TIFF 51: “Four Seasons in Java” is Kamila Andini’s most ambitious film to date

by Cláudio Alves Over the last decade and change, Kamila Andini has become one of Indonesia's most acclaimed and internationally recognized filmmakers. Her debut, 2011’s The Mirror Never Lies, carried the pressure of paternal legacy, for Andini is the daughter of renowned director Garin Nugroho. Yet, the film’s promise of excellence was enough to supersede the legacy of blood and quiet any errant accusations of nepotism. More successes followed, including 2021’s Yuni, which represented Indonesia at the 94th Academy Awards, and 2022’s Before, Now and Then, which competed at the Berlinale and won Laura Basuki a deserved Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance. This year, her Four Seasons in Java had its world premiere at TIFF as a Centerpiece selection. Part revenge Western and part ghostly horror, part foray into magical realism and a piece of landscape poetry, a reflection on sexual violence against women and the insufficiencies of superficial progress, the film is hard to…