This movie is the first movie adaptation of the bookseller the trilogy – now tetralogy – Laskar Pelangi by Andrea Hirata. Directed by Riri Riza, this movie tells us about the story of Lintang and his friends, Belitung children, in order to be able to get proper education which at the time was still difficult to get – especially in such a remote area like Belitung.
There are so many interesting characters in this movie, like a teacher who never gives up and tries their best to provide what needed to aid their students’ future, and there are also children who struggle to reach their dreams. One thing that I find most interesting about this movie is Sekolah Hati, or the Heart School. Education might bring us good score, good test result, prestige, et cetera. But in this movie, they tell us about children who learn about life, how important is the future, the struggle to reach it, the friendship between them, and how they help and support each other with a happy heart.
There was also this quote that says, “berusahalah untuk selalu memberi sebanyak-banyaknya daripada menerima sebanyak-banyaknya..".or “…try to give as much as you can intead of receiving as much as you can.” These days, there are so many people who had lost the meaning of the word giving. In this movie, they tell us about people who still give everything they had sincerely for other people – whether it was their time, their money, or just the efforts.
Another quote from the movie that I find interesting is "Hidup kita bukan berbicara masa lalu, tapi hidup kita berbicara masa depan. Tentang apa yang akan terjadi di masa depan, ditentukan dari hidup kita saat ini.." or “Our lives do not talk about the past; they speak of the future. What would happen in the future is decided in our lives today…” so you need to have your own purpose of living or your own vision and mission.
All in all, I think this movie is deserved to be called the movie of the year, because it is truly refreshing to see this kind of movie in the middle of the flood of free sex life style movies or immoral humor movies in Indonesia. It cannot be denied that the moral messages that are implied in this movie could be the trigger to education idealism that has faded these days.
Unfortunately, compared to the novel, in my opinion the movie has only about fifty percent of the novel’s potential. There are so many scenes that are being cut away, even though they are considered important – at least in my opinion – like the scene where Lintang first came to school, in the novel he was accompanied by his father. Likewise in the death of Mr. Harfan scene, in the novel he still managed to accompany the kids to the competition, yet in the movie he id dead before the competition. And then there is also an additional character that I feel its presence is completely useless and even disturb the overall atmosphere of the story, like Mrs. Mus’ admirer which was played by Tora Sudiro.
The most difference that I feel most disappointing is the fact that while in the novel there is some kind of thorough explanation as to why Lintang is so smart, why he is such a genius, the movie chose to leave that part out instead, which makes it odd and impossible to believe, especially when I watch the debate between Lintang and the teacher in PN Timah school. Another thing that makes me feel irritated when I watch the movie is that the fact that the story seems to focus on the character Ikal, while in the novel it is more or less about Lintang.
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