
Somewhere between low-brow movies and art-house fare is a sweet spot occupied by films that explore weighty subjects while still managing to entertain in a populist sense. Indonesian director Nia Dinata hit that spot in 2002 with Ca-bau-kan (The Courtesan), which looked at Chinese-Indonesian identity during the republic's early years. Since then, she has directed two more films, Arisan! (The Gathering, 2003) and Berbagi Suami (Love for Share, 2006), and co-directed another, Perempuan Punya Cerita (Chants of Lotus, 2007). Each one depicts subjects rarely discussed in Indonesian society, such as homosexuality...