Berbagi Suami

Nia Dinata's sophomore feature weaves together three independent stories, each a woman who finds herself the wife of a husband who has multiple wives. The stories are tied together in clever ways that are reminiscent in a way of the movie "Sliding Doors".

So what would you expect from a female director/screenwriter on the topic of polygamy? While taking an anti-polygamy view, the film will challenge you because it does not come across as clear-cut as you might expect.

Instead, we see these three women struggle with conflicts between personal identity and identity through family, self-respect and religious conviction, and independence and security.

Well-acted and tightly written, this is a film worth seeking out if only because it is so different.

Although residing in Southeast Asia, I am not really that keen to explore the rich cultures in the region, as least not as keen as those backpack travelers. But this film did provide me very good initiative to have a closer look in this evolving and dynamic region, which is the junction of different civilizations.

Polygamy is a very unique element in Muslim culture, which might be very unpleasant to people emerged in modern civilization. But this film has addressed this issue with very contemporary way of thinking. The concerns of the parties involved in polygamy are no much different from a normal lover. And the new generation of Indonesian women is trying as hard as their counterparts in China, India or other Asian societies to retain their independence and create their new self. Hence we can see a humble country girl is daring enough to leave the ignorant husband and even not fear of developing an unusual intimate relationship with a fellow polygamy victim; and staying single and concentrating on pursuing a gorgeous career, such as acting, are no longer luxury dreams for young women.

It is also interesting to compare the attitudes from different religious groups (Muslim and Catholics) and different races towards polygamy, which reflects the influences of sub-culture groups on the multi-cultural and multi-racial society in Indonesia.

From the kaleidoscopic view of the female population in Indonesia, I can see a dynamic nation which is evolving from a traditional religious country towards a more liberal, modern and diverse society.

An Indonesian friend gave me this DVD, and I wish it could get a wider audience. The English subtitles are easy to follow. The characters are complex. It is not simply "polygamy is bad."

Nia Dinata's sophomore feature weaves together three intertwined stories about polygamy, marriage, and relationships. Handsomely shot, warmly acted, and smartly written with complex but identifiable characters and smart, believable dialogue, 'Berbagi Suami' is an all-round entertaining and thought-provoking classic.

I just got the opportunity to watch this movie on VCD, and it was such a splendid time.

I can definitely say that comparing this film with such a highly pretentious horse s**t as 'Ekskul' was like comparing Heaven and Hell! ('Berbagi Suami' as Heaven, of course...) I honestly can't understand what the FFI-committee thought when they picked Ekskul as Best Picture. Furthermore, that horse s**t also won Best Director!! Oh, come on, give me a f**king break, will you?! Giving a 'Best Director' award to a director that, apparently, disliked 'The Godfather'?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! They should have given the award for Picture and Director to this movie, instead! Berbagi Suami is an earnest, simple film about three families adopting a polygamy way of life, and many consequences (not a few are dire ones) that they have to face. It is funny at times, heartbreaking, and will bring smiles to all the audiences.

Maybe the members of the FFI committee are just too cheesy to pick a film as beautiful as this one.