With excellent cinematography and stunning visual effects, this seven-episode series is an impressive watch

Nonika Singh

Myths, fables, phantasmagoria, surrealism, sci-fi; all come together in this fablesque series as a fascinating whole, which is as much a sum of its parts as individually distinct in each story. Set in Jakarta in different time periods from 1985 to 2024, the seven-episode Netflix drama is an anthology of seven different stories bound together by a common thread.

Anthology series: Joko Anwar’s Nightmares and Daydreams

Cast: Ario Bayu, Asmara Abigail, Marissa Anita, Fachri Albar, Lukman Sardi, Nirina Zubir, Yoga Pratama, Karina Salim and Ayu Laksmi

Directors: Joko Anwar, Tommy Dewo, Randolph Zaini and Ray Pakpahan

Rating: ****

The first two episodes delve into social inequality, which is a recurring leitmotif. The very first story, Old House, about ageing parents and their abandonment by the children, sets the tone of what to expect. The poignant tale of children leaving (or dumping) their old parents has an eerie stillness about it. The second episode is about a mythical child, possessing miraculous powers to make those who adopt him rich, overnight. He also has the demonic potential to usher in their doom.

Each episode takes you into a different world, which is as real as bizarre, as ordinary as extraordinary. A man, who can only see in black and white, has the power of hypnosis and will to control one’s mind. The theme for another episode is domestic abuse. Poems and Pain, title of another episode, has a protagonist who is a bestselling author fallen prey to her own passion to write about victim of domestic abuse. Yet another story relives the nostalgia of a man who works in a good old fashioned movie theatre, the kind that have become obsolete.

Indeed, everything about the series is rooted in the Indonesian reality spread over 40 years. In Encounter, we have a fishing village of 1985 where fishermen face threat of eviction. There is a universal ring to what each story conveys. Angels, devils, monsters and the notion of good prevailing over evil. In that sense, you could call the series a tad simple. But there is nothing simple in its execution or treatment.

Storyteller Joko Anwar, who has written all the episodes, is an acclaimed auteur, who excels in the horror genre. Though being tipped as horror series, the goriness is reserved only for the last episode. Other episodes have a magical, supernatural quality to it. With excellent cinematography by Jaisal Tanjung and stunning visual effects by Abby Eldipie, it creates an unfamiliar realm but with emotions and characters that seem so authentic.

Watch worthy for sure!