BEFORE, NOW & THEN: As Time Goes By

According to filmmaker Kamila Andini, “Independence for Indonesia did not guarantee freedom for its people; pressure comes in ever-changing forms.” In her fourth feature film, the period drama Before, Now & Then, that pressure is predominantly exerted by the patriarchy, as one woman struggles to free herself from society’s restraints and find her own sense of freedom. Set in late 1960s Indonesia, during the turbulent period of political upheaval that followed the Indonesian National Revolution, the film is a veritable feast for the senses, serving up lush visuals, evocative music, and poignant performances that are no less powerful for their subtlety.

Remember the Night

Nana (the stunning Happy Salma) is the wife of a wealthy plantation owner, Mr. Darga (Arswendy Bening Swara), and mother to a trio of rambunctious children. Her days are spent managing her busy household and being pampered by a fleet of servants, but her nights are plagued with violent nightmares. Many years ago, Nana was married to another man who disappeared during Indonesia’s civil war and is believed to be dead. Still in mourning for what she lost and haunted by a mystery she believes will never be solved, Nana’s nights are full of memories of her lost love, even as she begins to forget small things like his smell and his touch.

Nana’s preoccupation with the past is interrupted by a problem confronting her in the present: Mr. Darga’s infidelities. His mistress is a younger woman named Ino (Laura Basuki, winner of Best Supporting Actress at the Berlin International Film Festival) who works as a butcher and is rumored to be a Communist; whereas Nana feels stifled by what society expects from her as a rich man’s wife, Ino does what she wants and doesn’t seem to care what anyone thinks. Nana finds herself drawn to the younger woman, and the two of them develop an unusual, intimate friendship, sharing secrets and encouraging each other to pursue their desires. But when Nana’s first husband (Ibnu Jamil) suddenly resurfaces, she is faced with a choice that could destroy everything she has done to survive as a woman in this male-dominated world.

Love and Friendship

Despite the film’s focus on the two men in Nana’s life and the way these two very different relationships embody how Nana has changed over time—evolving from sweet and naive young woman to jaded and mature adult—it is the friendship between Nana and Ino that is the heart of Before, Now & Then. It’s refreshing to see a female friendship onscreen that is so full of understanding and so lacking in jealousy, especially considering that one of the women is the mistress of the other’s husband! It might even sound unbelievable, but the extraordinary performances of Salma and Basuki ensure that you’ll not only buy into their relationship but you’ll also be deeply invested in it. These women need each other, even more than they need the men in their lives; only they can provide the support each other needs in a patriarchal world where even other women take great joy in tearing them down, whispering about Nana’s troubled past and her inability to fully satisfy her husband. When Ino is the one to bluntly shut down such rumors during a group meeting, you’ll want to high-five her through the screen.

Before, Now & Then has earned Andini numerous comparisons to Wong Kar-wai that are not entirely undeserved; the film’s gorgeous visuals, from the stunning floral wallpaper that covers Nana’s sitting room to the rich fabrics that comprise her wardrobe to the way cinematographer Batara Goempar’s camera frames each shot as though it is a painting worthy of display in a museum, evoke Wong’s extraordinary ability to create a time and a place capable of fully enveloping viewers like a warm embrace. (It also features many scenes of beautiful people moodily smoking cigarettes, something that Wong has done so iconically in his films that he now has more ownership over that trope than even the French.) It’s an impeccably crafted film, with Vida Sylvia’s swoon-worthy production design and Ricky Lionnardi’s intense, melancholic score playing key supporting roles in the story.

It’s not just an aesthetic resemblance; Before, Now & Then also possesses a strong strain of Wong’s tortured, tragic romanticism—the preoccupation with love lost, the longing for what will never be. Yet with certain scenes in the film almost directly lifted from Wong’s greatest masterpiece, In the Mood for Love—a lovingly lit couple exchanging heated gazes while leaning against walls late at night, a mysterious whisper that seems to contain multitudes we will never hear—Andini goes a bit too far in inviting such comparisons, thus guaranteeing that her film will fall short in the audience’s esteem. After all, how many films have ever reached the lofty heights of In the Mood for Love? Very few, and it’s no slight to Andini’s considerable talents as a filmmaker to say that Before, Now & Then doesn’t quite make it there; it’s still a lovely film, touching on similar themes as Wong’s oeuvre while giving them a fresh feminist perspective.

Conclusion:

“Why is it that guilt always follows women?” Before, Now & Then is a film that dares to ask this question and forces us to wrestle with the painful truth at the core of the answer.

Before, Now & Then premieres theatrically in the U.S. at BAM Rose Cinemas in New York on August 25, 2023 before expanding to additional markets.

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