Mereka Bilang, Saya Monyet! 2007

Adjeng, [Titi Rajo Bintang], lives alone in an apartment paid for by her wealthy boyfriend, [Joko Anwar], a businessman who figures prominently in her everyday life. She writes children’s stories but longs to branch out into adult fiction, a goal she pursues under the guidance of her mentor, [Ray Sahetapy], a figure who is both artistic guide and intimate presence in her world. The relationship between Adjeng and her mentor blurs professional boundaries as private life bleeds into creative work, shaping her perspective on the stories she wants to tell.

Adjeng’s overbearing mother hovers over everything she does, constantly calling and showing up unannounced. This dynamic is embodied by her mother figure, [Henidar Amroe], whose interruptions become a running joke among Adjeng’s circle of friends. Among them are Venny [Ayu Dewi], and Andien [Fairuz Faisal], who tease Adjeng about motherhood and the pressures of family life while trying to buoy her through the emotional maze she navigates.

One night, after a night out with friends, Adjeng drinks too much and ends up vomiting and passing out in a nightclub bathroom. In a series of vivid memories—some bright, some painful—she recalls her childhood, including a moment when the younger self, [Nadya Rompies], was forced to swallow vegetables she had already vomited. The memory surfaces again when Andien uses Adjeng’s apartment for a one-night stand, and Adjeng catches a glimpse of her mother in bed with her lover, a man who had previously molested Adjeng (the scene is not shown on screen). This traumatic backstory, along with recollections of a turbulent teen years spent at the home of her womanizing father, [August Melasz], becomes material that she weaves into her short story “Lintah” (Leech).

When Asmoro, the mentor played by [Ray Sahetapy], reads the story, he critiques it as unrealistic and insists that readers crave a clear climax. Adjeng pushes back, arguing that life itself can be unrealistic, and that not all victims of rape are willing to go to the police. This debate sharpens as she defends a portrayal that feels true to her own experience, even if it unsettles conventional expectations about narrative structure and moral judgment.

The tension moves from page to real life when Adjeng learns that her story has been published in Kompas. The revelation unsettles her, and her mother—still furious about the autobiographical echoes—vents anger, blaming Adjeng’s father for abandoning them and for the pain that has followed.

Seeking solace, Adjeng steps out with Venny and Andien, but the evening turns brittle when the two friends begin arguing about motherhood. Overwhelmed, Adjeng leaves them in the street and retreats to a café, where she finds some quiet in a conversation with Asmoro. He offers comfort, and the two share a moment of quiet understanding before Adjeng returns to the apartment and resumes her routine of writing, seeking meaning in the very acts that have unsettled her life.

The next day brings a jarring confrontation: Adjeng spots her boyfriend leaving her building, and a tense exchange with Asmoro escalates until he nearly smothers Adjeng with a pillow, declaring that they are finished. Lying on the bed, she is forced to confront the long memory of her mother’s lover’s violence and the mother’s own reaction to it, a memory that casts a pall over the present. When the phone rings, Adjeng looks out at the people moving through the residential complex—past lives continuing in the same spaces—and, with a cautious smile, she returns to writing, compelled to turn the pain she has witnessed into art that may speak to someone else’s truth.