Gift to an Unkind World

A film review of Kado (2018) — Written by Rhea (Kru’23)

A harsh truth that I, or anyone, would still find hard to swallow is that we live in a world where some people would still struggle to just be themselves. We live in a world where some people get ridiculed for staying true to themselves and even get persecuted for wanting to live amongst society. In a world like that, can anyone ever truly live?

Kado (2018) delivers this truth and raises this question within its 15 minutes runtime in a light yet ultimately effective way. It narrates the story of Isfi, a trans teenager, and the dilemma regarding their gender and identity while living in a conservative society. Unlike other movies with the same theme that most of the time tell their stories in a melancholic manner, Aditya Ahmad brought this story to life in a seemingly playful way that focuses on showcasing Isfi’s everyday life and their attempt to prepare a gift for their friend, Nita.

Throughout the film, it feels like Isfi is living two lives; one where they could wear pants and hang out with their guy friends, and the other where they had to wear hijab to hide their short boyish hair just to be accepted in Nita’s house. There’s a very thin line between wanting to embrace their true self and fearing society turning its back against them, and you can see Isfi walking so carefully on that line as if it’s a thin string. It never feels like Isfi could ever live to their fullest, not when the only place where they can breathe comfortably in their own skin is Nita’s locked room.

Coming from a very similar place as the one Isfi is in, it’s so hard for me not to make this personal as I keep seeing pieces of myself in them and be reminded that this world has always been an unkind place for people like us, and so it wrecked me the first time I watched this movie, seeing Isfi asking the question:

“Kenapa bisa di’, saya jadi saya?”

ㅡA question that might not rise from curiosity but rather from fear, from hatred, from the feeling of punishment for not adhering to society’s kind of “normal”. No one should be punished for being themselves, let alone a kid who’s on the path of discovering themselves. Yet, that’s the kind of world we’re living in.

In the end, Kado wrapped itself in a somber ending rather than an optimistic tone. It again and again reminds us of the harsh truth we started with. Watching Isfi’s expression drop wordlessly as the voices around them drowned, it can’t be helped to once again ask the question: in a world like this, can anyone ever truly live?

Kado (2018) can be watched online on BioskopOnline’s site (bioskoponline.com).