Glasgow Film Festival review: Yuni
Review Overview
Sexual freedom
4Purple
10Room to dream
5Jasmine Valentine | On 06, Mar 2022
Director: Kamila Andini
Cast: Arawinda Kirana, Kevin Ardilova, Dimas Aditya, Neneng Risma
Certificate: TBC
Yuni is one of the films playing at the 2022 Glasgow Film Festival in cinemas and online. For more information on the online line-up and how it works, click here.
Fairytale viewing is a staple in any cinematic palette. Transcending culture, time and generations, qualities that create the classic fairytale are prevalent throughout film’s history. It’s perhaps this commitment to genre that has subtly reinforced social stereotypes towards women, rendering them useless without additional help or a dashing prince asserting his control. Kamila’s Andini’s Yuni runs with this same philosophy, walking a careful tightrope between personal freedom and misogyny.
If Yuni were a spice, it would be flour. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Flour is a basic foundation, without which much else can be achieved. Although it explores topics dissected time and time again, Yuni amplifies issues that continually need to be heard. Whether it’s highlighting the lengths a man will go to to protect his image, or challenging the topics of nudity and menstruation outside of their typical social gaze, Yuni stands strong as a cultural torchbearer for new audiences.
Yuni offers something that most typical teenage coming-of-age stories don’t — an authentic look at Islamic culture for a Western audience. Instead of offloading stereotypical viewpoints of oppressive family hierarchies and a third-world tint, viewers are exposed to a world that has more agency than mainstream media would make out to be true. There’s certainly internalised misogyny present, yet Yuni has the personal space to figure out what she truly wants. Poetry becomes a character in its own form, revealing a character’s true wants while unmasking the intentions of others.
While the cinematography itself doesn’t leap from the page, the eye is distracted by a charismatic lead, acting as the vehicle for social conversation. Arawinda Kirana as Yuni is a typical teen with a glint in her eye, dealing with the pests and mean girls that are universally relatable. Through her moments of self-reflection and honest conversation with her friends, the likes of teen marriage, pregnancy and the wider social fixation with virginity are held aloft and tested. A few narrative left hooks are thrown in for good measure, while social outsiders are showcased through stilted attempts at love and passion.
Who deserves to dream? Yuni tells us that the answer is everyone. The film is fantastic in its moral compass, but the overall output verges towards the forgettable. Its middle-of-the-road production is met halfway by a social investigation that packs a powerful punch. Its poignancy lies in value placement — while girls strive to be the best, most chaste and most desirable, the pressures that come with social disgrace lie hand in hand with manipulation.
Yuni is available to rent through Glasgow Film at Home from 5th to 8th March. Book your streaming ticket here.