Aruna & Her Palate

Palari Films intended to produce a film adaptation of the 2014 novel Seperti Dendam, Rindu Harus Dibayar Tuntas by Eka Kurniawan. They picked up the film rights in 2016 but the adaptation process took longer than expected, prompting Edwin to pursue Laksmi Pamuntjak's The Birdwoman's Palate first instead.[3] Producer Meiske Taurisia describes it as a loose adaptation as it does not follow the novel strictly.[4] Edwin said that he had been interested in leading a film adaptation of the book after reading it.[5] Producer Muhammad Zaidy said that Edwin was chosen as the director not only because he was part of Palari Films, but also because he was the one to propose the project. Edwin later met with Pamuntjak to discuss the possibility of the adaptation.[6]

The film reunites Dian Sastrowardoyo and Nicholas Saputra who rose to popularity in the 2002 high school romantic drama hit Ada Apa dengan Cinta?. Aside from its sequel Ada Apa Dengan Cinta? 2, this is the only other film that the two have appeared on screen together. [7] With the two joining Oka Antara, Hannah Al Rashid, and Ayu Azhari, Pamuntjak expressed that she was impressed by the film's cast, having commented "It’s almost like writing the book with these actors in mind because they’re very suitable to play the roles".[5]

The production process involved local filmmakers in West Kalimantan. Food stylist Puji Purnama was taken on for the shooting process.[8] The film cost more to produce than Posesif despite cutting the number of locations in half due to high costs of equipment and transportation.[9] The five locations are Jakarta, Surabaya, Pamekasan, Pontianak, and Singkawang. The locations were chosen based on various factors, including logistical requirements and expenses.[9] Production ended on 25 May 2018 after 25 days of shooting.[10] The 21 Indonesian dishes described in the film, chosen based on various considerations during research and pre-production while staying true to the original source[11][12] included bakmi kepiting, chai kue, pengkang, Pontianak-style fried rice,[13] rawon, lorjuk, soto lamongan, rujak soto,[14] sup buntut, kacang kuah, madumongso,[12] and mi loncat.[15]

For the Lantern Festival scene, the crew needed a lot of local extras and bit parts in Singkawang with the ability to speak in Javanese with a Surabayan dialect. Real lanterns were installed in street corners with an actual dragon dance performance taking place to make the scene look more vibrant.

Despite its star-studded cast and positive audience impression, the film failed to make an impression at the domestic box office. It recorded about 130 thousand admissions only after two weeks of release and ended its run with 165 thousand admissions.[24] This was lower than two other films released also on September 27: the teen romance Something in Between which scored 180 thousand admissions and the supernatural horror Arwah Tumbal Nyai the Trilogy: Part Arwah with 250 thousand admissions.[24]

Overall, it is estimated that the film grossed Rp 4.8 billion in Indonesia.[25] Responding to the lackluster reception, Producer Zaidy pointed out that there are opportunities for the film to reach a wider market thanks to the collaboration with South Korean production company CJ Entertainment although it was also still uncertain.[26] In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the film was released on streaming platforms Netflix and GoPlay in 2020.[27][28]

Writing Kompas, Francisca Romana Ninik praised the film's treatment of the themes of friendship, public corruption, and religion with heavy culinary references but found it too cliché.[29] Wening Gitomartoyo of The Jakarta Post described the food shots as "slightly pornographic" and praised the film's cinematography.[30]

Aulia Adam of Tirto.id also wrote that Edwin delivers a "heartwarming romantic comedy" in contrast with his darker, cold, and bitter themes of his previous films, such as capitalism in the short film Kara, Anak Sebatang Pohon (2005), systematic dicrimination against Chinese-Indonesians and military oppression in Blind Pigs Who Want to Fly (2009), and toxic relationship in Posesif (2017).[31]

Due to their popular performances in the Ada Apa dengan Cinta? films, the relationship between Dian Sastrowardoyo and Nicholas Saputra in the film was extensively examined by the media. Muhammad Andika Putra of CNN Indonesia praised the two for breaking out of their high school couple image,[32] while Devy Octaviany of Detik found their characters more cheerful than the popular characters of Cinta and Rangga.[33]

The film also attracted the attention of several top government officials. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani commented that the film explores "our culture, feelings, way of socializing, and culinary wealth that we still don’t know about", whereas the Creative Economy Agency Chief Triawan Munaf, father of actress Sherina Munaf, called the film "an effective way to promote Indonesian cinema and cuisine".[34]

Reviewers from outside Indonesia have been less positive. Richard Kuipers of Variety felt that while the execution was good and the actors had great performances, singling out Aruna's narration in the film, the story "struggles at first to balance its fun-and-food aspects with the downbeat reality of a looming heath crisis".[35] Wendy Ide of Screen International thought that Aruna's narration is a "flippant but engaging device" but thought that the film relied too much on food shots.[36]

Aruna's secondary role as a narrator for the audience was also examined. Purba Wirastama wrote for MetroTV about how Aruna's point of view controls the narrative of the film, noting Edwin's approach to visualizing Aruna's inner voice.[37] Richard Kuipers of Variety felt that Aruna's interactions gave a picture of Aruna's inner feelings, which are often different from what is shown.[38] Wening Ide of Screen International thought that Aruna's side role was a manifestation of the feeling of restraint that could not be separated from Aruna who was used to being protected and processing her feelings in her own mind. This is evidenced by the many scenes that present his side role to the audience with various expressions that encourage the audience to find out what their true heart is which is not even revealed to their friends.[30]