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In a recent interview with local newspaper Suara Pembaruan, Ari Sihasale, co-producer and director of “King,” said he did not expect to sell a lot of tickets or win any awards. All he and his team wanted to do was create a “quality film” — and that’s what they have done.

“King” tells the story of a young badminton player named Guntur, played by the real-life player Rangga Raditya from a badminton school in South Jakarta . Guntur dreams of one day being as good as the Indonesian badminton legend Liem Swie King.

His father, Tejo (Mamiek Prakoso), was a big fan of Liem and gave his son Liem’s Indonesian name, Guntur.

Guntur lives in rural Java and faces a number of obstacles to his dream. He is too poor t o buy a new racket, playing with his old wooden one, and whenever his best friend, Raden (Lucky Martin), tries to help Guntur find one, the plan always backfires.

When he manages to borrow a racket, he has to substitute its broken strings with guitar strings and whatever else he can manage to find.

Guntur also has to deal with a strained relationship with his father. Tejo is a single parent who wants to support his son, but he is afraid Guntur will be too soft if he shows him too much affection. He resorts to tough love, creating a tense dynamic at home and leaving Guntur feeling unloved.

He survives with the support of Raden and a girl, Michelle (Valerie Thomas), who has just arrived from the city. Through one of Raden’s clever schemes, Guntur has the opportunity to train with a professional badminton coach named Pak Herman, and is given the chance to try out for the national junior team.

“King” is a successful film because it does not treat the audience as simpletons. While the conflict is conventional, it is presented in a subtle way and conveys a strong sense of realism. The father-son relationship is developed without employing cliches.

Mamiek plays a convincing conflicted old-school father, which may come as a surprise to those who know him mostly as a slapstick comedian.

He develops the character from an austere parent, making deprecating and sarcastic remarks to Guntur, to a man struggling to renew the father-son bond, asking for advice from a friends and a village badminton master, Raino (Ario Wahab).

When Tejo does manage to offer support to his son in one scene, it is not a melodramatic 180-degree change of character, which happens all too often in local dramas.

Guntur is also well portrayed by Rangga, who is not a professional actor. Where using nonprofessional actors always poses a risk, Rangga brings an authenticity to the role.

Lucky’s portrayal of Raden is also commendable, bringing light comic relief to the drama.

The movie does drag a little in the middle after a well-paced introduction. Thankfully, the last half is efficient in wrapping up the rather long setup.

In his direction, Ari captures the beauty of the rural Javanese landscape as a backdrop to the film. The camera work is not spectacular, but is much better than most local productions.

“King” is one of the most relatable local films that has been produced in a long while and is definitely worth a trip to the cinema.

King
Now playing at Blitz Megaplex and Cinema 21
Indonesian
90 minutes