Kabut Berduri, or Borderless Fog, is an Indonesian crime thriller set to premiere in 2024. It’s directed by Edwin, an award-winning filmmaker, and co-written with Ifan Ismail. because of the film’s gripping performances and rich social critique, many expect it to be one of the most prominent cinematic releases from Southeast Asia this year. Putri Marino leads the cast as the detective entangled in a web of murder, folklore, and personal anguish in the misty peripheries of Borneo.
The film premiered on Netflix on August 1, 2024, and received immense popularity in Indonesia, with widespread critical acclaim. It earned 12 nominations at the Indonesian Film Festival,including Best Picture, and won several awards at the 2025 Tempo Film Awards.
As the synopsis describes
Kabut Berduri opens with a chilling scene near the politically sensitive Indonesia-Malaysia border of Borneo: a mutilated corpse discovered at a roadside stall. Interpol suspects the head and torso do not match, meaning two victims are involved. This grotesque revelation marks the onset of a series of increasingly unsettling murders that disturb the entire border community.
Detective Sanja Arunika, played by Putri Marino, is dispatched to Jakarta for the further investigation. She is smart, emotionally locked away, and very pragmatic. Sanja is working at odds with local law enforcement and is surrounded by a superstitious community. Folklore speaks about a malignant entity residing amid the border fog, and although Sanja dismisses these tales, there is an inexplicable discomfort she cannot quite shake.
As the investigation progresses, Sanja begins piecing together some alarming patterns: a history of child trafficking, bureaucratic clashes between the Indonesian and Malaysian law enforcement agencies, and a culturally entrenched skepticism towards distrustful government programs. The natural fog of the region serves as a potent metaphor for the ethical and political fog surrounding her case.
Simultaneously, Sanja confronts her own classified memories and associated traumas. Her history is akin to the border: a zone of strife, ambiguity, and secrets. These emotional dimensions add psychological resonance to the story and elevate the film beyond a mere procedurally framed thriller.
Ultimately, Borderless Fog provides no straightforward answers. The mystery is partially unraveled, but Sanja’s personal wounds and the unrest of the borders are left unresolved. The unresolved ending urges contemplation of the blurry dividing lines between vengeance and justice, reality and myth, and temporal layers.
Cast and Crew
Putri Marino gives the commanding performance as Sanja Arunika. Critics have remarked on her performance as both stoic and vulnerable and as the character of a woman who is tortured by trauma but fiercely determined to seek justice. Her performance gives the film coherence and grounds it within the tension between realism and the supernatural.
Yoga Pratama as Thomas, a local officer who becomes Sanja’s reluctant ally, provides critical local knowledge and adds subtle emotional currents to the film. His local knowledge of the area adds to the subtle emotional currents suggested through the film.
Lukman Sardi plays as Panca Nugraha, a senior investigator with a suspicious background. Other notable performances include Yudi Ahmad Tajudin as Bujang, Yusuf Mahardika as Silas, and Kiki Narendra as Agam who enrich the film’s intricate world.
Edwin, the director, is no stranger to critical acclaim. Known for Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash, which won the Golden Leopard at Locarno, Edwin brings his signature visual and narrative precision to Borderless Fog. He focuses on atmosphere and silence, using psychological tension instead of direct action.
Ifan Ismail, who helped with the screenplay, integrates procedural aspects with thematic mythological folds. Gunnar Nimpuno’s cinematography highlights the otherworldly nature of the borderlands, like the regions cloaked in mist and dense jungles and low light. Abel Huray and Dave Lumenta’s score use traditional instruments paired with ambient sounds to emphasize the film’s sense of place.
The filming locations in West Kalimantan and the Malaysian State of Sarawak permitted the film crew to work with local communities, enhancing the film’s depiction of borderland life.
Critical Reception and Ratings
Borderless Fog has been rated on IMDb and is deemed one of the better films to emerge from Southeast Asia. The border regions of fog are ethereal in nature, mesmerizing viewers through the lens of dense jungles and misty visuals. Huray and Lumenta’s score brings life to the film by capturing the essence of deep rooted sounds entwined with modern day instruments.
Reviewers also mentioned similarities to international films like True Detective in tone and the aspect of investigation. While some were pleased with the unexpected twist, others were not too fond of the ambiguous endings that leave the narrative unsettlingly open.
Although the film follows a recognizable detective narrative, its focus on sociopolitical themes like transnational policing, human trafficking, and indigenous belief systems sharply distinguishes it from other works in the genre. It has sparked discussions due to its critique of institutional neglect as well as its portrayal of post-colonial trauma.
Themes and Symbolism
Borderless Fog is metaphorically rich, employing physical fog as a symbol for blurriness and foggy realities. The film explores:
Jurisdictional Confusion: Law enforcement officials on either side of the border are constrained by the need for inter-agency cooperation within bureaucratic red tape, rendering justice paradoxically available but out of reach.
Belief Systems: Local superstitions, wrought from centuries of stagnant culture, clash with Sanja’s modern rationality, embodying the tension between old and new.
Memory and Trauma: Sanja’s turbulent inner life is mirrored by the hazy, unstable world she seeks to investigate, linking personal anguish to more collective suffering in her nation.
Remote areas are politically marginalized, ignored or silenced, but the film takes a subtly critical stance on why such regions are often neglected by central powers, purposefully fueled anger and lawlessness.
The world is suffocating and dense. Fog as a crime definer, as well as surrounding the crime, denies vision and clarity to both the crime and the world, emphasizing ambiguity.
Awards and Recognition
Borderless Fog received a nomination for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress at the 2024 Indonesian Film Festival where it was nominated for 12 awards total. It won accolades for Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction, and Best Makeup.
The film was awarded Best Screenplay by Edwin and Ifan Ismail, Best Actor to Yoga Pratama, and Best Supporting Actor to Yudi Ahmad Tajudin at the 2025 Tempo Film Awards. The film was also nominated for Best Director and Best Supporting Actress.
These awards are a testament to the film’s quality as a genre piece and as an artistic and culturally significant work.
Conclusion
Set against a culturally rich backdrop, Borderless Fog emerges as a brooding, atmospheric crime thriller with exceptional direction and densely layered writing. Putri Marino expertly embodies Sanja Arunika, delivering a multifaceted performance that anchors the film. Fog obscures the semblance of justice within Edwin’s world, where it permeates everything and is deeply ambiguous.
Borderless Fog goes beyond providing suspense, offering a deeply unsettling reflection on the price of truth in a world laden with foggy uncertainty. It meditates on trauma, superstition, and the failure of social systems. Filled with profound enigmas intertwined with rich locations and well-crafted characters, it marks modern Southeast Asian cinema’s remarkable achievement.
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