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International exposure on Indonesian screens (part-1)

On one fine day, not so long ago, I was asked by two Indian housemates about Indonesian movies and our famous actors. “Can you give some names?” they asked.

Indeed, I answered with several names, just as they asked. Especially beautiful female actors like Dian Sastrowardoyo, Rianti Cartwright, Luna Maya, Tamara Bleszynski and so on. But of course, the guys didn’t know any of them. Hard chance actually.

On the other hand, I then followed by naming some famous Indian actors that I know. Names such as Shahrukh Khan, Ajay Devgan, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, and surely the females like Kajol & Rani Mukherjee, Preity Zinta, Kareena Kapoor, or Aishwarya Rai. And the guys a bit shocked.

Well, that hasn’t just ended yet, since I then continued to name an Indian title that has became one of the most popular movies in Indonesia within the last 15 years. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (Something Just Happens [in My Heart]). And me, as just one of the so many people who have enjoyed the film – not just once but multiple times – of course can also sing this movie’s well-known song. And so my housemates got more excited.

Well, my friends (wherever you are), yes, Bollywood is actually part of the beloved culture which especially has arisen on the screens for many Indonesians. And it’s been there for so many years. I myself can still remember one of the popular movies I watched when I was still a kid, featuring Mithun Chakravorty, the Disco Dancer. But furthermore, I can also remember other names of old schools from back then, like Dharmendra, Govinda, Amitabh Bachchan and so on.

Yet, not that I deny it or because I feel ‘shameful’ of it, I am actually not a Bollywood fan. I just happenly part of the Indonesian public, which can be considered lucky or not, have enjoyed so many foreign cultures mainly from films since a very long time ago.

To emphasise what I’m saying here, another foreign product on screens that has been enjoyed by Indonesians (especially the young ones) is Taiwanese TV drama. And one of the most popular names is Meteor Garden (which has two other titles following), starred by this famous boys group called F4 and a cute girl Barbie Hsu. Other serials such as At The Dolphin Bay, Love Contract, It Started With a Kiss, or The Magicians of Love, maybe a bit less popular, but still loved by many fans.

While I might be not very ‘wise’ to say it here, these East-Asian drama’s influence can even be seen in some of ‘Indonesia’s own drama’. Yes, several of them are actually pretty similar with the Taiwanese ones, starting from the basic stories, characters, plots, and even the titles. Quite an influence, huh?

And Taiwanese is not the only one in this genre, because there’s also another equally popular product from South Korea. And for me, to be honest, sometimes I couldn’t even tell which one is Taiwanese and which one is Korean drama. No, definitely not from the language; since most of these likely-romantic TV stories are dubbed into Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia).

But again, as I know Meteor Garden – though didn’t really followed the story back then – as the most popular one, I can also sing the theme songs a bit. Yes, not only one, but two of them, which are Ni Yao De Ai (The Love You Want) and Qing Fei De Yi (Can’t Help Falling in Love). Being mellow? I think not.

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QUOTE
“ Persuade thyself that imperfection and inconvenience are the natural lot of mortals, and there will be no room for discontent, neither for despair. ”
— Ieyasu Tokugawa (1543-1616)
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Five October movies

They’re not the best, perhaps neither the worst; or “the most anticipated” ones or whatever general terms people use for a review. It’s just a list of five movies I’ve checked out in cinema screens so far this month.

And again, I’ve done this kind of listing before, right? So, nothing’s special, really.

Oh, and one more thing, the motion pictures listed here weren’t all actually released in October. Some were from September, some were already out there in August. But for sure, all includes many big stars.

First, it’s the Vin Diesel’s back-in-action movie, Babylon A.D. I’ve actually noticed this title very early this year, while I read about the likes of 300, Cloverfield, or 2,000 B.C. and so on. And I was a bit curious to see it. But how was it? Well, I may say, it’s not as exciting as I expected.

Second, the next appearance of the young rising star, Shia LaBeouf, in Eagle Eye. Now this is a little bit better. Bringing a story that’s not really unique, about innocent people being controlled by some greater power, the performance of the primary stars is convincing enough for me. Plus, the plot that is – in my opinion – well-set (though some might argue it’s just one of those predictable mediocre movies).

Then there was Burn After Reading, a dark comedy piece from the popular directors, the Coen brothers. I think many people have to admit that most of them were interested of this movie mainly because of the directors. Or was it for the two ‘scream-making’ blokes, George Clooney and Brad Pitt? I don’t know why, but I guess somehow this movie was just kind of reminding me of Sidney Lumet’s Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.

So, now how about Body of Lies? Also starred by some popular actors amongst females, Leonardo DiCaprio and Russel Crowe, this CIA operation story movie is perhaps can be dubbed as another Hollywood’s take on the “fight against terrorists”. Yet, I think it has something quite ‘special’ in it, which is the moral lesson of being honest and trusted. Or doesn’t it? And does it matter? Anyway, I do agree it’s a bit complicated in plot and contains several over-exposed scenes.

And finally, just two days ago, I’ve checked out Max Payne. Yup, the video-game-based movie. And despite the fact that I already read a few bad reviews on it, I was kind of expecting the opposite fact. But yes, sometimes critics are just so damn right! There’s basically nothing really special in this film, which I understand would bring up a lot of disappointment especially from game lovers.

Now, the next question – probably just for myself – would be: will I see any other movie this month? I don’t think so. Besides that there’s nothing interesting on my list, and no extra budget I have at the moment, this week should be spent more on final study tasks for me. After all, it’ll be November in a few days, you know. *grin*

All the movie posters are originally copied from the Wikipedia.

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QUOTE
“ It’s not true that life is one damn thing after another; it’s one damn thing over and over. ”
— Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950)
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QUOTE
“ Life is just one damned thing after another. ”
— Elbert Hubbard (1859-1915)
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