Our take
Education is a human right, but for many girls around the world, this isn’t necessarily guaranteed– especially if they want to learn past the required years of basic education. Yuni is a coming-of-age drama that depicts a girl in West Java, Indonesia who wants to go to university, but due to the marriage and virginity culture in the area, her main problem isn’t having to pass the entrance exams, or figuring out how to get financial aid. Instead, it’s having to fend off marriage proposals that clearly don’t come from a place of love. Writer-director Kamila Andini depicts the titular protagonist with the freedoms rarely granted to a girl like her, with the happiness and belonging all girls should be able to find solace in, but she also depicts the casual ways oppression lingers in the background, with society just waiting to kill women’s dreams, hopes, and personal goals. Yuni is an honest and powerful portrait of many women around the globe.
The story
In her last year of secondary school, a bright Indonesian student is determined to pursue her education and resist getting married, despite the expectations of her community.
Elsewhere
"The third feature directed solo by Kamila Andini tackles topics that need to be discussed and further enhances her standing as a vital and intelligent voice in contemporary Indonesian cinema."
— Richard Kuipers
Wanting to attend university, Indonesian student Yuni rejects a marriage proposal in her last year of high school, which triggers concern from her community that she will never marry.
Kamila Andini’s raw direction and writing is so straight to the point that even girls in other cultures that don’t deal with child marriage can still find themselves in the film.
Someday, somehow, Yuni’s story wouldn’t be a possibility for girls around the world. But until that day, I hope more filmmakers would dare to be as honest and thoughtful as Kamila Andini in depicting this issue.
The details
Streaming arrival
Who picked it
Isabella Endrinal is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. She's now free from the corporate night shift. Previous articles have been published in outlets such as NANG Magazine. She's currently catching up on some classic films… if she isn't coping with the fact that the Haikyu anime will end soon.
