Pintu Terlarang (2009) Reviews

• Brilliant...the Best Indonesian Thriller Movie

  wito10062009-02-06

  Pintu Terlarang (aka the Forbidden Door) is a brilliant film, plain and simple. Joko Anwar, the director, did a fabulous job constructing the imagery of the psychological thriller with magnificent scoring, impressive casts and smart plot line. Though the film, itself came from the best-selling novel by Sekar Ayu, I found that it only took major plot from the novel. To be honest, I did not know about the ending until it was revealed. Quite a shock! Both Fachri Albar and Marsha Timothy gives one of the best performances of their career, the powerful performances with complex emotions. Some scene are quite disturbing but it helps the film to build intense in beautiful cinematography, the Joko Anwar's style. You may go and see this film again to realize why the end is such a surprise, or so many twists that you want to get them clearly…or you could rush out to watch it again purely because it's an almost perfect example of it's genre, as I did it three times. Brilliant.

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• Beautifully Disturbing & Violently Haunting, It's A Ride Of Your Life!

  danieldokter2009-02-07

  As another breakthrough in thriller genre that has just grown in Indonesian cinema, Pintu Terlarang (Forbidden Door) goes far beyond the genre's boundaries. Based on the novel by Sekar Ayu Asmara, this psychological mind-thriller has re-shaped with Joko Anwar's very own absurdity. Here, that stylish Indonesian director, Joko Anwar, who brought us Janji Joni and the mesmerizing adventure fantasy, Kala, has once again takes his audience to another world and mind-bending dimension with his absurd way of storytelling, vintage-noir art direction and scores that make you fly with it. The famous pregnant woman sculptor, Gambir (Fachri Albar) starts losing his world after getting strange same messages from an abused little boy. With everyone around suddenly act strange, his paranoia then leads the shocking findings that may opens the door to his deepest fears. Beautifully shots, acted and wrapped, Joko leaves his audience wonders, questioning and even arguing every clues he used just like opening the encrypted codes to a secret files. A gory-ness disturbing scenes that comes without compromise, a complex plot that even screw your minds, high-style art directing, intense acting that put the highest credits to Fachri Albar, haunting atmosphere all over the movie, brilliant scores, comes along together as one must-see Indonesian movie of the decades. Just like one movie that could rolls puzzling through your minds, Pintu Terlarang/Forbidden Door is truly, beautifully disturbing and violently haunting. It's a one hell-ride of your life!

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• Fantastic thriller

  kevinsutton2009-08-20

  This movie is a perfectly executed thriller combining startling and grisly violence with mystery and a foreboding mood. A young artist finds himself drawn into a world of terror against his will and his life begins to unravel. This is a story of a cruel world and of living under the power of others. The multi-part climax and ending could be described predictable, surprising, (Yes, both of those) as truly epic, and cryptic. I think I've figured what it was supposed to mean, though even had you left the theatre merely confused, you'll appreciate the craft and you will have been affected by the movie. The acting and direction is top notch, and I can attest that the movie was foreboding even when interrupted by technical difficulties and projector problems as my theatre endured when the movie was screened. (Appropriately enough given the English title, our projector broke in two parts where the main character opened a door at a tense moment) I would love to see more work by these people.

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• a

  pintu_terlarang2009-01-25

  Pintu Terlarang (a.k.a The Forbidden Door) is really, really great and will definitely making you stay in your chair when you watched this greatest movie ever. Gambir is an artist. He got a beautiful wife, Talyda. Someday, Gambir got some weird message. Gambir try to find who send that message. And he tell that message to his friends, Dandung and Rio, and they cannot help Gambir. Gambir still trying hard to find who send that message, when someday he found some strange door in his home. He asked to his wife, Talyda, about that door. Talyda told him to never opened that door. Gambir finally got an bright way to solved his problem about weird message. There's some secret organization who broadcast some strange video about the kid who tortured by his parents. Gambir trying hard to help this kid, and take him to sadness truth, madness, Talyda's secrets and definitely, that forbidden door. Once again, Joko Anwar will give you another guilty pleasure when you watch this. Just like Dead Time : Kala (2007), Joko Anwar make this movie so heartbreaking which is making you keep staying in your chair. The point is, this movie will make you forget the world, and after saw this movie, I promise, that your brain will full with your own idea about the ending, because, baby, the ending is so cool. You can put some point of view about the ending. Fachri Albar give a bad-ass performance. He is really great. And, Marsha Timothy can act well too. She can act as a wife who is really mysterious with really great. The art direction is totally awesome. And the music score is really, really make you wanna jumped out from your chair. Just watch this movie, watch the Christmas dinner scene and you will forget anything! Trust me.

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• A movie that will leave you contemplating long after you left the theatre

  inatassa-12009-02-12

  I've been a fan of Anwar's movie since he was said to have reached a monumental achievement in Indonesian cinematography by directing Kala, a noir film unlike any others. And I believed then that it was going to be hard for any film director to top that, until Anwar arises again with Pintu Terlarang (Forbidden Door). I came watching the movie with high expectation, since I've read the book from where it was adapted and totally fell in love with the story, and also because Anwar's previous masterpiece Kala. Not surprisingly, though, not only Pintu Terlarang met my already high expectation, it has also managed to surpass it in many ways: cinematography, angles, and a brilliant adaptation of the original storyline (I only wish that someday I would have the chance to see the uncut or director's cut version). Pintu Terlarang is not merely a depiction of a psychological battle and conspiracy at its very core, thus providing us with countless opportunity to respond to each scene biographically, it ialso provide us with incredible shock-and-awe effect that will leave the audience contemplating inside their head long after they leave the theatre. This is a movie that belongs in the same class as any films that Stanley Kubrik and Quentin Tarantino have had us the pleasure of enjoying.

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