Calling itself “a free adaptation of the legendary TV drama,” Tersanjung: The Movie is based on the incredibly popular Indonesian series that ran on the Multivision Plus network from 1998 to 2005. The movie, like so many American reboots, feels like a cinematic reappropriation of a classic television property in order to lure back audiences who are nostalgic for this once great thing that no longer exists. See: The Untochables, Mission: Impossible, Charlie’s Angels, etc.
While Tersanjung: The Movie doesn’t attempt to tell the same story as its television counterpart (they couldn’t possibly compress 365 episodes into two hours), it nevertheless leans heavily into the soapy style of the series as it chronicles the melodramatic (often tragic) life of Yura (Clara Bernadeth) and her misadventures in love.
The Young and the Restless
Umapagan Ampikaipakan: I’m not going to lie, I was (and still am) incredibly invested in these lives. The soap opera “method,” when executed well, really can pull you into any type of story. However hackneyed. However tropey. It is a narrative technique that really knows how to push your buttons. And Tersanjung: The Movie managed to push all of my buttons.
Now, I’ve not seen the original Tersanjung, and I’m not sure how much fanservice there is in this movie, but it very much works as a standalone feature. I can attest to the fact that you need no previous knowledge of the series to enjoy this melodrama.
Bahir Yeusuff: I have to admit, I was expecting maximum eye rolling throughout this movie. When I found out it was a remake of a “sinetron,” I was sure there would be so much “Bahir-throws-his-arms-up-in-the-air-in-frustration” that I was worried I was gonna throw out my shoulder.
But I was wrong. Serves me right. Tersanjung: The Movie had me hooked from the get go. The way this movie opens straight into the first conflict (yes I said first conflict because this movie had quite a few inciting incidents!) without so much as an introduction to the people I just met made me perk right up.
There’s confidence in the form, be it the soap opera “method” you mentioned, or just purely from the Indonesian filmmaking industry’s comfort in telling stories in this genre, nothing here is done halfheartedly. They jump right in knowing that the audience will be there without needing to hold their hands throughout.
UA: That confidence is reflected in just how much writer-directors Pandu Adjisurya and Hanung Bramantyo cram into this movie. It feels like multiple seasons worth of soap opera fare, and yet it’s never overwrought or overcrowded. A lot happens to these characters, but the pacing and the multiple time jumps create a momentum that pulls you along.
In these two hours we are subjected to (almost) every single soap opera trope, from attempted rape, to unrequited love, to monsters-in-law, to surprise pregnancies. This is the kind of movie in which you know that a character is going to turn out to be an asshole because of the white turtleneck sweater he’s wearing. This is the kind of movie in which you know things are going to end badly as soon as one of the protagonists says: “I promise you. I will never hurt your feelings.”
But here’s the thing, not once did it have me rolling my eyes. Part of that has to do with how compelling Clara Bernadeth is to watch. But most of it has to do with that storytelling confidence you were talking about.
Tersanjung: The Movie, Part 2?
BY: I mean seriously, how can you NOT roll your eyes at all those different plot points! It sounds so hacky! And maybe it was, but in its execution (the one thing the movie didn’t have was an execution) Tersanjung pulled it all together seamlessly. I was never bored watching this. I was involved. I was gasping, and hooting, and hollering like I was watching a football game. (Although the last couple of games have not been all that exciting, but that’s for another article).
By the end of the movie, my wife and I were playing along. We were sat straight up, eyes focused on this story unfold. This was a true experience.
There’s nothing in this movie that is new or novel. There isn’t a new angle to the story here…
UA: … And it doesn’t really matter because all of it appeals to your basest storytelling instincts.
BY: And just when you think the movie could not cram one more thing into its two hour runtime, it does, and it never feels over the top. Man this movie was such a fun watch.
UA: I mean, that mid-credits reveal was totally batshit crazy but I loved every second of it. There’s a lot to be said for being able to take the most corny, predictable plot points and then weave into something this entertaining. Are they setting up a sequel? Probably. But even if they weren’t, that moment was such a great and knowing wink at everything they had done to that point. We know what we’re doing. You know what we’re doing. So here’s a ridiculous little cherry on top.
BY: But even if we were to take it away from the wink and nod, that mid-credits reveal is also a really interesting plot development. Whether or not a sequel is made (and by goodness I hope it is), what happens there changes a lot of what you thought has happened. That one short postscript changes a character’s entire motivation and puts him in a different light. It’s got you asking if you were the asshole.
There is so much in this movie that is done in confidence. Oka’s Indonesian speaking American mother. Setting the movie during the Indonesian recession. The class divide in Indonesian society. It’s all there as background. It doesn’t require explanation, but if you’re from the region, it becomes an immediate point of reference. You get it. And that just added so much colour to this movie.
Love in the Time of Suharto
UA: This is a movie that’s very much for its Indonesian audience. There is very little exposition with regards to its historical setting. Those of us who lived through the economic crash of the late 1990s know enough about what went on in Indonesia to fill in the blanks, but I’m not sure I can say the same for other audiences.
Take Christian’s parents for example. As soon as we meet them, we knew exactly the kind of “oligarchs” they were. No explanation required. So much so that when the riots broke out in Jakarta, the movie didn’t need to waste any time showing us why he, and his family, disappear.
In that way, Tersanjung: The Movie does have an episodic quality to it. We’re fast forwarding through these lives. What may have taken 22 episodes is now done in act one. It worked for me. But I’m not sure I’d be as okay with watching the same thing unfold over the course of a season. That might be 20 hours too long.
BY: Absolutely. I don’t know if it was my lowered expectations, but I wasn’t expecting much from Tersanjung: The Movie. I enjoyed myself enough to not notice its two hour runtime and still want more. I think if you’re already well versed in the Indonesian romance genre then this is definitely worth a watch. Like Layla Majnun, this movie is very competently put together and is a very good watch.
UA: One last thing. You know what I really want? A cookbook with all of Oka’s instant noodle recipes! Damn, those bowls looked good.
BY: The poor guy. All Oka wanted was to open his instant noodle stall. And then all of THIS MOVIE happened.
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