The New Wave of Indonesian Cinema
Directed by Kamila Andini, Yuni, the color purple, has become a topic of discussion in film festivals both locally and internationally. The new wave of Indonesian cinema is once again filled with many arthouse films. Among them are Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash, directed by Edwin, and Paranoia, directed by Riri Riza. However, Yuni is not unique in the eyes of Indonesian films. The stories of the marginalization of women are commonplace on the big screen, at least in the last decade. The challenges faced are always the same, namely storytelling. In the case of the film, the big question is how to tell a story about a young girl who lives in the lower middle class, neglected by the state, and at significant risk of being trapped in structural poverty. The subject’s suffering often dominates to the point of closing the possibility of a broader perspective on the matter. However, the film takes another approach where Andini departs from the personal side of the protagonist. In the first sequence, the audience enters the protagonist’s room, Yuni, and sees her showing her activities after getting up in the morning. While covering her private side, it includes the purple color from her bra to underwear.
The Dilemma of Yuni’s Maturity
Yuni is a person with a dynamic personality. She asked her friends in Serang Javanese: what is a virginity test? She starts sharing moments with her male school friend in an empty building, a typical coming-of-age scenario. Her initial motivation was to outline the ideal standards in society, and this journey brings about feelings of sexual desire, curiosity, and confusion. Yuni is not portrayed as an all-in-one protagonist, and her life trajectory is full of contradictions and question marks.
Films like One Day We’ll Talk About Today have often portrayed female figures as smiling and silent, while typical films have focused on motivations to serve the family, which is a common theme in many coming-of-age films, especially in Indonesian cinema. However, Andini’s approach is different. Yuni does not have mastery over all subjects, and she is not completely innocent about the dynamics of sex between her friends. Instead, she faces a personal dilemma—questioning why a high school girl, who is expected to be carefree and playful, must know about the complexities of the future, adulthood, and everything else.
The Slice of Life
Visually, Andini takes a personal approach to portraying Yuni through the use of the color purple. The camera rarely leaves Yuni’s expressions and gestures from the beginning to the end of the film. For example, when the school announced the application of virginity tests to female students, the camera captured her confused expression, while the chirps of other students and whispers filled the background, making her expression the camera’s focus.
The film doesn’t just explore the typical coming-of-age topic by placing its characters in a confined space, as many films about teenagers in Indonesia tend to do. Instead, it avoids stereotypical depictions, and the audience isn’t given a clear picture of the characters’ backgrounds. Rather, the film brings the characters to life within a broader context, going beyond the protagonist’s immediate surroundings.
Andini’s work also breaks away from traditional Indonesian filmmaking conventions. She uses multiple cameras to highlight Yuni’s activities in her neighborhood. For instance, the audience sees her hanging out with her school friends near the beach, in an alley near her house, and in a hangout place for local women. The audience gets glimpses of her life outside of her home. At one point, the film even shows her sneaking into the school toilet, which serves as a place for students to exchange gossip, making the protagonist the subject of such gossip at times.
The Defectiveness of Yuni
Yuni shows how society and its system work through the color purple, various interactions, and activities. Her experiences are always connected to her living environment and her interactions with the people around her, allowing the audience to understand that she is not alone. Through Yuni, the audience gets acquainted with other female characters, some of whom are her age, while others are older. Each character has a unique personality and behavior, representing different aspects of the themes and describing various dilemmas, situations, and problems that the characters in general face.
According to the protagonist’s school, the ideal woman is someone who passes the virginity test and does not reveal her nakedness through singing. The government’s policy leads the school to take shortcuts to punish anyone deemed to have violated these norms. If Yuni and her friends do not pass the virginity test, they are not considered ideal women. This situation highlights how schools biasedly avoid providing sex education to their students and refrain from opening a room for discussion about aurat (genitalia).
The Color of Purple
By seeking education through other channels, Yuni befriends marginalized individuals who are often considered a “disease” by the system. She gains a deep understanding of how early marriage is not a solution, particularly after hearing the story of a salon worker who became a victim of domestic violence. She also becomes aware of the consequences of early motherhood when she meets a friend her age who had to drop out of school after giving birth. Learning to express herself from her environment outside of school, she realizes that her voice is not an aurat (something that needs to be concealed).
Social standards become a barrier and a lesson for Yuni when she encounters a queer person. She faces a difficult decision—should she follow her conscience, ignore the problem by adopting adult-like behaviors, or obey society’s policies? Ultimately, Andini encourages her protagonist to acknowledge her ignorance in making decisions that may be considered careless or go against expectations.
The color purple permeates all characters in the film, without judgment, and without attempting to dictate how a teenager, especially a girl, should behave.
The Adherence
Naturally, Yuni became the subject of an indie documentary-like film, aiming to explore the life of a typical Indonesian girl trapped in trepidation, confusion, and joy—experiences universally encountered by teenagers. Despite its confidence and simplicity, the film wisely refrains from seeking an antagonist, which is to its great credit. Instead, the focus lies on the crux of the matter: events and adulthood shaping the lives of young girls like Yuni too soon. It becomes evident that young women need more time to navigate these challenges.
Yuni observes the landscape and breathes the air, discovering the directions the characters want to pursue. With Andini’s skillful direction, the film achieves a balance of lightness and seriousness, tackling profound themes with ease. As the protagonist receives financially lucrative marriage proposals, the film explores its own path, searching for its essence and direction.
Nevertheless, Andini takes a risk by portraying Yuni in purple color, making her seem unsympathetic. However, this unsympathetic approach leads to a deeper understanding of the societal shortcomings that affect not only female characters but also males. The film encourages critical thinking about a society that does not function well for all genders.
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