Maria

I grasped the idea of this film through quite a long experience of studying in a Catholic school during my childhood. I have always loved how Catholic congregation practices their liturgies and songs, as well as its religious-based artworks. I was, at the time, deeply fascinated with this particular religion, despite being a Christian until the present moment.

In my home country, Indonesia, we have always been taught to respect all religions and those who practice them, especially when the state acknowledges five main religions practiced by its citizens. However, I feel broken hearted in respect of my relationship with religion, as currently some parties have started fights on behalf of their religion—mainly Islam against Christians—in Indonesia.

With this film, I just want to deliver the fact that love does not exist anymore between humans, or as I can say, there is no more humanist elements in religion. An example of this is the bombing incidents that struck churches in my country, where I feel deeply hurt by it. Maria is a film that is dear to me, as my genuine intention is not to criticize the Catholic Church, but to remind everyone who is religious—or having a religion at a minimum—that religion should be triggered from their inner-selves, not from various influences available on the environment we are living in. It happens that until presently, in my personal perspective, religion is mostly acquired through the influences outside, not from our own hearts. In short, I wish to provide that humanistic element that was once found in religion, which has now—as I felt deeply—disappeared from every aspects of a religion. There is one particular and most important element in religion, which is called “Love.”

The protagonist, Maria, represents myself—a person who has lost herself—as she visits the church to find any kind of truths or revelations not long after she murdered her own father, who had abused both her mother and herself. The church here today represents the society, not a religion in itself—whereas I am stating my point that religion is seen to cater only the society and no longer catering its respective members and individuals as human beings. I am presenting this point through the ending, in which the protagonist still has doubts or anger within herself at the ending scene (where she kills the bug).

Maria for me is a really sacred name to give into a character, which is also a reason why it is also used as the title of this film—to provide a contrasting perspective of the film. In conclusion, I would like to say that this film is not a religious one, but it depicts a problem in the society where its members are mostly Catholic, through the various Catholic-styled scenes in most parts of the entire film.

By watching this film, I sincerely hope people would realize that love is the most important and inseparable element of any religions, as the protagonist is seeking for love itself in a somewhat religious way.