Fireworks Review (2023)

Falcon Pictures once again graced the Indonesian film industry with a film adaptation entitled ‘Kembang Api’. The film, directed by Herwin Novianto, adapts the Japanese film ‘3ft Ball and Souls’ by Yoshio Kato. In the Gala Premier which was held on February 22, Yoshio Kato attended and watched the film ‘Fireworks’ with the cast and filmmaker the movie ‘Fireworks’.

Fireworks Synopsis

‘Fireworks’ tells the story of four people who join an online group to commit suicide, the fireworks group. They use pseudonyms such as Cloudy Sky (Donny Damara), White Skull (Marsha Timothy), Black Orchid (Ringgo Agus), and Anggun (Hanggini).

These four people meet in a warehouse to set off a giant fireworks ball and commit suicide together. But, be it bad luck or grace, they get caught in it time loops which made them repeatedly return to the beginning of their meeting. Will they succeed in killing themselves?

Fireworks Movie review

Drama with ironic humor about suicide

Maybe some dramas about mental health try to tell how sad stories are by bringing the audience serious and tense following the story. However, ‘Fireworks’ raises this issue by inserting a “dark” ironic humor about life and death.

‘Fireworks’ inserts several dialogues and scenes that are able to bring sad laughter in the midst of the audience. From the start how frustrated they are with time loops that happened repeatedly, to the moments of the chat that took place between those trying to solve the mystery time loops that happened.

Even though they were new to each other, in fact, there was a lot of chatter going on which led the audience to occasionally nod in agreement and feel the feelings of the players. Problems that occur also often occur in society, so I think this film is also a reminder for the audience to be careful and avoid suicide.

Rows of players together

‘Fireworks’ becomes so alive with the selection of players who fit the role. Donny Damara, Marsha Timothy, Ringgo Agus, and Hanggini, brought the stories of their characters very well. Each represents a condition that causes many people to end their lives.

With different characters and various reasons, their characters slowly grow, of course, supported by the good acting of the players. Stuck in time loops where some of the dialogue is repeated, it doesn’t make this film feel boring, one of which is because the shooting is different for each scene.

Big topic on mental health

There are so many Indonesian films nowadays that carry the theme of mental health by involving teenagers as the main characters. Even though ‘Fireworks’ also features a high school boy as one of the main characters, the other three characters are adults, which makes the film highly representative.

This film shows that everyone, regardless of their background and success in career and life, is inseparable from mental illness. Life that is not constantly on top, sometimes makes some people desperate and try to end their life.

In the movie ‘Fireworks’ four main characters who come to commit suicide and experience time loops, experiencing severe problems according to them, death is the only way. However, is that right?

Fireworks Conclusion

Being an adaptation of the film ‘3ft Ball and Souls’, ‘Fireworks’ feels intense but also tucked into irony comedy that makes the audience feel less tense. Sufficient drama, clear background storytelling, and good acting by the cast, make ‘Fireworks’ a film with quite heavy issues, but can still be enjoyed without feeling tense and boring.