Gowok: Javanese Kamasutra (a film by Hanung Bramantyo)

Gowok: Javanese Kamasutra

A film by Hanung Bramantyo that tells about Gowok, a profession for women aged 20 to 40 years who are hired by a family to teach their adult son, who is soon going to be married, how to treat his wife well, maintain household harmony, and prepare the man to become a quality husband in sexual aspects. As a gowok, they are usually unmarried and adopt a young girl as their student who will one day succeed them and inherit their knowledge. Gowok, called "Nyai", or "Madam", are highly respected by the local residents, similar to a traditional witch doctor or shaman who usually assists in childbirth in the community.

The Gowok: Javanese Kamasutra film participated in the Big Screen Competition for the 2025 Rotterdam International Film Festival. The film is based on a 2014 Kamasutra novel, "Nyai Gowok", by Budi Sardjono. Gowok: Javanese Kamasutra is set in an unknown village in Bumirejo, Central Java, with a 4-year period between the years of 1933, 1950, 1965, and 1985. The film was actually shot in Gamplong village, Sleman, Yogyakarta, which is more than 100 km away from Bumirejo.

The term "Gowok" is said to have originated from the name of a Chinese woman, Goo Wok Niang, who came to Java along with Admiral Cheng Ho's expedition fleets in the 15th century. The Gowok: Javanese Kamasutra film mostly used the Javanese language with the Tegal dialect, or Ngapak language, which I am also not familiar with.

Gowok as illustrated in the 2014 novel "Nyai Gowok" by Budi Sardjono.

Plot

A woman was running while carrying a baby and fell when a knife stabbed her in the back. She told Nyai Santi (Lola Amaria), a well-known Gowok in the village, to look after her baby named Ratri. Seventeen years later, young Ratri (Alika Jantinia) transforms into a gorgeous girl. As Nyai Santi's apprentices, along with Liyan (Aldy Bisl), a gay man who loves to dress as a woman, they both serve their master with their whole lives.

When a noble family arrives at Nyai Santi's mansion asking for their son, young Jaya (Devano Danendra), to be "gowok" by Nyai Santi, both Ratri and Jaya fall in love at first sight. Jaya gives a promise to Ratri that he will marry her after graduating from his school in Semarang. Both of them then exchange letters after Jaya finishes the "gowok ritual".

However, Nyai Santi has another plan to separate both of them and is convinced that Jaya will never keep his promise to Ratri. Ratri's heart is broken after learning that Jaya is soon to be married to the daughter of the Sultan of Surakarta (Slamet Rahardjo Djarot) and will earn the title of Regent of Bumiarjo. Twenty-five years later, the adult Ratri (Raihaanun) finally succeeded Nyai Santi, inherited all her knowledge, and became a famous gowok in the district.

A surprise visit came from the Sultan of Surakarta to Nyai Santi's mansion, asking her to "gowok" his grandchildren, Bagas (Ali Fikry). But since Nyai Santi is already retired and succeeded by Ratri, who is now called Nyai Ratri, she will be the one to "gowok" Bagas. Without both Nyai Santi and Nyai Ratri knowing, adult Jaya (Reza Rahadian) enters the room and claims to be Bagas's father.

Bagas is unaware of his father's past relationship with Ratri, who successfully made him fall in love, just like his old man. Ratri used this opportunity as a weapon to take revenge for what Jaya did to her in the past.

The Gowok: Javanese Kamasutra film also features the Indonesian history of the 1965, 30 September Movement of PKI, Partai Komunis Indonesia (Indonesian Communist Party). The greatest mass murder involved civilians suspected of affiliation with the PKI.

The film ended with the scene in the year of 1985, 20 years later. A young man with his sister is negotiating with a village's chief to buy Nyai Santi's abandoned mansion, which was left damaged after the 1965 event. The chief also said that the owner of the mansion, Nyai Santi, had died by suicide in the mansion during the event. The young man then asks his sister to call their mom in the car. A woman steps out of the car and is shown as adult Ratri, who wants to buy the mansion to build a school for women.