Sang Pemimpi

This movie is an adaptation from a popular novel by the same title (Sang Pemimpi a.k.a The Dreamer). It portrays two village boys with a dream of traveling to Paris, to study at Sorbonne University. Being a movie about dream, it failed to capture the audience to follow the story and get attached. It fails much behind movie with similar theme such as the much acclaimed Slumdog Millionaire or even the modest Pursuit of Happiness. The characters are poorly developed so the audience doesn't get attached to the character.

More over, it also failed to represent the culture, Malayan culture, which it portrayed. Following a dream is not a major theme in Malayan culture. The culture is more on interested in wandering, adventure and myth. Pursuing happiness, such as stated in American Constitution, is not really in the mind set of the people. Maybe it enters the writers mind because the writer is an European university graduate, therefore he was exposed to such culture.

The acting was also poorer compared to its prequel "Laskar Pelangi". Luckily the acting of the epilogue part is quite good, thanks to the star performance of Lukman Sardi, an award winner actor, and a surprisingly good performance of Ariel Peterpan, who is well known as a singer, not an actor. Because of their performance, I still give this movie a SIX instead of FIVE. Their performance as the adult version main characters is quite convincing, compared the the main story which depicts the teenage life of the main characters.

The story line is boring and not focused. It tried to build a story about dream, and also wanted to show a movie about a dedication of a father, and in the end failed to achieve both.

It looks like the the director and writers need a major overhaul if they want to make the sequel (Edensor). Miles production cannot depend to much on the popularity of the novel. A movie is a movie, a novel is a novel. You can make good movies out of a bad novel (not an easy task, but still possible with major changes, for example Julie and Julia). And you can make a bad movie out of a wonderful novel.

The dreamer is a film adapted from the novel Sang Pemimpi, by Andrea Hirata, the second novel of the Laskar Pelangi tetralogy. The author tells about the life of his high school in Belitung through this film, after previously telling his childhood through the film Laskar Pelangi which successfully attracted the attention of many people and won many awards. First released on December 17, 2009, the Dreamer was able to make the audience immersed in the sweetness of love, hope, dreams, and the bitterness of life. The Dreamer describes the combination of dreams and the pain of struggling to achieve those dreams. A chant of a story that is very laden with meaning, able to bring the audience to explore other angles to see life entangled in poverty and dreams depressed by economic conditions amidst true friendship between Ikal, Arai, and Jimbron. That three figures are the center of attention, because the film tells about their story. Ikal, a quiet and hard-working figure, a picture of a true friend for his two friends. Arai, a distant brother of Ikal, Arai was appointed as part of the Ikal family because Arai was a simpai keramat , a term for Belitong Malays whose father and mother had died. Jimbron, a friend of Arai and Ikal, an adopted child of Rev. Geovani, is very obsessed with horses. Submission of back and forth storylines make the audience wondering and increasing the enthusiasm of the audience while watching round after round in this film. Cinematography that is very eye-catching with effects in the 90s, left a deep impression of a difficult life at that time. The story is enlivened with backsound which is very supportive, such as Tetap Berdiri, Cinta Gila, Apatis and several other songs available in this film. But the most memorable of the backsound is the violin instrument that played when every sad scene, increasingly burning a sense of sadness that could not be described. Furthermore, with a typical Malay accent that is used by the figures while speaking but still understandable, making the film The Pemimpi is a great and amazing film. The Dreamer is highly recommended to be watched by students or people who are struggling to reach their dreams. By watching this film, the spirit will surely be burned again, as great as Arai and Ikal struggling through all the challenges to make their dreams become a reality. That every dream will be able to bring us everywhere and be able to tie unbroken friendships with everyone.