Celebrating National Awakening Day, Tjoet Nja 'Dhien Film Replayed In Cinemas

Film Tjoet Nja 'Dhien (Photo: IG @christinehakimofficial)

JAKARTA - Good news for you Indonesian film lovers. The film Tjoet Nja 'Dhien will be replayed in Indonesian theaters. The screening starts on May 20, 2021, in Jakarta, to coincide with National Awakening Day.

Starting from Jakarta, the screening of one of Indonesia's "legendary films" will also be planned to be screened in Surabaya, Semarang, Makassar, Medan, and so on. The re-release of the film which won eight Citra Cups was confirmed by the artist and the main character Tjoet Nya 'Dhien, Christine Hakim, Monday, May 3, in Jakarta.

According to Christine, the film, which was released in 1988, or 33 years ago, has now undergone a complete restoration in the Netherlands. The format of the celluloid tape has been transformed to DCP so that the image is smoother and the color details are sharper.

The duration that was previously 130 minutes was cut to 106 minutes due to various technical considerations.

According to Christine Hakim, there are several reasons why this film is being re-shown. First, to provide an opportunity for the younger generation who have never seen this film on the big screen, to enjoy this film. "Especially the millennials", said Christine.

The message in this film, added Christine, is still very much connected to today's life. Then, the re-screening of Tjoet Nya 'Dhien is also tangible proof to fulfill the government's recommendation that we go back to watching films in theaters. "And you should watch Indonesian films", said the artist who has won nine Citra Cups and has been a jury in various international film competitions.

In particular, Christine said, the re-screening of Tjoet Nya 'Dhien was also to encourage cinema entrepreneurs to obtain Indonesian films that were worthy of being shown on cinema.

When theaters lacked the supply of national films in the era of the Covid-19 pandemic, the restored film Tjoet Nya 'Dhien was here to give a spirit of resolution. "It is a kind of mutualistic symbiosis or mutual benefit between producers and cinema entrepreneurs", said Christine.

Director Tjoet Nya 'Dhien, Eros Djaros, added that many aspects can be seen from the return of this film. "But from a practical point of view, we are presenting a film which hopefully can be a spectacle and a guide", said Eros.

The film Tjoet Nya 'Dhien in the 1988 Indonesian Film Festival (FFI) won eight Citra Trophies, each for Best Film, Best Director (Eros Djarot), Best Female Actor (Christine Hakim), Best Screenplay (Eros Djarot), Best Original Story (Eros Djarot), Best Cinematographic System (George Kamarullah), Best Artistic System (Benny Benhardi), and Best Music System (Idris Sardi).

Apart from being played by Christine Hakim and Slamet Rahardjo, Tjoet Nya 'Dhien was played by other famous actors such as Piet Burnama, Rudy Wowor, Rosihan Anwar, Ibrahim Kadir, and many other names. When playing the character Tjoet Nya 'Dhien, Christine was 31 years old. Meanwhile, Eros is still 38 years old.