An actor remembers that talent is a gift, in Ernest Prakasa’s quirky, sweet comedy.
“Give us your cockiest smile.”
Vino Agustian (Vino G. Bastian) is an acclaimed actor whose fame has got a little bit too much to his head. After winning a Best Actor award and making an ass of himself at the celebrations, he discovers he has lost his ability to act. This becomes an issue, as he has been selected to play former president of Indonesia Sudiobyo (Arswendy Bening Swara) in an upcoming biopic, supposedly the most expensive and important Indonesian film ever made.
His assistant Dimi (Dea Panendra) susses that this could be a curse, and goes through who could have done this. But the list, which includes his brother and former manager Iskan (Agus Kuncoro) is long, and the shoot starts in a month, forcing Vino to internalise, and change from who he has become.
Lost in the Spotlight is carried largely by the charisma of its leading character. Vino G Bastian balances the secret sweetheart hiding behind the douchebag very nicely. Vino might be a cocky bastard in the film – and I’d be shocked if there wasn’t some sort of real-world parallel poking fun at him here – but his IRL counterpart plays the role really well and sells the internal struggle and eventual redemption he goes through.
If you’re looking for a fresh take on this kind of story, you’re not going to find it here, though. The film does what it does well, don’t get me wrong, but itself doesn’t really do anything particularly special. It’s the classic story of a jerk who has to learn to change in order to break a cycle or a curse. We’ve seen it with Billy Murray in Groundhog Day and Bill Murray in Scrooged and, honestly, I can see Vino G Bastian play these roles in the Indonesian remakes. But it does this trope pretty well, and sells it hard by giving Iksan a lot of agency in his own story, making it not entirely about Vino but about the both of them.
Director Ernest Prakasa has a storied career with tonnes of productions under his belt in his comparatively short time as a filmmaker, and his experience shows. There’s a layer of realism that adds to the film’s stakes, and there’s no doubt that actors like Agustian have graced Indonesian studios for years. I liked this a lot. It was a nice peak into the Indonesian film industry, and told a story that was universal at the same time.
Verdict: With just enough heart to back it up, Lost in the Spotlight works entirely down to its sincerity and talented cast.
Overall entertainment: 7/10
Violence: 1/10
Sex: 0/20
How to win an award: Black magic, I guess?
Bastian: Doesn’t do a terrible job pretending to act badly
Lost in the Spotlight (2024)
Also known as: Lupa Daratan
Indonesian
Director: Ernest Prakasa
Writer: Ernest Prakasa
CAST
Vino G. Bastian – Vino Agustian
Agus Kuncoro – Iksan
Dea Panendra – Dimi
Emil Kusumo – Hasto
Sadha Triyudha – Andi
Mike Lucock – Amir
Sheila Dara Aisha – Sheila
Arswendy Bening Swara – Sudibyo
Morgan Oey – Morgan Woo
Lukman Sardi – Lukman Sarbi
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