Rocket Rain

"Do you think Adam ever got bored with Eve?" "If Adam and Eve had separated before they had kids, that would've been a disaster!" Jansen is going through a marital crisis, and after a long hiatus he meets his old friend Culapo, who has gone through similar problems. For the present, getting out of town is the only step Jansen has taken. Although of differing temperaments, the men offer each other support and understanding, which helps them in their search for inner peace. This leisurely-paced movie is deeply anchored in the local culture, discussing family values and traditions openly, although the film's poetics help keep things universally applicable. Here, the blending of reality and fantasy arises from a perception of the everyday that differs from what Western society is used to, where dreaming isn't usually considered a part of daily life. The movie looks at universal questions of family and, more generally, interpersonal relationships from the perspective of the two men, yet it is entirely free of the macho attitudes that are closer to mainstream Indonesian culture, as elsewhere. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)