Filmmaker Wregas Bhanuteja’s latest film, Levitating, is a beautiful and surprising examination of religion, addiction, and community. The film is a supernatural drama that offers some sick imagery as it makes its way to a slightly muddled conclusion. However, it’s hard to not get excited for an international banger where we watch our lead begin to question his faith.
Levitating opens on a trance party. Villagers dance as they fall under the spell of the band leading the party and we are introduced to what they see as they move together. We soon meet Bayu (Angga Yunanda), a musician, who begins flirting with spirit addict, Laksmi (Maudy Ayunda), after the moment has ended. We soon discover the rift between him and his father seems irreparable and Bayu has aspirations of becoming a shaman as. However, as his home life becomes more turbulent, it begins to distract him at work. His lack of focus on the flute leads to people getting hurt as they cannot stay under hypnosis. This results in him losing his status and being put through the wringer as he tries to hold onto his dreams, love interest, and home.
One of the most striking things about Levitating is the group dance numbers. While I got big evangelical vibes from the spirit channeler group, their music was really beautiful. The music also led to some gorgeous group dance and movement moments as the spirit addicts danced. I found myself less interested in what they saw in their trances as I watched these cool dance numbers. They were weirdly beautiful moments as the group hypnosis made them move as one.
The spirit addicts being put under by spirit channelers sort of reminded me of Talk To Me. The spirit addicts are chasing a high and trying to avoid triggers and trauma. However, in Levitating, they are also seeking community. This came across clearly, and I was vibing with it before all hell broke loose at the end. As the possessed addicts turn on the channelers, the police arrive, and things escalate. We then get a weird series of scenes explaining why killing the police is wrong. The film lays out that they are doing their jobs, might have families, and so forth. This put a weird “reach across the aisles” vibe on a film that seemingly came out of nowhere.
Levitating opens all kinds of cool doors and ideas as we watch Bayu begin to wonder if his flute and his goal of becoming a spirit channeler are getting him into trouble. I love this journey for him, and Yunanda plays the role well. He captures that youthful idealism that so many of us start out with perfectly. This makes watching things beyond his control beat him down that much sadder. It also makes some of the vile things he witnesses seem unfair in a way that forces you to care, even while unsure where the movie is going at times. His flirtations with Laksmi ended up being some of my favorite moments as they are both equally lost and charming. In no huge part because Yunanda and Ayunda have chemistry for days. Their characters (and relationship) have unimaginable odds to overcome. However, their moments together are the heart and the glue that the film needed. At least until Laksmi’s need for possession (aka her addiction) begins to drive a wedge between them.
I love the idea of looking at religion as addiction, and possession being pleasure is a very interesting way of handling that. After all, both are similar and have the ability to tear communities apart. They are both also things people turn to when they are lonely. The intentional contrast between Bayu and Laksmi is very interesting. She is the one needing the possessions to escape her troubles and what the rain conjures up for her. However, his distance from his father is a huge part of what drew him to the spirit channelers. We see many people end up in cults, or overcorrect and leap into religious fanaticism. However, we do not have nearly enough conversations about the parallels between addicts and fanatics.
I’m also very much into pretty genre entries that involve large group moments. However, even with all Levitating’s gorgeous and grotesque images, it feels like something is missing. Whatever the perfect button was, the weird ask to forgive the police for beating possessed people in a trance does not feel right. Because this segment seemed out of place, it pulled me out of the movie a bit, and I was still scratching my head when we got back to the meat of the movie.
Perhaps the film wanted us to compare addicts and religious fanaticism, reaching for a third group to pull in another audience. Or, maybe my feelings toward police brutality in America wouldn’t let me envision a world where people who make something this gorgeous aren’t ACAB. Biases are real, and we all have them, and it’s hard to challenge them when the news proves why something needs to be defunded on a way too regular basis. One of the things Levitating does beautifully is remind those people who need it that addicts are people, too. So, maybe this reach with the cops was too much dip on its chip. It was a fairly engaging time before that, though.
