General Purna wants to run for mayor of the region. Naturally, Rakib helps out during the campaign, acting as the old man’s driver, assistant, and confidant. He looks on in wonder as the old man plays his pieces so that he can easily command the people around him.
During a town meeting, a young man named Agus (Yusuf Mahardika) pleads for the consideration of the general to stop the construction of one of his projects that will surely put their farmland and livelihood on the line. Purna ridiculed the request. Rakib silently observes as he starts to notice that something is definitely wrong with his boss.
With his father in jail and his brother abroad, Rakib has no other choice but to stay with the general. Purna eventually warms up to him, and they form a father-son bond. He took him under his wing and taught him valuable lessons in dealing with people. He sheltered him, fed him, dressed him, and played chess with him. Rakib starts to see the old man in a new light, and he’s easily drawn in by his apparent kindness.
Inspired by the general’s teachings, Rakib pays a visit to Agus. He convinced him to apologize for standing up against the general, and together they dropped by the old man’s mansion. It turns out that General Purna is far from the sympathetic person he appears to be in front of Rakib. He’s a terrifying man. A predator. And he just lured the prey into his territory.
Makbul Mubarak's first feature film premiered at the 79th Venice Film Festival and is currently being shown at the 10th QCinema International Film Festival. Surprisingly, "Autobiography" is not Indonesia’s entry for the 95th Academy Awards, despite the success it received. Nevertheless, Indonesia is slowly but surely becoming a tour de force on the international scene, and this film keeps the momentum going.
With its dark and serious tone, it’s astonishing that the first draft of "Authobiography" is a black comedy. Traces of its rough copy cannot be seen or felt at all. Mubarak's film is devoid of humor, as if he expects viewers to have the strictest military discipline and compliance.
There’s a constant, imposing presence that looms over the narrative, and it’s unnerving. To be fearful is probably the correct emotion to feel in a story that traps both the main character and the viewers into a despairing fight for hope and escape. Arswendy Bening Swara’s gripping performance has the whole movie in a chokehold. He clutches on to the idea of what it means to be an intimidating dictator and a respected general and never lets go of the persona even in a single frame. And we feel this tension and terror through Rakib and Kevin Ardilova’s quiet and vulnerable acting.
Even more so, the impact of "Autobiography" was greatly increased by delving deeper into Indonesia's violent history and current government system, which appears to be drifting further and further away from true democracy. The country is far from a dictatorship right now, but its effects still linger. As Mubarak's film points out, authoritarianism cannot be vanquished so easily. It does not end with an apology or a retirement; it is just a way for the people in power to make their subjects forget their trespasses. Even if they didn’t sit in the chair anymore, they would still be powerful. They can still commit crimes and get away with it. And this post-dictatorship influence affects mostly the young, and it can be a dangerous thing because, without proper guidance, they can see these leaders as heroes and emulate their actions.
"Autobiography" doesn't need bloodshed to make a point; it would rather focus on the implication of it all. This makes it all the more horrifying because it highlights the fact that there are forms of cruelty and tyranny that are hidden from plain sight, and oppressors can walk among us and steal the power we have without realizing it. Consequentially, this film recognizes the vicious cycle of violence and the corruption of power, as well as the people’s persistent longing for change.
3.5/5
