As someone who has watched a significant number of Indonesian horror films on Netflix, I felt The Redemption of Sin attempted to do something different. It’s a crime horror that is emotional and has a promising premise. Unfortunately, it did not live up to its potential, so the film might be disappointing for horror lovers.
The Redemption of Sin revolves around Wening, a mother who was ready to go to any lengths for the sake of her daughter, Nirmala. Her life had not been easy. She ended her first marriage after her husband, Wicak, failed to provide her with any financial support and used to spend her hard-earned money on racing. Wening tried to find marital bliss again, but her husband, Suleiman, turned out to be a trickster. She’d made peace with her fate, and Nirmala was her only ray of hope. But things took a tragic turn when Wening, her mother, Uti Yah, and Nirmala met with an accident. Uti Yah’s body was discovered by the side of the road, but Nirmala was nowhere to be found. It was assumed that Wening was the only one who survived, but she refused to give up on searching for her daughter.
Spoiler Alert
What were the sins Wening attempted to redeem herself for?
After the search team gave up on finding Nirmala, Wening was ready to do whatever it took to track down her daughter. She released a thousand origami cranes because Nirmala’s teacher, Tetsuya, had told her that cranes were considered a symbol of hope in Japan, and a thousand cranes together were believed to grant a wish. Wening painstakingly made a thousand cranes from scratch and released them in the river, hoping that she would one day be reunited with Nirmala. She had recently met Tirta, a swimming coach and a podcast host who was interested in her story, and when she insisted Wening consider black magic, she decided to give it a go. Tirta’s friend, Gus, knew a renowned practitioner, Mbah Gowa, who apparently could help Wening find her daughter. He advised her to repent for all her sins because, according to him, another force was holding Nirmala back and preventing her from leaving a dark place. He believed Nirmala would only be released if her mother repent her sins.
Wening headed to Cirebon, where her former husband lived, and Tirta accompanied her. On the way, Wening told her that she wanted to apologize to her former husband, Wicak, because she believed she was indirectly responsible for the extreme burn wounds he’d suffered after she’d left him. Even though it was an accident, Wening felt guilty about how things turned out. She visited Wicak at the hospital, and he begged her to kill him. He lived in constant pain, and he simply wanted to die. He promised to forgive her if she murdered him. Wening was hesitant, but to redeem herself, she grabbed hold of a pillow and walked towards Wicak. All of a sudden, Wicak bit his tongue, and blood started to ooze out of his mouth. It looked like he was possessed, possibly by Uti Yah’s spirit, with her killing him so that Wening didn’t have to. Wening was terrified, and she screamed for help. The ghost of Wicak haunted Wening after she returned home, and she ended up spending the night at Tetsuya’s place.
The next morning, Wening’s second husband, Suleiman’s body, was retrieved from the river. At the very beginning of The Redemption of Sin, we witnessed Suleiman perform the Kungkum Kedung ritual, which apparently brought him money. It was a dangerous ritual, and Wening had to pull Suleiman out of the river if he became unconscious. Wening tried to pull him to the surface with all her strength, but she failed to do so. She had no choice but to let go of the rope tied to Suleiman because she would have drowned as well if she hadn’t. Suleiman was a fraud, and he was not the person she instantly thought about when Mbah Gowa asked her to think of her sins. But later, when his body was discovered, Mbah Gowa emphasized that Suleiman was the one holding back Nirmala from returning to the world. In order for his soul to let go of Nirmala, they had to perform a river cleansing ritual. Wening agreed to do it; she was desperate. She handed over the money required for the ritual, and later that night, Mbah Gowa brought Wening the dress Nirmala was wearing when she went missing. It was the only piece of evidence they found after performing the ritual. He added that Wening’s sins were heavy, and they could neither be redeemed nor cleansed. He believed Nirmala was the price she had to pay for her sins, and she could only be reunited with her in death.
Later, Tirta discovered that Gus was involved in scamming Wening to extract money from her. She was shocked; she didn’t expect her friend to stoop so low. She figured out Gus and Mbah Gowa had come up with the black magic plan to scam Wening because Suleiman owed them money. They were his victims, and they wanted revenge, so they targeted the vulnerable widow.
How did Tirta discover the truth?
Tirta started to join the dots when she remembered the butterfly hair clip Nirmala was wearing when she came to the swimming class for the first time with Tetsuya. She recognized the hair clip; she’d seen Tetsuya’s daughter, Miyako, wearing the same clip in one of the framed photographs at his house. She suddenly felt the need to dig into Tetsuya’s past; they trusted him, but they had no idea about his background. He was a Japanese man who had moved to Indonesia for research and ended up staying there after his divorce. He often spoke about his daughter and how deeply he missed her, but was it even the truth? A quick search on the internet revealed that Tetsuya’s daughter and wife had passed away in an ‘accident’, and he was the prime accused. He pled not guilty in court, and he ended up in a remote village in Indonesia. Tetsuya thought Nirmala resembled his daughter, and he became obsessed with her. The information Tirta found on the internet proved that Tetsuya was not someone they could trust. She tried to warn Wening, but she was not at home, and when she thought she could seek Gus’ help, she realized her friend had been playing with the emotions of a vulnerable mother. She ultimately decided to confront Tetsuya.
Was Nirmala alive?
In the meantime, when Wening attempted to take her life, the ghosts of her mother and Wicak stood before her. They didn’t intend to harm her; instead, they guided her to the truth. They reminded Wening of the hair clip and also the most important fact that she’d forgotten—Nirmala and Uti Yah were terrified when Wening went to pick them up from Tetsuya’s place on the night of the accident. Even though it was raining, her mother had instructed her to continue driving. Something important had happened that day, but they didn’t get the chance to discuss it with Wening. So, she decided to find out the truth from Tetsuya. By this time, it was already clear that Tetsuya was guilty, but had he killed Nirmala or was she still alive?
Tetsuya explained how obsessed he became with Nirmala because she looked just like his deceased daughter, Miyako. It seemed Tetsuya was guilty of killing his daughter, who he repeatedly stated had been too naughty. On the night of the accident, when Nirmala stood before Tetsuya wearing Miyako’s dress, he felt as if his daughter had returned. The film does not delve too much into Tetsuya’s past, but clearly he was an abusive man who had lost his sanity. He’d tried to tightly grab hold of Nirmala, but she protested and screamed for help. Her grandma came to her rescue, and that’s when they hopped onto Wening’s scooter and left.
During The Redemption of Sin’s ending, Tetsuya had followed Wening that night, and he was the first to arrive at the scene of the accident. He found Nirmala, and upon realizing that she was still alive, he brought her to his home. He tied her up and refused to let her go unless she admitted that she was his daughter, Miyako. Tetsuya struck Wening in the head as he admitted to abducting her daughter. Just when Tetsuya thought he was in control, Tirta sneaked into his house and attacked him from behind. The two got into a physical fight, but Tetsuya managed to overpower Tirta. When Wening regained consciousness, Tetsuya asked Nirmala to join them and show her mother how to make an origami crane. Nirmala was relieved to see her mother, but she was terrified of her captor. She followed Tetsuya’s instructions, even though all she likely wanted to do was embrace her mother. Tetsuya forcefully made Wening sign a document stating that, henceforth, Nirmala was Tetsuya’s daughter. Just when everything seemed to be working against Wening, supernatural forces came to her rescue. Her mother’s spirit entered her body, and she managed to break her bindings and free herself. She chased Tetsuya and demanded that he hand Nirmala over to her. Tetsuya and Wening got into a tussle, and they ended up falling into the river. Nirmala survived, and Tirta came to her rescue.
Did Wening survive?
The Redemption of Sin’s ending confirmed that Wening survived after falling into the river. She was rescued and was tried in court for negligence that resulted in the death of her husband, Suleiman. She was sentenced to five months in prison by the district court. Presumably, Tetsuya didn’t survive, and Wening was a witness in Nirmala’s abduction case. Even though Wening and Tirta connected after Nirmala’s disappearance, they formed an unlikely bond, and Tirta no longer cared about her podcast show; she genuinely wanted to help Wening. After Wening was imprisoned, Tirta looked after Nirmala. Five months later, Wening was finally reunited with her daughter. She watched Tirta give Nirmala swimming lessons; she finally felt she was out of danger. In the final scene, a man walked up to Wening and offered to help her and Nirmala, but after everything she’d been through, Wening had realized she didn’t need a man in her life to make things okay. Most men had failed to live up to their promises, and she didn’t wish to take any chance. She was happy living with her daughter, and she strongly believed they would be alright.
