The Year of Living Dangerously

Peter Weir bid farewell to Australian cinema with The Year of Living Dangerously (1982), an ambitious adaptation of Christopher Koch's novel. Rejoining Gallipoli star Mel Gibson, it's a vivid portrait of a country on the cusp of revolution.
Australian journalist Guy Hamilton (Mel Gibson) arrives in 1965 Indonesia. General Sukarto heads the authoritarian government, with the Communist PKI organizing resistance. Initially viewing Jakarta as a backwater beat, Guy grows intrigued by the country's fluid politics and falls for British diplomat Jill Bryant (Sigourney Weaver). Yet his friendship with Billy Kwan (Linda Blair), a Chinese-Australian photojournalist, provides Guy a window into Sukarto's corruption. Guy grows increasingly reckless: he reports on Chinese arms shipments to the PKI on the eve of the 30 September coup, placing his and his associates' lives in danger.
The Year of Living Dangerously ranked among Australia's most expensive films. Weir filmed in the Philippines, producing scenery and set pieces befitting a full-blown epic: an anti-American riot, summary executions. But Year avoids exotica and downplays local color. One exception is Billy's shadow puppets, used as a metaphor for Indonesia's political climate. Mostly it's immersive without insistence, using markers like clothes, radio music and posters to mark its setting. Few movies so casually evoke a bygone era.  
There's considerable controversy surrounding the failed coup, with accusations of false flag operations and CIA involvement. Certainly it replaced Sukarno with hardliner Suharto, in a dictatorship lasting through 1998. Weir and writing David Williamson tastefully skirt these arguments. Billy idolizes Sukarno as a cunning nationalist, until violence and famine exposes him as a power-hungry playboy. Guy's driver Kumar (Bembol Roco) provides a leftist perspective: why shouldn't Indonesians seek to improve their country? Yet their violence backfires horribly. Year unavoidably simplifies the event but the result's the same. 
Year undeniably downplays Indonesian suffering for its Anglo protagonists. If Guy's apolitical his dedication to journalism grounds him in the revolution. Unlike his fellow reporters, he's not out to make a fast buck or boink native babes. It's hard to fault the romance, except Jill remains underdeveloped. We don't get much evidence of her "free spirit" status, even if she enjoys dodging checkpoints with Guy. Billy Kwan's more effective, both through his soured idealism and Guy's friendship. We don't fault the outsider perspective when our protagonists are so compelling.
Mel Gibson gives a low key performance, mixing charming swagger and ruthless professionalism. Linda Hunt's Billy Kwan is an odd construct, a mixed-race dwarf keeping files on everyone he meets (let alone the transgendered casting!). Yet Hunt gives Billy humor and humanity that transcends gimmick. Sigourney Weaver is compelling, even though Jill never evolves beyond love interest. Bembol Roco gets some nice scenes as Guy's Indonesian driver while Bill Kerr plays a stuffy Brit.
The Year of Living Dangerously isn't Weir's best or most distinctive movie; it lacks the artistry of his early work and emotional kick of later efforts. But it's a solid precursor to his best Hollywood films (Witness, The Truman Show): a compelling story scaled to human level.