Cinema
Tjoet Nja' Dhien
Eros Djarot · 1988
Synopsis
Teuku Umar, her husband, has just been killed by the Dutch: Cut Nyak Dhien takes sole command of the Acehnese guerrilla and leads her men into the jungle. The years pass; her troops and a large part of the people support her, but chiefs of Aceh side with the Dutch, whose army mixes cruel soldiers and arms traffickers. Hunger and marches wear down the fighter, whose sight fails and whose body stiffens, and her faithful lieutenant Pang Laot worries as he watches her decline.
Context
The first film by its director, until then a composer, it took two years to shoot, with Christine Hakim in the title role and Slamet Rahardjo as Teuku Umar. The Aceh War was the longest in the colonial history of the Dutch East Indies; the heroine, born in 1848 into a noble family, ended her days in exile in Sumedang, in Java, and was proclaimed a national heroine in 1964. A version restored in the Netherlands was rereleased in cinemas in 2021.
Who it is for
A long film about the Acehnese resistance; some background on this colonial conflict is useful.
Prizes and reception
Eight Citra trophies in 1988, including best film and best direction; the first Indonesian film shown at Cannes, at the Critics' Week in 1989.