ALIKA JANTINIA, DEVANO DANENDRA IN GOWOK: JAVANESE KAMASUTRA

HANBUNG BRAMANTYO: GOWOK: JAVANESE KAMASUTRA (2025 New York Asian Film Festival 2025)

Indonesian epic of sex training strays too far from its opening sweetness

In his detailed and admiring reviw in The Film Verdict Clarence Tsui opens by declaring Hanung Bramantyo "one of the most commercially successful Indonesian directors of his generation," and this film, arrived at Rotterdam, "something that’s epic in every sense." Actually it's "epic" somewhat in the sense of Ryan Coogler's genre-busting astonishment Sinners. But it probably has narrower appeal. It's a generation-crossing tale of a gone local custom, sex training for well-born young men. This leads to a great, tragic romance, with ends after two hours in spell-weaving and horrific violence. The memory of the romance is sweet; of the final violence, perhaps not so great, though that ending, "packaged with a layered twist" as a Letterboxd contributor puts it, is indeed ingenious. As Tsui says, this film is "lushly mounted period drama of the old-school, big-screen variety." It feels at times as if it could have been made in the time it covers, 1955-65, except such sexually related subject matter would not have been broached and such a tale would probably not have ended in such genre-busting violence. The early love story is enchanting; what follows at times a bit of a slog.

The thing we learn about is the Gowok, which went out after a massacre in 1965. A Gowok was a woman pledged to remain single all her life, whose sole function was to train young males of high status in the ways of sex and of giving pleasure to their female partners. But this is indeed a grand and at moments beautiful production.

The Gowok is Nyai Santi (Lola Amaria). She has a hunble young assistant and planned successor, Ratri Sujita (Alika Jantinia). The youth brought to them, who is destined for marriage soon and for a higher role in the region than expected, is young Kamanjaya (Indonesian pop star Devano Danendra). The setting is a virtual palace, bordering on an impressive tiered waterfall where women go to do laundry, and Santi to pray and meditate.

What happens is that young Jaya immediately falls for equally young Ratri, and though she is of the lowliest origins, he is one rare priviledged young man who is thoroughly imbued with radical ideas about the education and and liberation of Indonesian women. While he is secretly taking Ratri aside and wooing her and kissing her and assuring her this is okay, he is also coaching her in the liberation of women and referring her to a program in town (which she's able to get to thereafter) that will provide her a pathway to a better life than being the successor to the Gowok Santi and never marrying. He promises to marry her and shows her an attractive journal he is keeping in which he describes his love for her.

Viewers in hopes of a sexy film will be disappointed, because while glimpses of the sexual training and of the book of Kamasutra-related instruction used by Santi and passed on to Ratri are provided, we don't see much of the actual Gowok-to-proviledged-youth amorous training, which probably would have made local viewers uncomfortable, and anyway is not what director Bramantyo is aiming for.

There are scenes between Jantinia and Denendra that are extremely sweet and touching - and hopeful, though we suspect that Jayi's promises for one reason or another are too good to be true. After his training with Santi he must leave, though he doesn't want to be away from Ratri. He then goes into military training. Af first he and Ratri exchange frequent letters. Then Jayi's letters stop. Ratri is devastated. She loses all her hope, and eventually accepts her fate of remaining in Santi's service and grooming as a Gowok. This accounts for nearly the first half of the two hours-plus film, a segment I can recommend to anyone.

Afterwards things get much more complicated and full of intrigue and decepton. Ratri's deception - Jayi's letters were, of course, derailed so Ratri did not see them - leads Ratri, much later, when Jayi has taken on very high status and has a son, Bagas, sent to the Gowok, to seek revenge, cruelly deceived, though finally enlightened into the machinations of Santi. There are light notes, among which trans person Aldi Bisl as Gowok servant Liyan
is notable, and young Ali Fikry is adept as the presumed son of the mature Jayi (Reza Rahadian). The cast is good throughout. But the sterling memory is of young Jaya wooing young Ratri, itself convincing proof that they know how to make sophisticated and entertaining movies in Indonesia.

Gowok: Javanese Kamasutra, 132 mins., premiered at Rotterdam. It was screened for this review as part of the Jul. 11-17, 2025 New York Asian Film Festival.

SCHEDULE:
Tuesday July 15, 6:00pm
LOOK Cinemas W57

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©Chris Knipp. Blog: http://chrisknipp.blogspot.com/.