This is a brand-new type of musical - a musical that one can encounter only from Indonesia. [Opera Java] represents the accomplishment of Garin Nugroho`s ambitious dream to represent the glorious tradition of Gamelan in a film. The basic plot is derived from India`s [Ramayana]. Ludiro, a rich man in a village, is besotted with Siti, the beautiful wife of Setio, who runs a ceramics factory; he tries to seduce her. Their avarice and envy ultimay ends in tragedy. This unusual musical uses the traditional Indonesian music of Gamelan as its foundation, however, Nugroho is someone who embraced Java`s traditional culture within his films a long time ago, and also shown a deep, abiding interest, especially in Gamelan music. This interest brings together both a challenge in terms of innovative form, and the harmonious marriage of two sentiments of beauty and tragedy in one story. A fine example of a film that uses an old story yet remains fresh by adopting an innovative form. (Kim Ji-seok)