November 14, 2025
JAKARTA – There is something both familiar and unfamiliar about Indonesian drama film Pangku, (On Your Lap, its official English title), directed and cowritten by Reza Rahadian.
On one hand, it is as though Pangku continues Indonesian cinema’s long-held storytelling tradition of motherhood struggles. On the other hand, Pangku unfolds in such an unhurried sense of realism, devoid of the dramatic bombast to which most Indonesian filmmakers would typically resort.
But perhaps that’s the best way to tell the story of Pangku’s maternal heroine. More importantly, that’s also perhaps how Reza had wished to introduce himself as a film director in the first place. After the film’s press screening on Oct. 28, he divulged that he wished to be known as the kind of film director who is “in tune with the realism built in the scene.”
“I’m quite hands-on on how things are visually created, both in terms of how to determine an angle and in terms of how to choose a certain spot,” shared Reza in a one-on-one chat. “I [still] don’t know what kind of director I am, considering this is my first film [as a director]. But, if I could self-proclaim, maybe that’s the kind of director I am.”
Even though Reza is still discovering who he is as a film director, he is certain of one thing. As a director, he doesn’t like to direct the “audience’s feelings.”
“Even as I prepared the script and developed the film, sometimes the producers would provide some input like whether I should add more enhancements to the shot and make it more tearful and such,” he continued. “But I said, ‘No, no, let’s not do that.’ I don’t want to direct that kind of feeling. Let the [audience] feel whatever they feel.”
Beyond directing, Reza Rahadian (center) also cowrote the screenplay for ‘Pangku’, marking a deeper creative involvement in his first feature. PHOTO: GAMBAR GERAK FILM/THE JAKARTA POST
Showing, not telling
Pangku tells the story of Sartika (portrayed by Claresta Taufan), a single mother who, all by herself, moves to the Jalur Pantura (Java Northern Coast Route) to find work and build a new life. To make ends meet, she works at a kopi pangku: the practice of selling coffee accompanied by the provision of a female companion, where the latter sits on the male patron’s lap while giving a massage.
In addition to Claresta, the film also stars, to name a few, Christine Hakim (Impetigore), José Rizal Manua (The Prize), Devano Danendra (MeloDylan), Kaan Lativan (Memories of My Body), Happy Salma (Before, Now & Then) and Fedi Nuril (5 cm).
Meanwhile, Pangku sets itself apart from typical dramas not only through its restraint from histrionics but also through Reza’s directorial choice to “show” rather than “tell”. Instead of offering explicit explanations for each character’s motives, Reza lets the story unfold naturally before the audience.
It is a directorial stance inspired by Reza’s love for filmmakers known for their attuned, yet perceptive storytelling, such as Yasujirō Ozu, Hirokazu Koreeda and Jafar Panahi.
“I learned a lot through their films growing up,” Reza enthused. “There are a lot of scenes [in their films] that consist of minimal dialog, yet they manage to pass down this certain feeling that I can, rather unexpectedly, absorb. Sometimes we [as filmmakers] are too focused on dialog and what to say, and that was what I tried to keep at bay [during filming].”
This vision was also the driving force behind the screenplay of Pangku, which Reza wrote alongside Felix K. Nesi. The latter is known for his novel Orang-Orang Oetimu (2018) and collection of short stories Kapten Hanya Ingin ke Dili (2022).
“Even with these characters’ level of intellectuality, I didn’t want them to have ‘quotes’ from their mouth, [meaning] sentences that would sound witty or touching, but wouldn’t make sense coming from people who are struggling with their own lives,” Reza remarked.
And, going back to Reza’s focus on cinematic realism, sometimes life can’t be sugar-coated or downright romanticized in a philosophical fashion.
“What [these characters] know for sure about life is to keep going. That’s it,” he continued. “They don’t have any philosophical quotes or some quotable moments.”
Reza described Pangku as a film crafted on location, a creation he shaped directly through the places and moments where it was shot, not later in the editing room.
While some filmmakers might finally know what they want once they put all the scenes together during editing, Reza was already sure of what Pangku should look like from day one, while also responding to the sparks of inspiration conjured by the filming location.
Still and all, editing a film as delicate as Pangku into its final theatrical cut was no mean feat. The final cut spans one hour and 44 minutes. Without editing, how long would Pangku have been instead?
“Two hours and 20 minutes!” Reza answered, laughing.
In his directorial debut, prominent actor Reza Rahadian showcases his delicate craftsmanship in ‘Pangku’, a feature drama that portrays the struggles of motherhood with quiet realism. ‘Pangku’ premiered in Indonesian theaters on Nov. 6, 2025. PHOTO: GAMBAR GERAK FILM/THE JAKARTA POST
Tomorrow is a privilege
In portraying Sartika, Claresta divulged that she fully embraced Reza’s vision for her character, as well as how he handled the moral dilemma of a woman like Sartika working at a kopi pangku.
“It’s not about right and wrong,” Claresta explained her character’s dilemmatic circumstances. “What’s interesting is that when I prepared for this role, I had the chance to talk with women like Sartika on the Pantura route so that I could see life directly from their point of view. I learned a lot from them as a result.”
One of the things that Claresta learned: how, for certain women, life is too complex to be scrutinized through a typical moralistic lens.
“They don’t complain, they don’t blame their circumstances, and they don’t blame anyone. They just focus on life as it is today. For them, to be able to think about tomorrow is a privilege,” she continued.
And, last but not least, Claresta admired Reza’s anti-dramatic style in telling the story of Sartika as a whole.
“What’s more interesting is when the audience can go through empathy instead [through this film]. It’s not about the character bawling their eyes out. It’s about the audience being able to sense the grief that this character suppresses. And that’s what happens in real life as well,” she enthused.
Pangku premiered in Indonesian theaters on Nov. 6.