Imperfect

Imperfect, directed by Ernest Prakasa, is an Indonesian film adapted from a novel by the director's own wife, Meira Anastasia, drawing on her real journey toward self acceptance, about Rara, a cosmetics company employee who does not fit conventional beauty standards due to her darker skin and larger body. Anastasia herself wrote most of the screenplay. The film reached roughly 2.6 million viewers, making it the second most watched Indonesian film of 2019, and won Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2020 Piala Citra, Indonesia's most prestigious film award. One academic review argues that while the film has the potential to educate audiences about body image and body shaming, it ultimately risks reproducing the very beauty ideals it critiques. Who it's for: anyone curious about a body image drama, one of Indonesia's most watched films, adapted from a novel based on the director's own wife's real experience. Who it's not for: those expecting a film that reduces the subject to a simple message of self acceptance, since academic critiques have noted ways the film complicates its own message.