A monthly film series promoting professional and community education on issues pertaining to mental health and illness. Presented by The Cinematheque and the Institute of Mental Health, UBC Department of Psychiatry. Screenings are generally held on the third Wednesday of each month at The Cinematheque, 1131 Howe St, Vancouver, BC.
Crocodile Tears
(Air Mata Buaya)
Indonesia/France/Singapore/Germany 2024 (98 min. DCP)
Director: Tumpal Tampubolon
Wednesday, November 12, 2025 @ 7:00pm
The Cinematheque (1131 Howe St)
Film Description
“Taut, suspenseful, and thrilling … Tumpal Tampubolon’s slow-burning debut explores the emotional complexities that can exist between mothers and sons, especially with authoritarian parenting, which imposes power in the name of love.”
-June Kim, TIFF
Twenty-year-old Johan (Yusuf Mahardika) and his mother (Marissa Anita) live a peculiarly isolated life caring for a derelict crocodile park in the lush terrain of rural West Java. On a rare evening out, Johan meets a young woman named Arumi (Zulfa Maharani) who recently started working at a karaoke bar in a nearby village. Soon the two become romantic, and the uncomfortably close relationship between mother and adult son begins to unravel. Overbearing qualities quickly turn into obsession as the mother’s spiral into madness leads to a bizarre series of events and a chilling conclusion. In his much anticipated feature-length debut, Tumpal Tampulolon expands the motherhood horror subgenre, situating an Indonesian coming-of-age story in a disquieted atmosphere with supernatural overtones.
In Indonesian with English subtitles
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“Crocodile Tears has all the elements for shlocky B‑movie fare but Tampubolon keeps his focus on the central relationship, favouring restraint over excess, atmospherics over explanations.” – Allan Hunter, Screen International
Post-screening Discussion:
Post-screening discussion with Dr. Randall F. White, clinical professor and division head of Adult Psychiatry and Mental Health Services at UBC.
The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Harry Karlinsky, series director.
Co-sponsored by the Social and Cultural Psychiatry, and the Schizophrenia programs of the Adult Division of UBC Department of Psychiatry
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