9/3/2024

I've not had much to do with Indonesian cinema, so I thought I'd give Borderless Fog, a go. This film is a mixed bag. I had a mate who lived in Indonesia for a time and he described it as one of the most dangerous places, he'd ever been. The notion, therefore, of a single woman or even man, for that matter, turning up from the city in rural Indonesia, to track down a serial killer, who chops off people's heads in the jungle, seems far fetched. The key characters credibility, is not helped by the fact that she's dresses like an extra from Miami Vice, whilst wandering through creepy jungle, unaccompanied, with limited visibility. On the upside the characters, even our Miami Vice extra, grow on you over time. They are thankfully, not your usual cardboard cut outs. I liked, too the general vibe of unsettling, often unseen dread, inherent in the jungle setting and the unusual but disturbing nature of the crimes themselves. In summary, a reasonable if not exceptional crime thriller from Indonesia. It ends better than it starts, so you do need to exercise a little patience with this one. Suffice to say, worth a look.