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Self-immolation, a protagonist who sleeps next to corpses and a former child singer portraying a prostitute.

A movie with all these might sound like yet another B-grade flick relying for success solely on controversy and shock value. Yet “Identitas” (“Identity”) manages to make all of the above not only relevant to its plot, but a weighty metaphor for issues it addresses .

“Identitas” uses its main character, Adam (veteran actor Tio Pasukadewo), to represent those less-fortunate city inhabitants whose self-worth and value is rendered miniscule in a crowded metropolis, where the strong rule the weak.

Adam, a forensic officer at a hospital in Jakarta, is an introverted character who avoids human contact if possible and prefers the company of his “subjects.” He engages in monologues with the bodies he examines, and sometimes at night, even sleeps beside them.

He lives alone in a house “owned” by his father, who has long since disappeared. Because his father had no official identity papers, however, Adam is in danger of being evicted from his home. One of his neighbors claims that the property belongs to him, and Adam screams “The RT and Lurah [neighborhood heads] know that my father owns this house!”

Increasingly desperate and on the verge of becoming homeless, Adam becomes obsessed with the issue of identity and begins relating his own situation to the myriad John and Jane Does that come to his workplace every day — without value and without identity. He begins collecting their name tags, even kissing and caressing them on occasions.

Tio’s portrayal of a desperate Adam during these scenes is perfectly grotesque, layering the character with an oddball disposition that never strays into caricature.

One day, Adam befriends a young woman (former child singer Leony Virtia Hartanty) in the hospital’s waiting room, where she is waiting for her ill father to get treatment.

Adam’s becomes increasingly enamored by the woman and begins to focus his concern for her by secretly caring for her father and buying him the medicines he needs. But when he tries to help them with their health insurance, their lack of identification papers becomes an issue. To make matters worse, the woman is a prostitute, further lowering their chance of receiving any governmental assistance.

Still seeking for ways to help, Adam tries to approach the mayor, who is being treated at the same hospital. He fights the security guards at the door, only to find a mayor’s assistant who offers to help Adam only if he agrees to work for the mayor’s reelection campaign.

The campaign scenes included are comical moments that feel like unnaturally changing gears and even slow the story a pace or two. Fortunately, it is only a small part of the movie and before long, Adam finds out that the woman has been murdered by a client and that her father is inexplicably missing from his hospital bed.

The woman’s body is now owned by the hospital, whose chief wants to sell parts of it for academic research.

Adam tries frantically to save her body as his eviction draws near. The movie’s tragic end seems an inevitable necessity to drive its point home. The extreme manner in which Adam resolves his problems is, sadly, a daily reality in Indonesia.

“Identitas” is an independently produced movie and the first of its kind to be screened in mainstream cinemas. The movie’s indie roots are clearly in effect in the patient pacing and sparse dialogue.

“Identitas” rarely forces its message, but instead relies on scenes mirroring what really goes on in society. It also helps that it’s two main actors, Tio and Leony, both act beautifully, each role underlined with an increasing frailty that is — more often than not — subtle and believable.

Director Aria Kusumadewa smartly avoids too many trendy MTV-style fast-cuts, which currently seems to be the norm. Instead, he lets his script and actors carry the story with minimal camera movement.

“Identitas” might be a message movie, but instead of providing the usual black-and-white answer to its topic, it has enough courage to ask questions about how a modern society governs itself and treats its citizens.