a day again, but is it accurate to islamic teachings? if you get the ending and the many implications throughout the film about what the film is, the film might avoid any potensial accusation of "toying" with religion. But as a psychological horror, it's definitely Joko Anwar's best to date.
- DirectorNan Triveni AchnasStarsKay Tong LimShantyLukman SardiAn escort at a karaoke bar struggles to raise money to send her daughter out of the city to live with her grandmother and settle her debts with her pimp. She moves in with an aging photographer and helps him fulfill his last wishes.It is somehow, an uplifting story as it unfolds for a pessimistic premise. The old man is burdened by the rock that is his guilt from his past decision, and the young woman is a very optimistic woman whom always look for the future no matter hard the burden are. This is truthfully one of the best Indonesian film that rarely got mentioned (along with pasir berbisik) nowadays as one of Indonesia's great cinema.
- DirectorGina S. NoerStarsAurora RiberoArawinda KiranaJerome KurniaTwo best friends who create ASMR content together discover a world of personal exploration that leads them both toward harrowing outcomes.The world of pleasure is cunning, all you see is flowers and all beautiful things but there are millions of predators that are going to destroy you. It tells about two characters: one is entering it via pornography, the other one entered it in a rough way, by a big bad wolf. It is a cautionary tale told by Gina: Indonesia's treasure in cinema, and also a call for help as so many victims has fallen already.
- DirectorGarin NugrohoStarsMuhammad KhanRaditya EvandraRiantoA pre-teen boy who abandoned by his father joins a Lengger dance center where men assume feminine appearances, but the political and social upheaval in Indonesia forces him to move away and meet with remarkable people on his journey.The film is about an observation of a born-feminine guy in a changing society. some hated him, some wants to take an advantage of him, but he also met a guy who was very tender to him, treated him as he was destined for. Despite winning best film at Film Festival Indonesia, it was a controversial film as it was banned in several cities and theatres in also a changing country that is Indonesia.
- DirectorIfa IsfansyahStarsEmir MahiraAldo TansaniMarsha AruanTalented 12-year-old boy dreams of becoming a great soccer player despite his loving grandfather's stern disapproval.Probably the best Indonesian children film to date, it has what a good conventional film should have, good characters and characterization, good plotting, good story, good emotion play, good acting, etc. It got me singing the iconic soundtrack in the end.
- DirectorRudy SoedjarwoStarsDian SastrowardoyoNicholas SaputraLadya CherylA popular girl has to choose whether she wants to stay as a part of her clique or fall for the brooding literature-loving boy in her school.AADC walk so trashes after it has the chance to run. It's a flawed masterpiece. what makes AADC way better than Dilan and the likes is that it never forgets that it's a film, while dilan was just a series of cringey dialogues, monologues and decisions. Nicholas Saputra and Dian Sastro are cursed forever to be remembered as Cinta & Rangga, the story might not be the best but the casts are so good that it helps lifted the film.
- DirectorKamila AndiniStarsThaly Titi KasihIda Bagus Putu Radithya MahijasenaAyu LaksmiA young girl seeks out imaginative ways to cope with the death of her twin brother.A beautiful and heartbreaking story about children's ability to cope with the monster of the world, about accepting and letting go in a very poetic and unconventional way. Yes it's one of those artsy film, but when it came from a genuine place and done right, it is still very much enjoyable.
- DirectorGareth EvansStarsIko UwaisSisca JessicaChristine HakimA young man from the countryside uses his skills in silat martial arts to survive the slave trade.While The Raid is one of the world's martial art cinema standard especially for filmmaking and choreography style, i will still chose it's predecessor: Merantau. While it lacks the skill that The Raid has, it has the heart that The Raid almost abandoned. Nothing really special with the story: Iko being the absolute hero archetype, versus pure evil, and also the presence of the damsel in distress, tied together with the Merantau tradition, makes everything perfect.
- DirectorKabir BhatiaStarsFauzi BaadilaLaudya Cynthia BellaWulan GuritnoIn Jakarta, five couples of varying ages and backgrounds experience the different stages of romantic love, from its giddy start to its painful end.A wonderfully made; five heartwarming love stories woven beautifully by this writer & director from Malaysia named Kabir Bhatia (one of my favorites from my meighboring country), it's actually the remake of the same Malaysian film called Cinta by the same creator. It's rare to see a film with good writings exist in 2008 Indonesia and this is one of very few of them.
- DirectorWicaksono Wisnu LegowoStarsUbaidillahSlamet AmbariYono DaryonoThe residents of Kampung Tirang live in dilapidated shacks just to earn for their next meal. The hardworking and reliable Turah has been appointed by the cooperative leader to tend to complaints or settle conflicts that arise in the village. Peace in the settlement is disrupted when the alcoholic Jadag starts questioning the governance of the village. His accusations towards the leaders soon land both Turah and the whole village into further trouble.
- DirectorAnggy UmbaraStarsVino G. BastianLuna MayaAnanda OmeshSabar relives the same day and gets the opportunity to alter his ex-girlfriend's wedding ceremony over and over until he gets the girl of his dream.
- DirectorWregas BhanutejaStarsSha Ine FebriyantiAngga YunandaPrilly LatuconsinaAfter a viral altercation, Prani, a guidance counselor, faces backlash endangering her career and family.
- DirectorGarin NugrohoStarsMartinus MirotoEko SupriyantoArtika Sari DeviThe story of the performer of Javanese Ramayana human wayang. They are the spouses who lives in a village by selling earthenware products. Conflicts arrived as the husband is going bankrupt and the wife start to looking for another love.
- DirectorRandolph ZainiStarsPaul AgustaFarell AkbarTubagus AliAfter his son witnesses a brutal murder by a notorious crime boss, a deaf Indonesian gangster is thrust into the fight of his life when he takes on his dangerous former allies, including a sociopath assassin, in order to protect his child.
- DirectorKamila AndiniStarsAtiqah HasiholanReza RahadianGita NovalistaA girl from the Bajo tribe in Wakatobi district goes to a fortune teller in her area. The fortune teller performed a ritual using a mirror, where the local people believed that with a mirror they could see what they were waiting for.
- DirectorSlamet RahardjoStarsMargaritaIntartiDyah Arum RetnowatiThe movie is based on a true story about an Indonesian labour leader who was kidnapped, tortured, and killed because of her struggle (East Java 1993). The case remains unsolved. Several people are punished for the crimes, but later they are released because they are not the real killers.
- DirectorLola AmariaStarsDonny AlamsyahLola AmariaTiti Rajo BintangA woman starting a new life as a migrant worker in Hong Kong reluctantly searches the city for her missing sister.
- DirectorEmil HeradiStarsT. Rifnu WikanaYayu A.W. UnruEdward AkbarA group of civilians share a bus ride to Sampar, a town full of natural resources. It is heavily guarded by the state army who is fighting against the rebel militias, who want freedom over their homeland.
- DirectorTeddy SoeriaatmadjaStarsAtiqah HasiholanYama CarlosVerdi SolaimanA scholar researches the historical significance of a house that serves as a free school in hopes of saving it from being demolished by a developer.
- DirectorJoko AnwarStarsTara BasroChicco JerikhoMaera PanigoroA female cheap salon worker and a pirated DVDs subtitle maker fall in love during the turbulent presidential election in Indonesia.
- DirectorWregas BhanutejaStarsShenina CinnamonDea PanendraGiulio ParengkuanAfter losing her scholarship when photos of her at a party surface online, a student pairs with a photocopy worker to piece together what happened.
- DirectorLance LaggongStarsLuna MayaLukman SardiFachry AlbarHow is Jakarta at midnight? You will find it out in this movie.
- DirectorRocky SorayaAnggy UmbaraStarsLuna MayaHerjunot AliT. Rifnu WikanaAfter a pregnant woman is murdered, her spirit seeks revenge against her increasingly terrified killers, who are determined to finish her off for good.
- DirectorHanny SaputraStarsLaudya Cynthia BellaArdina RastiAngie VirginThree Indonesian girls, high school friends, go on a journey where money, sex, violence and alcohol seems to be superior to their own wishes and dreams.
- DirectorEddie CahyonoStarsSekar SariBintang Timur WidodoTiti DibyoSiti has to find ways and means to care for her son and her husband. By day, she sells snacks; by night, she works as a karaoke guide. Tainted by her nighttime employment, Siti finds her husband no longer wishes to speak to her.
- DirectorAzhar Kinoi LubisStarsTaskya NamyaT. Rifnu WikanaWafda Saifan LubisNadia, the sole survivor of her family's tragic fate, grapples with the looming threat of her father's sacrifice as she faces a life on the edge.
- DirectorRiri RizaStarsRachel Maryam SayidinaJajang C. NoerHenidar AmroeAfter three years of separation, Bunda pays her daughter Eliana a surprise visit.
- DirectorJoko AnwarStarsDonny AlamsyahFachry AlbarArio BayuA jaded cop. A narcoleptic journalist. A nation divided. A Fantasy you'd wish never come true.
- DirectorKimo StamboelStarsAulia SarahMaudy EffrosinaJourdy PranataThe village still holds many mysteries. Piece by piece of mystery is revealed, including the terror of the most feared entity, namely, Badarawuhi.
- DirectorRichard OhStarsAdipati DolkenAyushitaErnest SamuderaTakes the time setting six months after the PETA army suffered defeat when it attacked Japanese troops.
- DirectorDimas DjayadiningratStarsSandra DewiReuben ElishamaRia IrawanJojo is an unemployed. He decides to become a gigolo for an escort company. Everything works smoothly until he falls in love with a medical student.
- DirectorFajar BustomiStarsPrilly LatuconsinaJunior RobertsAngga YunandaInspired to become a better person, a young man attempts to fulfill 12 unrealized life wishes of a woman he knows.
- DirectorBenni SetiawanStarsVino G. BastianBoris BokirVinessa InezA retired Sergeant, Tebe, returns to his hometown with all of his little family members and all his dreams but his eldest son follows the wrong path.
- DirectorBene Dion RajagukgukStarsTatjana SaphiraGe PamungkasDeva MahenraAn old diary containing dark secrets is found by Naya, a novelist who has been on a writer's block for 3 years. This book contains great materials for her latest novel, but something unexpected starts to happen.
- DirectorAria KusumadewaKunun NugrohoStarsTio PakusadewoLeony Vitria HartantiRay SahetapyAdam, the mortuary officer in a hospital ask to himself about the idea of "identity" of a person, due to his own unknown past and his own lack of an identity. So he only feels alive when he is among with the dead people. Someday, Adam eventually falls in love with a woman without a name. Through her, he is able to find his true self, and this will leads him to fight for the woman's right to live.
- DirectorJoko AnwarStarsTara BasroEndy ArfianNasar AnnuzWhen the heavy storm hits, it wasn't the storm that a family should fear but the people and non-human entities who are out for them.
- DirectorTitien WattimenaStarsAtiqah HasiholanRio DewantoVerdi SolaimanTwo people meet by chance in Busan, South Korea. Indah works at the Indonesian Embassy in Busan. Abi, a sailor who suffers heart attack and Indah was assigned as his guardian.
- DirectorFajar NugrosStarsNaysila MirdadDimas AnggaraLydia KandouGrappling with an unplanned pregnancy, a woman turns in desperation to a mysterious older couple who promise to take care of her baby.
- DirectorNia Di NataStarsCut Mini TheoTora SudiroAida NurmalaFriendship and principles are put to a test in the circle of Jakarta's social elite which can be as turbulent as the city's slums.
- DirectorRizal MantovaniStarsJulie EstelleEvan SandersRatu FelishaA young college student moves to a new boarding house in a very haunted area.