Brownies is a 2004 Indonesian film directed by Hanung Bramantyo. It is about a career woman who falls for an entrepreneur over their mutual love of brownies.
| Brownies | |
|---|---|
 VCD cover | |
| Directed by | Hanung Bramantyo |
| Written by | Hanung Bramantyo Salman Aristo Eric Sasono |
| Produced by | Cindy Christina Novi Christina Mitzy Christina Leo Sutanto |
| Starring | Marcella Zalianty Bucek Depp Philip Jusuf Arie K. Untung Luna Maya |
| Cinematography | Tommy Jepang |
| Edited by | Cesa David Luckmansyah |
| Music by | Gigi |
| Distributed by | SinemArt |
Release date |
|
Running time | 114 minutes |
| Country | Indonesia |
| Language | Indonesian |
Plot
editMel (Marcella Zalianty) is a young creative director at an advertising agency who is engaged to Joe (Philip Jusuf). However, she catches him having sex with another woman and breaks off their relationship. This devastates Mel, who becomes incapable of bearing the sight of him and destroys their pictures together. For revenge she begins flirting with numerous men. However, her best friend Didi (Elmayana Sabrena) convinces her to not become like Joe.
Didi takes her to a local café, where Are (Bucek Depp), an aspiring novelist, loans books and serves brownies. Although Mel loves eating the chocolate confections, she cannot cook them well; Are, meanwhile, cooks delicious brownies but has not had them since his mother died. The two spend time together and eventually begin falling in love, despite their class differences: Are was once a street child, while Mel has been raised wealthy. They are able to reconcile these differences, and Are gives Mel hints on cooking brownies.
However, Mel continues to have feelings for Joe and, when he invites her to dinner, does not come to Are's birthday; she is later disappointed when Joe reveals that he had intended a business dinner. Not long after Are has finished writing his novel – with Mel as his publicist – Joe says he is willing to break off his relationship with his new fiancée Astrid (Luna Maya) and return to Mel, if Mel can help him break up with her.
Mel tells Are that she cannot come to the launch, which upsets him. Before she can leave for the dinner, Didi accosts her and tells Mel that she has become just like Joe, breaking people's hearts. After several hours contemplating and cooking brownies, Mel decides to go to the launch but arrives after it is over. She goes to a nearby park where they had often dated, hoping to find him. As she sits crying, disappointed at not seeing him, Are comes behind her and the two confess their love, walking away together and sharing a brownie.
Cast
edit- Marcella Zalianty as Mel
- Phillip Jusuf as Joe
- Elmayana Sabrena as Didie
- Bucek Depp as Are
- Luna Maya as Astrid
Production
editFor Brownies, director Hanung Bramantyo used high-definition video; according to Bramantyo, it was the first Indonesian films to use the technology.[1][2] Bramantyo had previously directed several television series and films, but Brownies was his first film meant to be commercial.[3] The title was chosen because Bramantyo liked eating brownies.[4]
Film critic and aspiring screenwriter Salman Aristo, who showed one of his screenplays to Bramantyo at a seminar, was asked to write the screenplay. To do so, Aristo did intensive research into the production of brownies. It was the first time one of his screenplays was used in a film.[5]
Marcella was picked by SinemArt, while Bucek was chosen through casting.[1] The band Gigi provided the soundtrack.[2]
Jose Rizal Manua bookstore, near Taman Ismail Marzuki, served as Are's café. The crew spent Rp. 20 million refurbishing it for the film.[1]
Release and reception
editBrownies was released in December 2004.[4]
A review in Republika wrote that the story had nothing special to offer and that the actors were not all giving their prime performances. However, the review praised the film's soundtrack.[2] Leila S. Chudori, reviewing for Tempo magazine, wrote that the plot was strong and acting generally good, but deplored the film's long stretches of dialogue, writing that she "prayed that the screenwriters would learn techniques to edit the dialogue so that the audience could breathe."[a][4]
At the 2005 Indonesian Film Festival, Bramantyo won a Citra Award for Best Director with Brownies. Bramantyo went on to produce more commercially viable films such as Get Married (2006) and Ayat-Ayat Cinta (The Verses of Love), both of which were viewed by more than a million people.[3]
Awards
editBrownies was nominated for eleven Citra Awards at the 2005 Indonesian Film Festival, winning three.[6]
| Award | Year | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indonesian Film Festival | 2005 | Best Film | Nominated | |
| Best Director | Hanung Bramantyo | Won | ||
| Best Screenplay | Hanung Bramantyo, Salman Aristo, Eric Sasono | Nominated | ||
| Best Leading Actor | Bucek Depp, Arie K Untung | Nominated | ||
| Best Leading Actress | Marcella Zalianty | Won | ||
| Best Supporting Actress | Elmayana Sabrenia | Nominated | ||
| Best Cinematography | Tommy Jepang | Nominated | ||
| Best Artistic Direction | Eros Eflin | Nominated | ||
| Best Editing | Cesa David Luckmansyah | Nominated | ||
| Best Musical Direction | Dewa Budjana | Nominated | ||
| Best Sound Arrangement | Siti Asifa Nasution | Won |
Notes
edit- ^ Original: "... saya berdoa agar para penulis skenario mulai belajar teknik menyunting dialog yang bikin penonton menghela napas."
References
edit- Footnotes
- Bibliography
- "Brownies: Biarkan Rasa yang Memilih" [Brownies: Let Taste Decide]. Republika (in Indonesian). 5 December 2004. Archived from the original on 15 March 2005. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
- "Brownies: Simbol Cinta Yang Tak Semudah Membuatnya" [Brownies: A Symbol of Love That's Not as Easy as Making It]. Tabloid Nova (in Indonesian). 2005. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
- Chudori, Leila S. (20 December 2004). "Sepotong Brownies bagi Remah-Remah Hati" [A Slice of Brownies to Calm the Heart]. Tempo (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 1 August 2009. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
- Ismono, Henry (22 July 2009). "Salman Aristo, "Rajanya" Skenario Andal" [Salman Aristo, "King" of Quality Screenplays]. Tabloid Nova. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
- Mariani, Evi (23 March 2008). "Hanung Bramantyo: Hitting the right marks". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 23 September 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
- "Penghargaan Brownies" [Awards for Brownies]. filmindonesia.or.id (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Konfiden Foundation. Archived from the original on 27 August 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2012.