Joni's Promise (2005) User Reviews

A cool comedy with an intention to entertains

[gila_film · 8/10 · 16 June 2005]

What Joni could promise? An amusing entertainment or be a know-it-all adviser. As a tangible, Joni refer the first. Frankly, in it moral, Joni barely offers solid story's essence but as an amusing entertainment, luckily Joni kept his promise well.

Joni (Nicholas Saputra) is a professional film's roll deliver which is keen with his job. He's so determined in his job and make a pact to him self to make the delivery always on time. One day, his pact is on a test, when he promise to a beautiful movie viewer (Mariana Renata) to keep the accuracy of the delivery's time. And he do it just to know the woman's name. He has a strong will to keep his promise, despite he knows that woman has a high temper boyfriend (Surya Saputra). However, don't know why, suddenly everything goes wrong for him that day and seemly reverse against him. There's so many events that he must endured just to fulfill his promise! Despite the incoherent plot logic, Janji Joni appears with a good sense in quality and making. The vintage impression is well done with colors choosing and setting. Animation and narration in the beginning of the film is also put a plus point to this movie and just make it more unique and differs form other feature available in Indonesia. Kudos to Joko Anwar as the director. Eeventhough this is his pictorial debut, but he's seemingly really know what he wants, with the result that a good movie to watch.

This movie is also appears without almost no score because as the musical background it only performs the songs from it soundtrack album, which is featuring the Indonesian independent bands. This is new and quite a brave decision, but actually has a sufficient relevancy as the scores, even sometimes unmatched with the scene.

Nicholas Saputra is try to come out form his typical role and he adequately succeed with performing a comical act. Mariana Renata is absolutely gorgeous, but definitely need an intensive acting course. The rest of the casts, such us Rachel Maryam, Sudjiwo Tejo, Gito Rollies, Ria Irawan and appearance of many cameos is putting more luster in this feature. The shocking value in this movie is definitely the reappearance of the senior action star, Barry Prima and he willing to make a different role from his accustomed to act. What a comeback! Janji Joni obviously an interesting movie. Stand as an instant classic and genially entertainer. This feature won't be a boring moment, even we watching it again and again. Highly recommended!

Simply fresh, simple, hip but intelligent, a promise well delivered.

[mkcen2000 · 9/10 · 10 September 2005]

thumbs up to this latest Indonesian movie.Janji Joni has deliver it promise and deserve my standing ovation.It has sealed Indonesian new cinema never stopped but going strong. this movie prove an indie movie with commercial appeal. Every actors play their characters well, and it did prove that Nicholas Saputra can act!, every dialog in this movie deliver the message from the directors perspective of Indonesian movie.Every scenes is a gem, and yeah, the soundtrack garnish it final touch to the movie.I truly enjoy this movie, u have to see it for yourself and be prepared to be amazed by how Indonesian movie has been saved. All i know now is that, Janji Joni does not shows that Indonesian movie has now at it peak but it just started with not only better but bigger, promises. good luck.

Indonesian Cinema Gets Fresh Air

[virtualmeanwhilee · 9/10 · 27 April 2005]

**** (out of *****)

Janji Joni is an Indonesian movie which was made with audience in mind. After an endless series of low quality teen flicks and pretentious art films, Janji Joni feels like pure oxygen amidst the heavily-polluted Jakarta. It's hip, fresh, original, witty, and may not be as light as it appears to be. This, undoubtedly, will be the first commercially and critically successful Indonesian movie that really deserves it for a long time.

Writer/director Joko Anwar has created a movie that oozes with charm and intelligence. The story itself, if you think about it, is actually a bit absurd. But Anwar plays it like an expert juggler. Naturalistic acting blends so well with a potentially campy storyline. It's technically crude but nevertheless fascinating. Some ineptness actually adds to the film's charm. Full of memorable scenes that will make audience want to revisit over and over again.

What a surprise!

[deasy0deasy · 10/10 · 22 June 2005]

Saw this at Sydney Film Festival. Just like the rest of the audience, I was so surprised that an Indonesian movie can be so funny, intelligent, and witty. We were constantly laughing throughout the screening even though sometimes I didn't get the jokes (but my Indonesian friend was laughing so the movie must have hit the right note). What I notice was the performances. They were so good, especially the lead actor who never overplays his character. And the story is also so well-written. This is one of the best films shown at the festival this year and I'm so glad I saw it.

We got the chance to have a Q&A session with the writer/director Joko Anwar and he was such a funny and humble guy. I don't understand some of the bad comments from Indonesians in IMDb. You guys should be proud of this movie. This could be your ticket to get recognized by international audience.

EXCELLENT!!!

Fresh, hip, different

[daniel70ppp · 9/10 · 29 April 2005]

No one knows why Indonesian filmmakers are so fond of art movies. They seem to think that if you want to be regarded as a good filmmaker, you should make an art movie. Too bad there's no good art movie yet produced in Indonesia. Meanwhile, the other side of the group think that they can produce low-quality craps and just put them on the theaters. Both groups are killing the industry.

It's so refreshing that finally a commercial movie got made with competence. Janji Joni is hip, smart, and never take itself too seriously (even though many critics tried to analyze the movie deeper than they should be). Janji Joni is basically an independent movie on a larger scale. Full of big stars and many locations even though it was shot in 19 days according to IMDb.com. It's raw but yet audience-friendly.

Full of unforgettable characters from the beautiful Mariana to the cult actor Sujiwo Tejo and underground action superstar Barry Prima.

This movie is a rebel many people will love.

"Unique original story with over ambitious script writings"

[rianty-wahab · 7/10 · 10 February 2010]

Like: Simply unique and original story. Most Indonesian or Hollywood movie makers trying so hard to make story with sophisticated characters and overly dramatic plot, which became too unrealistic. But I really appreciate this movie's idea about ordinary person with unpopular job with simple mission. It's simple but not cliché, and doesn't make us less care about the character. Totally breakthrough in the story and main character.

Dislikes: The script/dialog is very intelligent and funny, but then it's WEIRD because why should remarkable, intelligent quotes come from EVERY characters; including small children...?? It's definitely not real. It is like all of the characters has scriptwriter's mind. Everyone talk fast, but in reality not everyone talks at the same pace, especially not everyone is fast in witty jokes like the scriptwriter!! If only every character were more developed with different mind, different accent, and different way/pace of talking, that would be more realistic.

The time line is also confusing. It's not make sense that Joni had all of those unexpected things during half movie. is it 1 hour? or what? is not clear or believable.

Aside from those flaws, this is still quite enjoyable movie

"Janji Joni" rocks the world!

[killbill_tarantino2003 · 10/10 · 20 September 2005]

When i decided to watch this movie after i saw the trailer on television,i thought that was best decision i ever made in whole my life.Cause,i decided to spent my money to watch the most hilarious,funny,smart,intelligent and cute movie ever made by Indonesia director.What a grateful,excellent and stunning film!I like it!And i fell in love with all of this movie content:director,plot and stars.Gosh!This is so much unbelievable,so much great.so much everything!The brilliant-talented Nicholas Saputra,The beautiful-charming Mariana Renatha,The cute-stunning Rachel Maryam,The snob-awesome Surya Saputra and all other great cast ever showed:Tantowi Yahya,Barry prima,Sujiwo tedjo,Ria Irawan,Tora Sudiro,etc.But,from all the best above this,The Director and The Producer are the greatest and most important persons in this movie:Nia Dinata and Joko Anwar.They successfully made the story become the funniest,the smartest,the cutest and the unforgettable of all.Gosh!(again)Watch it you'll be laugh until the day ended!Keep my promise...Grade:10 of 10.

a one day journey of a delivery role film boy

[diannndra · 6/10 · 22 May 2005]

It's was an OK movie (I think it was a short movie, but force to be a long movie). It's entertaining, with a touch of fantasy of what could happen when you try to deliver something.

The things that I like about the movie is the description about the theater audiences reaction when watching a movie. It's so true! The only things that missing is the type of audience that always knocking on the front seat, so it irritates the front seat audience! (hehehe, personal experienced).

It has a great cinematography ( I don't know Jakarta Pusat can look that good), & great soundtrack.

Hey, movie doesn't always have to be a cult break through. Just enjoy & be entertain....

Almost perfect combination!

[tazangelic · 8/10 · 3 May 2005]

It's the first time I really enjoy Indonesian next-generation movie. The combination of original storyline, smart dialog, satire humor, talented casts, beautiful pictures and awesome music tracks make this movie very enjoyable. Joko Anwar proves that he's a talented scriptwriter and also a prospective director. As a scriptwriter, he built the original story and developed humorous dialog with satire and social-critical nuances in it. Some of us may not get in of humor like that. As a director, he's the kind of perfectionist and he really knows what he wants in making his movie.

The script is the ultimate strength of this movie and it's so rare in Indonesian cinema. I wish this movie will motivate other Indonesian filmmakers for using good script in film-making. I am the one of them who thinks the script and story are the soul of a movie.

Other strength is the casts. From the hard-working Nicholas, the dazzling Mariana, the impressing Surya, the effectiveness of Fedi till the cuteness of Dwiki....they give fresh-air to the future of Indonesian cinema.

Trying too hard to be funny

[sanguine80 · 6/10 · 7 May 2005]

Janji Joni is the second movie coming out of Joko's playwriting talent, and this is also his first debut at directing a movie. He took the liberty of providing his audience with his director's cut, in-which, I might say, prove to be the biggest mistake.

The story is quite interesting actually, about a movie-reel delivery boy who loves his job very much, trying to make it to the next screening on-time ..and found lots of troubles along the way.

If only Joko had stayed on tracks about the story-telling of Joni, he would have saved the audience from too much of boredom, too much of UN-important character, which provides nothing essential to the storyline. e.g. the slow-thinking girl at the cinema.

Oh, wait 'till you see the portraiture of THE gay couple, (one of them was the leading actor from his earlier script 'Arisan' - a hit movie about a gay coming out). It is as if Joko's trying too hard to provide something to laugh at or to feel disgusted about from the yet-to-be-matured-audience

Then comes the long takes of Joni running all over the place. A director/editor should be aware that if he's trying to create a sense of pace, one should keep the shots short, instead of long ones. How boring that is to see a man running from just one angle for over 10 seconds.....

The highlights of the movie comes from the casts, without a doubt. teen-idol, Nicholas Saputra. rising new star, Mariana Renata, and the resurgence of old time action-star, Barry Prima.

Janji Joni, 1.5 stars out of 4

A truly entertaining, inspiring, and meaningful ride! Highly recommended.

[resident_evilmaniac · 8/10 · 14 June 2007]

Janji Joni exceeds my expectations, really. When I first read the synopsis, I thought to myself: "Well, maybe a totally wacky comedy would do me good after all the stress of studying..." So, I slotted the disc into my laptop, and the journey began.

For the first few minutes, I did just what I'd wanted to do - I simply sat back and relaxed. And indeed, I enjoyed the light-heartedness of the film tremendously. The comedy is fresh without bordering on slapstick, and its cinematography is really beautiful. The crew successfully presents a nostalgic and charming portrayal of Jakarta. The film's greatest strength, though, is its motley group of characters: the carefree, somewhat naive Joni (acted well by Nicholas Saputra); the avuncular operator of the movie projector; the chatty taxi driver with his pregnant wife; and many, many others. Joni's encounters with these diverse characters are guaranteed to tickle you.

Apart from all the laughters, however, I also discovered a deeper layer of this film. Despite its unrealistically weird premise, Janji Joni actually presents a very potent metaphor of life itself. Life is like Joni's journey - full of unexpected twists and turns, and it doesn't always unfold as we want it to. And I'm glad that I have the opportunity to learn from how Joni reacts to all these situations. He made me re-evaluate my own life and inspired me with a new love of life. And I think that is quite something to take away from a "wacky comedy".

Do watch this film, but don't take it for face value. Go deeper and you may find yourself living your life a little more happily after watching this film. Trust me, we can all learn much from Joni.

excellent intro, bad middle and end.

[incubrus · 6/10 · 17 April 2006]

Janji Joni is Joko Anwar first movie as director. He was known as movie critics who is famous for his bitchy comments. So, let see how well this "great" movie reviewer did his role as a film director.

The movie is about Joni who is a film reel delivery man. Since many cinemas in that town shares the reel, so they'd need a delivery man to pass them the reel on time so the movie can play till it finish, and that is Joni's job. The problem starts when he made promises to a woman that he will deliver the reel of the film that she want to watch on time. But this time isn't as easy as he thought, because he is trapped at "the wrong time and the wrong place" moment.

This movie was interesting in term of concept. Too bad it doesn't have good sub-plots to support it. At the first half of the movie, it start like the best Indonesian movie but the second half of it become less and less interesting and all over the place.

Just what the Indonesian audience wants (But not what they need)

[daringdarlings · 1/10 · 16 June 2005]

In a country where Samuel Rizal can win a favorite movie star award, Janji Joni promise it's audience exactly what they want. And that is a star driven flick with no important story or value to share.

Joko Anwar and Nia Dinata knows exactly how the market works and they work it well. Check out the all star cast roster, from the dashing beauty Mariana to the cool new hunk on the block Nico. Janji Joni is a true eye candy from start to finish.

The Script? Well, don't expect too much from the supposedly Citra's award winner last year. Because watching the movie is like watching one person (the writer) talking through 10 or more characters (Next time the writer should know that in movie writings, he should give every characters their own unique and different characteristic). In Janji Joni, suddenly every single character talks like he or she is a 30 year old bitter and supposedly smart urban person. It's like watching 10 different characters with one mind and soul.

But Indonesia's audience are easy to please (Ask Sammy Rizal),or you can just read the comments applauding this movie.

Janji Joni is a hamburger in it's own right. Yummy, delicious and fulfilling for 90 minutes. But not exactly what your body need for a healthy and intelligent life.

Wonderful script, the acting can be better

[iphien-keren · 8/10 · 29 April 2006]

I think Joko Anwar did wrote a powerful story and gave each of the character "life".

Unfortunately, (imo), the problem with most Indonesian (young) actor is they talks with this, kinda like (special) accent and tone. When you listened to it, you would absolutely believe that they actually read from the script. The only sincere words that sounds pretty convincing out of Joni was the time when he was cursing. It really was sounded natural.

The much more experienced actor has done well. They really gave me the right impression of the profession that they did in the movie.

Hopefully the young actors can relax a bit and do much better next time. :p

Arguably the best Indonesian movie since 2000

[shanty_mulia · 10/10 · 26 May 2005]

The most eagerly-awaited Indonesian movie (because Joko Anwar wrote and directed and Nia Dinata produced it) turned out to be the movie event of the year, probably will be the only one. An endearing small film (Joko Anwar humbly said 'it was just a movie, not a film') about the misadventure of a film delivery young man (Indonesian cinemas share film prints even today) who promises a beautiful girl to make it on time so she can tell him her name.

Countless movie in-jokes make this a real treat for movie buffs. Brilliantly written by Joko Anwar (who also penned the hit "Arisan!") who has made a remarkable directing debut. Witty lines and some intentional absurdity give ammunition to a great ensemble cast. Underrated by those who take it too seriously.

Many consider this the best Indonesian movie since its revival in 2000 and arguably so. A commercial and critical success in Indonesia. Kudos to Joko Anwar!

Joni and Joko should not quit their day job just yet.

[hellenrasyid · 15 June 2005]

Joko Anwar, after his mild first success in Arisan (largely helped by Nia Dinata), is trying to be someone he is not. Which is a movie director.

Sure, JJ is his first debut and any director on their first try should be given a 'pat in the back' complete with comments like 'nice try' or 'good effort' ..

After watching JJ, we should refrain from such comments.

From the very beginning we only see Joko's ego when he try so hard to show his audience how smart the script is (or how smart he is). Concentrating too hard on this aspect, he blunders on every visual attempt.

I heard a lot of 'pre arranged self defence speeches' from the movie makers about how some people tried to take JJ too seriously and that the movie should just be viewed with "a night of fun at the theaters" attitude.

This is the only thing I agree with them.

That is not to take this movie too serious. Fact, not to take it in any form at all.

Joko better stick with the writings. And leave directing to those capable of such task.

Good movie, but its story is similar to Scorseses'movie "After Hours"

[weddypratama · 6/10 · 12 September 2019]

This movie is kind of free adaptation of Martin Scorsese's movie "After Hours" (1985), however too bad the director, writer and producer never want to admit it or insert the credit of Scorsese's work. So, it's not as original as many peoply thought. To be honest, this one is pretty good, as the Scorsese's movie has been adapted to Indonesian audiences and turned from Scorsese's dark comedy to romantic comedy which fits us quite well here in the country. The plot which is pretty similar with Scorsese's lines starts from the bike theft scene where the main character, Joni, encounters bad luck from one to another in the seedy neighborhood, and there he goes, trying so hard to get back to the cinema where he can get the girl's phone number so his promise can be fulfilled (in Scorsese, the main character, Paul, tries so hard to get back home, after meeting Marcy in a cafe, the girl with her phone number in his hand inviting him to her seedy neighborhood in New York City).

Pretty good, however..

[shedoesntrule · 8/10 · 4 February 2006]

I have to say this is the best Indonesian movie I've ever watched. This movie is like the wake up call for Indonesian movie studio. I really admire the setting of the story, it's genuine, and it's the reality. If you want to know how Jakarta looks like, watch this movie. Ah, and one thing I really love, they put a little bit of English in it, but it's the right amount of it, it's not over (which has been a problem in Indonesian movies recently). I also like the Indie element in it, it makes the movie different, yet not corny.

This movie is soooo hilarious. The jokes are so witty, I just couldn't stop laughing, however, I think it would be hard for foreigners to understand the jokes.

Nicholas Saputra proved that he is a very great actor. He suits the character of Joni very well. Rachel Maryam is also great, she has done a quite good job. She had definitely made the movie more interesting and colourful. However, I am a little bit disappointed at Mariana Renata, I know she's pretty and stunning, but I don't think her act is as good as her appearance. She didn't do well in this movie, and her Indonesian was a little bit weird. I can tell that she was a little bit awkward saying her lines. I just don't think she's ready to work with Nicholas Saputra and Rachel Maryam. Well, no movie is perfect.

The soundtrack is EXCELLENT.

although it's not the best Indonesian movie, but it still interesting to see it

[gembel · 9/10 · 4 May 2005]

the story of Janji Joni gives critics to many things, such as critics to annoying audience, e.g.: the so 'kampungan' -- show off -- audience that not turn off their mobile phone ring-tone, or blank audience who cannot follow the story of the movie they watch so they asking to many question to their friends.it's all annoying, since other audience want to enjoy the movie. so this Janji Joni hopefully makes those annoying audience aware, that they are annoying. other critics was goes to social problems. that so many people will do bad things to achieve good things. and the other critics is people separated into levels named 'kasta'. so people with different levels of 'kasta', should not be friend or together.

Interesting Movie

[bryantxzhan · 10/10 · 18 August 2021]

What an interesting movie. I feel the director is intelligent with the plot in this movie. The main character act clumsy which give laughter to the audience. And the romantic scene is quite sensational. The graphic in this movie is great which the director added retro background in this film.

Ok movie but a little bit let down.

[makanandansusu · 5/10 · 15 February 2021]

Janji Joni, although a good movie, really let me down. It was advertised as a romance/adventure however was extremely lacking romance. Although there were a few scenes it was not up to my usual standard and did not reach expectations. Maybe next time.

Toni was definitely the highlight and the entire movie is worth watching just for him.