Original feature by a young Indonesian film maker who wonders how come he hardly feels Chinese, while he is of Chinese blood. Of course it's with a pig, but also with Stevie Wonder and stunning badminton. A film like a puzzle. And not all the pieces seem to fit.
Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly is a film that is both serious and playful. The film tackles a sensitive racial political issue, namely the denial of the cultural identity of the Chinese minority in Indonesia, but is also filled with humorous and bizarre jokes and situations.
The film is made up of several sketches that can differ in their tone and approach, yet keep returning to the central issue of the glossed-over Chinese identity. The insecurity, fear and uprooting this causes among Chinese Indonesians is the real subject of the film. The subject is obviously close to the maker's heart.
It's a film that does not reveal itself directly when being watched. The striking, fragmentary structure is far from mathematical, because the maker only follows his intuition. There are several storylines, but that of the firework girl Linda is one of the most important. People from her surroundings, and also from her past, each get their own minor narratives, including the pig from the title.
The film is often funny, but not light. A well-known song by Stevie Wonder is for instance repeated so often that it becomes confusing and worrying. The maker obviously doesn't want to make a comfortable film, nor only to paint surrealistic scenes. That's why the film also includes real images of real anti-Chinese riots and plundering. (GjZ)