Fireworks (2023)

Fireworks (2023)

This somber one-room drama delves into suicide and redemption with a time-loop twist

7.2

Movie

Indonesia
Indonesian
Drama, Science Fiction, Thriller
2023
HERWIN NOVIANTO
Donny Damara, Hanggini Purinda Retto, Imelda Therinne
104 min

TLDR

Going forward, I will watch fireworks ONLY on TV.

What it's about

Four strangers meet in a group chat and decide to commit suicide together, but the plan goes awry and they are forced to confront their own reasons for wanting to die.

The take

Even with its morale apparent early in the film, Fireworks marries its mental health/loneliness discussion with a "locked room"-type mystery and the cosmic loop of a group suicide attempt gone wrong. It does take care not to glamourize suicide (or needlessly persevering through struggles), but it teeters between virtue signaling and the sincere reminder to reach out to others for help. With anxiety, hopelessness, grief, and redemption at its core, the film still tugs on the heart even though it pulls away from ruminating on the more intense emotions and thoughts that aren't easily dismissed in a single (even if endless) encounter. 

What stands out

Hanggini, playing the sole teenager in the group, delivers a great performance balancing feeling isolated by her troubles and the temperament to push back against the adults belittling her. Despite their intention to dissuade her, the film gives her agency and rationality, breaking up the sometimes stilted hypocrisy of "adults that know it all."

Comments

Add a comment

Your name

Your comment

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

The Quiet American (2002)

An effortless adaptation of the challenging romantic political drama

7.2

Secret Sunshine (2007)

A grieving woman deals with the worst of fates in this challenging, disquieting riverside drama

7.6

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

A star-studded and riveting legal drama with a blockbuster feel.

8.1

The Guilty (2018)

A minimalist, razor-sharp thriller that will have you gasping for air.

9.0

Forgotten Love (2023)

The stunning third take of the classic Polish pre-war melodrama

7.7

Housekeeping for Beginners (2024)

At once understated and powerful, this Macedonian drama shines a necessary light on the complexity of found families

7.8

Beyond the Mat (1999)

The quintessential ‘90s pro wrestling documentary that shows that the top of the mountain carries more insanity than glory

8.0

System Crasher (2019)

A tale of trauma and one of the most talked about movies on Netflix in 2020.

9.0

Infamous (2006)

A slightly embellished, often compared, retelling that depicts the classic novelist’s larger-than-life spirit

7.0

Leave the World Behind (2023)

Shyamalan meets Black Mirror in this hugely entertaining, visually inventive apocalyptic thriller with a killer ending

8.2

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.