International Film Series

Opera Jawa

September 03, 2008

7:00pm

Event Summary

Indonesian, with subtitles in English

Indonesia, 2006 (120 minutes)

Setyo and Siti live a peaceful life as husband and wife, selling earthenware in their village. But when Setyo is called away on business, a flirtatious butcher, Ludiro takes advantage of Siti's loneliness to seduce her. Tempted by song and dance, Siti initially refuses his advances but acquiesces in a moment of weakness, setting the stage for an epic battle between two men. Located in lush forest and on pristine beaches of Java, director Garin Nugroho bases his deeply imagistic and dazzling visual narrative on "The Abduction of Sita" from the Hindu epic, Ramayana.