[Review XN] Film 25: BUMI MANUSIA
"An educated person must have done justice from the mind, especially in deeds."
(This review may contain spoilers for viewers who don't read the novel)
Intranranating a novel is clearly not an easy matter, especially if the novel already has a loyal fan base. The filmmaker must face a rush of comments from millions of heads, each of whom has his own imagination related to their portrayal, situations, and favorite characters. There are those who rejoice because their favorite novel is turned into a living picture, there are those who hold doubts but are still willing to give a chance, and there are also those who openly show their objections from the beginning. Three types of fans that can actually be found from any type of novel, including Indonesian literature entitled Bumi Manusia which is the preliminary round of the Pruruedya Ananta Toer Island Buru fiction. From the beginning the adaptation filmmaking project was launched, the pros and cons continued to accompany the news. Originally hosted by Oliver Stone but later fooled by the author because he wanted the film worked on by the nation's children, then moved to the controversial director Anggy Umbara, until finally landing on the lap of Hanung Bramantyo (Sang Pencerah, Kartini) who has a good track record in creating films with a historical setting . When the film was officially handled by Hanung under the auspices of Falcon Pictures, there were at least two objection points most often highlighted by fans: 1) the director's efforts to focus on the element of romance, and 2) the appointment of Iqbaal Ramadan, the main actor in the 1990s (2018) , as the central character Minke.
In fact, it would not hurt if then Hanung chose to take an approach from the love story between Minke and Annelies Mellema (Mawar De Jongh) because the Human Earth is actually a saga of love. Pram uses the language of universal love to deliver messages on more complex issues related to oppression, slavery, social stratification, colonialism, prejudice, until humanity in the Dutch occupation era at the end of the 19th century. Following his needs as a big screen viewing, the perspective utilized by Hanung made it possible for the film to embrace a lay audience who had never read the source material. After all, the big screen version of the Earth of Humans has never really deviated from the topic of conversation proposed by the author. The love story between Minke and Annelies is just a piece of the story that serves to guide the audience in understanding other stories in "human earth" composed of: 1) the story of Nyai Ontosoroh (Sha Ine Febriyanti) whose nature makes Minke stunned because it is different from his or mistress. others that he had known all this time, 2) the story of the Mellema family who was in disarray due to the habit of the head of the household to get drunk while the eldest son, Robert (Giorgino Abraham) could not be expected, 3) the story of the Minke family which in fact was a Javanese noble, 4) the story of Minke's friends at the HBS (Hogere Burgerschool) school who had a divided view of the Dutch East Indies, and 5) the story of Minke herself as a native in the midst of the empowerment of a Dutch-blooded society.
Bringing up such a dense narrative which is the result of an interpretation of a more than 500-page thick novel, it is not surprising that the Earth of Humans requires a three-hour duration of storytelling. A duration that has not been anything that has scared some viewers because, "Hey, can I stay literate and stay in the cinema chair? 3 hours is a long time, you know! ”I was also initially confronted with doubts because it required someone holding a master of storytelling title to make the duration of that duration seem like a mere moment. Hanung who recently tends to fluctuate in telling stories (well, his collaboration with Falcon in the form of Benjamin Biang Kerok and Singles does not end happily), in fact is able to tell the story smoothly without stammering. Under its management, the Human Earth is presented as an epic spectacle that ties attention and plays with emotions so that long duration does not matter. From the opening minutes, the film has captured the attention of the audience through Minke's friendship with Suurhof (Jerome Kurnia) who is half Dutch. From the figure of Suurhof, Minke can get acquainted with Annelies who then tethered her heart. When the main character sets foot in the Mellema family home, the conflict line slowly but surely moves dynamically. One by one, conflicts arose which began with Robert's reluctance to respect Minke because there were social caste differences between them. From here, the film based on the slick manuscripts formed by Salman Aristo raises an interest in the audience by asking: will Robert take further action to get rid of the Minke
I personally like the choice of the filmmaker in presenting classical nuanced musical arrangements that often give the impression of grandeur and the decision to use a variety of languages ranging from Dutch, Javanese, Madura, to Chinese in order to thicken the impression of authentic. Although the use of special effects that sometimes still looked rough and some properties (especially the Mellema family house) that were too sleek as they were just made had also amused me, luckily Hanung managed to compensate him with his main expertise: directing players. Yes, in addition to the technical elements that are in first-class and the director's convenient way of speaking, Bumi Humans show their superiority in the acting sector where the ensemble performers really act in a solid manner. The appointment of Iqbaal Ramadhan as Minke who caused a controversy was in fact easily dismissed by the actor who once again proved that he was a valuable asset for Indonesian cinema. Sure, Iqbaal sometimes seems awkward and doesn't fully explode in handling dramatic moments, but Dilan's experience of diving enables him to unleash the charisma of a dreamy man and easily go through the flirting scene with his co-star. Ndilalah, Iqbaal also received adequate feedback from other players who showed amazing performance.
Worshiping prostration to Sha Ine Febriyanti who was born to play Nyai Ontosoroh. A mistress (mistress of a Dutch man) who made Minke stunned because of her extensive knowledge, authoritative manner of behavior, and her skills in managing the Mellema family business. Ine has a kind of strong attraction that allows her every appearance to always have energy that makes our attention focused on it. Either when she looks like a tough woman who is not swayed by anything, or when she is transformed into a helpless woman who is trampled by the system. Besides Ine and Iqbaal, a line of players who deservedly received appreciation including Ayu Laksmi as Minke's mother who exuded an aura of compassionate mother, Donny Damara who appeared fierce with a different voice color, Jerome Kurnia as a traitor who was annoying, Giorgino Abraham who sparked hatred the audience to the eldest son of the Mellema family, Siti Fauziyah as Iyem whose function as comic relief succeeded in provoking laughter, and Whani Dharmawan as the fierce Darsam. Then what about Mawar De Jongh as Annelies? Well, it looks like Hanung will regain his status as a starmaker after this. After some less impressive roles, Mawar finally appeared to shine here. Annelies's figure which resembles damsel in distress is turned on brilliantly which makes us feel sorry for her fragility and at the same time annoyed at her spoiled attitude. But the biggest surprise he gave was in the ultimate scene where the character was actually shown leaving with his head held high and with a smile to get rid of the grief of those who lost him. He fulfilled the definition of a goddess so that I could understand why many people wept over his departure. She is so damn good!
Outstanding ( 4 / 5 )
Post a Comment for "[Review XN] Film 25: BUMI MANUSIA"
No SPAM!!