Editor’s Note
This essay is a critical analysis of the themes and issues that transpired in Indonesia’s cinematic phenomenon Sore: Istri dari Masa Depan (Sore: Wife from the Future; “Sore” pronounced as “So – Ray”), a romantic drama that touched the hearts of millions of Indonesians and earned eight nominations at Festival Film Indonesia 2025.
For a greater immersion into this piece, readers are advised to watch the film beforehand.
In short, Sore tells the story of the eponymous woman (Sheila Dara) who gains the capability to travel to and repeat a specific portion of her husband’s (Dion Wiyoko) past life in Croatia (before he even met her). She does this in an effort to change his destructive behaviours (such as excessive drinking and sedentary lifestyle) and pessimistic worldview, which would eventually lead to his death by heart attack in the future.
Sore, thus, exists in a time loop, making the movie similar in structure to others such as Edge of Tomorrow, Groundhog Day or Netflix’s Russian Doll series. Every time Sore beli
Morbidly, for the reset to take place, she has to die, assumingly from a brain haemorrhage. Worse, Sore’ husband will have no recollection of who Sore is every time the cycle begins anew, which means Sore’s journey is one of solitude that requires a lot of strength.
Part I: SPACE
When someone attempts to deceive time, the most effective way of doing so is by manipulating space. I suspect that this very strategy crossed Sore’s mind when she came across a page in Jonathan’s diary that read, “The North Pole, the only part of the earth without a time zone.”
Building on this premise, I am interested in analysing the journey of Sore, Jonathan’s wife from t
Furthermore, I view the entire spatial representation throughout Sore: Istri dari Masa Depan, Indonesia’s submission for the 98th Academy Awards’ Best International Feature Film, as inseparable from the classification of space proposed by Henri Lefebvre, a prolific Marxist philosopher and sociologist, over three decades ago.
In his famous book, Lefebvre states that space is not a simple geometric concept. It is constituted by both cultural and social elements.
According to him, space is divided into three categories: spatial practice—the material actions and activities that constitute a specific space; representations of space—how that space is imagined or felt in formal or informal knowledge, and; representational space—how it is subjectively experienced by people who inhabit it through signs, symbols, and associated images.
At first glance, the space we see appears singular, and it is Sore who undergoes repetition within it. This seemingly identical space then takes on a different meaning each time Sore alters certain details.
Her interpretation of the elements she encounters in each cycle of repetition generates a new understanding of the space’s existence; thus begins the phase of spatial practice. In other words, she transforms the very nature of the space through which she “travels”.
Sore attempts to instil a teetotal lifestyle in a past version of her husband. When this effort fails, she turns to Carlo, Jonathan’s manager. When this also fails and all avenues are exhausted, she chooses to withdraw from Jonathan’s life for a time—until, eventually, yet another version of her husband happens to cross paths with her.
The wife’s struggle to manipulate the space of her husband’s past unfolds on two simultaneous fronts: on one hand, she aims to change the character of the man she loves; on the other, she strives to evade the eventuality of Time itself—at least until her plan bears fruit.
Ironically, the profound realisation that comes to Sore midway through the story – that her efforts to change her husband are in vain – does not arise from within herself but from an external force. Frustrated by a lack of progress, Sore abandons her quest and seeks a job at a bridal tailor shop in Zagreb. This is where she finds her realisation in the form of Marko, her new employer and an unexpected individual who appears just as she is about to give up.
At t
Part II: FATHER
Watching Sore: Istri dari Masa Depan is, essentially, watching Jonathan. We come to know all of his bad habits, his pessimism, his love of photography and details about his beloved mother. We even learn about his older sister’s identity, his
But what do we actually know about the wife? Who are her parents? Is she an only child? Why has she never been in a relationship before? What are her aspirations? How have her flaws shaped the person we come to know in the movie?
As a future husband, Jonathan is also potentially a father-to-be. That status likely intimidates him, as he has no reference for what it means to be a good father. His biological father simply walked away, leaving him trapped in a negative space—one that ultimately led to an unchecked dependence on alcohol and cigarettes.
Jonathan’s lack of self-confidence results in the traditional paternal role – typically the one holding the main authority within a family – being taken over by his partners: first by Elsa, his past girlfriend, then by Sore, his future wife.
Women, in this story, bloom as father figures to Jonathan. Yet, the image that emerges from both of these women is not that of an authoritative figure but an authoritarian one.
Authoritarian actions, in the form of the women’s controlling behaviour, inevitably provoke rebellion—thus, Jonathan’s secret smoking activity gains a sense of justification. This has forced Sore to repeat the cycle again and again endlessly, which also means she dies a thousand times to restart Jonathan’s rehabilitation process.
However, Sore, having been awakened by Marko’s authoritative words, begins to shift this dynamic. Instead of continuing with her effort to control Jonathan, she tries tackling the root cause of Jonathan’s bad habit, which is Jonathan’s damaged relationship with his father. She tries to nudge Jonathan to reconcile with his father.
Unfortunately, Time finally catches up with Sore and forbids her from intervening any further. She is powerless to resist until she utters the final, resonant line: “I am Sore, your wife forever.” At this point, I would argue that Sore consciously assumes the role of the father figure in its entirety, in a bid to conquer Time itself.
What happens next? Sore transforms into a ubiquitous being. She exists everywhere—occupying the deepest corners of Jonathan’s soul and instilling in him a longing for something. Her apparition-like presence even shows up in Jonathan’s photo of a sunset over a beach, reminding the audience that she does not truly perish but just disappears.
Her ever-present nature, in turn, creates a kind of representations of space, serving as a force that gently encourages her husband to face and resolve his issues, one by one. She ceases her effort to change Jonathan through control and instilling fear; instead, she finds success in transforming Jonathan through acceptance and love. Indeed, she succeeds; Jonathan eventually visits his father’s house and leaves a note containing words of forgiveness.
We cannot ignore the fact that Yandy Laurens, the film’s director, was both raised in and lives out the values of a Christian upbringing. The abstract longing Jonathan experiences seems less directed towards a future life partner and more intensely orientated towards an authoritative figure—specifically, a good father.
The metaphors presented in the movie become increasingly difficult to dismiss: omnipresence, the father figure, the master of space and time, and, of course, unconditional love—do these not echo the core tenets of Christianity?
The wife from the future has “died”. The figure that appears on screen now is that of a father. Does this figure still take the form of a woman? Perhaps we will never truly know.
Part III: RESURRECTION
Jonathan’s future has been laid out with striking clarity. Within eight years from the period depicted in the movie – a time which never truly progresses but remains frozen due to the endless repetitions orchestrated by Sore – he will surely die.
Sore’s future, however, is far more complex and potentially invites an extended debate. The way I see it, as outlined earlier: she is dead.
Thus, at this point, something extraordinary has just begun. Something that, to me, holds a level of allure surpassing even the stunning orchestral sequence in the film’s third act.
We shall steer clear of discussions surrounding déjà-vu or jamais-vu. What is more important is that Jonathan and Sore are resurrected into versions of themselves that meet – either for the first time or once again (depending on how one chooses to look at it) – in the third act. Both are definitely reborn as different versions of themselves.
From one angle, their reunion might be seen as a metaphysical closure, where unresolved longing finds temporary resolution. From another point of view, it could be viewed as a genuine event within a newly formed reality, bor
We have to remember as well that Time has been overcome by the expression of unconditional love previously offered by Sore. Were it not so, this new timeline could never h
In this new timeline, the new version of Jonathan, overwhelmed by an intense longing, comes to realise that human beings can change through the experience of being loved. That declaration resonates with the version of Sore who, perhaps, at some point in her own life story, underwent a similar experience.
Their fateful handshake at Jonathan’s gallery subsequently unifies all the diverging timelines into a singular line. Past, present and future merge into one. The resurrected Jonathan and Sore finally arrive at a shared subjective experience. Their embrace in the movie’s closing scene, as well as the emotional weight of that final moment, serves as an undeniable manifestation of representational space.
Two souls, shaped and reshaped by grief and unconditional love, finally meeting at the same point of understanding. Whether this meeting occurs in the realm of the real, the symbolic or the liminal space in between is ultimately left to the eye of the beholder.
United by unconditional love, they shall, in time, be parted by, well, perhaps only Time has the ability to tell. After all, as with many things in life, it all depends on where you stand in terms of space and time.
Conclusion: Sweeping the Awards?
This piece is published just before Festival Film Indonesia 2025 that will be held on 20 November 2025.
In the lead-up to such an important event, I think it is worth taking a closer look at Sore: Istri dari Masa Depan and the journey it has had so far.
As mentioned, the film picked up eight nominations at Indonesia’s version of the Oscars, all of them fall under the main categories: Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Actress, Best Actor and Best Original Song.
I am not a prognosticator or an awards pundit. But from where I stand, several of these categories feature contenders who are equally strong, or, at the very least, on a comparable level in terms of quality. I simply believe that this movie should, and will, take home the awards it genuinely deserves from among the categories it has been nominated in. Anyone who has seen it will almost immediately grasp what I am getting at, unless, of course, you happened to doze off in the cinema or found it unbearably dull.
