The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)

dir. Peter Weir
writ. C.J. Koch (novel), C.J. Koch, Peter Weir, and David Williamson (screenplay)
feat. Mel Gibson, Sigourney Weaver, Linda Hunt, Michael Murphy

Mid-60s Indonesia, amidst the political turmoil under the regime of President Sukarno proves a challenging assignment for Guy Hamilton (Gibson,) in his first role as foreign correspondent. Eager and naive, Hamilton must adapt quickly to the politics, both governmental and interpersonal, of his new home. Photographer Billy Kwan (Hunt, in her Oscar-winning role as a man) guides him along, quickly introducing the dilemma of how one interacts with disastrous poverty and human suffering without offering a helping hand.

This question informs the film, whether in another reporter's patronage of cheap prostitutes, the way Hamilton colors the facts with melodrama, or his conflicted compulsion to use information gathered in bed with likely spy, Jill Bryant (Weaver). With depth and intelligence, Weir successfully explores such shady terrain without attempting to assert impossible and therefore deceptive clear answers. But, even above the thoughtful investigation into one's responsibility in the world is the film's sense of atmosphere. Dark rooms sweat with tropical heat and torrential rain drives people into cramped cars, arousing libidos and the cloying sense of discomfort of a strange land hostile to white Westerners.