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`Sang Pemimpi'the making of the sequel
It was a hot day and the class was almost full
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t was a hot day and the class was almost full. Most of the students were seated and talking to each other. Some girls were braiding their hair while other students cracked jokes.
Three young men sat in the middle of the classroom, Jimbron, Arai and Ikal. Jimbron was a big boy with an innocent look on his face, while Arai was much smaller but more confident. Every time he smiled, his lips would curl up in a smirk.
A young man, called Pak Balia, walked in with such a determined look on his face that students immediately became quiet, took their seats and gave him their full attention. Pak Balia stared at his students, one by one.
"You must all understand the power of words! If you are able to put together words beautifully, you will not only make a spectacular piece, but you will also be able to touch people with what you write and say. Future leaders, give me a few words that inspire you!" the teacher said.
The students raised their hands after Pak Balia spoke. The class was enthusiastic.
There must have been some inspiring words from General Douglas MacArthur, John F. Kennedy or Albert Einstein.
Pak Balia walked towards the table where Ikal was seated. "Ikal...." he said. Ikal stood up and said, "Youthful day is a fiery phrase! Haji Rhoma Irama!" The entire class was silent. Only after Pak Balia laughed did the whole class burst into laughter.
Jimbron clapped his hands. Arai shook his head with amusement. Ikal grinned. Yes, Ikal was still very much the boy we remembered - the boy with the curly hair, searching eyes, and innocent idolization of Rhoma Irama.
"Cut-tone!" yelled Riri Riza, the film director, during the shooting of Sang Pemimpi (The Dreamer). In his words, "cut-tone" means "perfect".
We're all at state high school SMA Negeri Manggar, in Belitung - a small island on the coast of Sumatra that became famous because of the Laskar Pelangi (Rainbow Troops) tetralogy and the movie named after it.
Producer Mira Lesmana and director Riri Riza, the duo who founded the production company Miles Films that produced Laskar Pelangi - are working together on the sequel titled Sang Pemimpi.
"It's our third day of the 43-day shoot, and so far it has been going really well. As opposed to when we filmed Laskar Pelang, where it so much in the first 10 days that we had to postpone shooting some of the scenes," Mira said.
"So far, we've managed to do a few scenes, including the ones featuring Pak Balia and Pak Mustar, the two teachers that plays a significant role in this movie," Riri says.
In Laskar Pelangi, the teachers were played by Ikranagara, Cut Mini and Slamet Rahardjo, while Agustinus Gusti Nugroho aka Nugie and Landung Simatupang took over as the teachers in Sang Pemimpi. Nazriel Irham aka Ariel plays as Arai.
Sang Pemimpi tells the struggle of three boys who live far away from their family in a far-off island in the 1980s. It recounts the tale of three teenagers who sacrifice blood, sweat and tears.
"This movie has the same spirit as Laskar Pelangi. It is about hopes and dreams and how it is not easy to make those dreams come true," Mira said.
"This movie is not as...heavy as Laskar Pelangi. It is more relaxed, more in the spirit of teenagers. We want to show how these teenagers stick with their dreams and fight against poverty, traditional values and actually make their dreams come true," Riri added.
In the movie, Ikal is still pining for his first love who moved away one day, leaving nothing but memories and a tin box with an Eiffel tower painted on it. Arai, a Melayu-style playboy, falls for his classmate Zakiah Nurmala who never seems to give him the time of day. Meanwhile, Jimbron dreams of saving Laksmi, a young girl working at a cincau factory.
Together, the three of them overcome - or try to overcome - the problems they face while still putting on a brave face.
"High school is an experience that everyone goes through. Everybody has high school nos-talgia and thinks back to those days. There's this...universal emotion that everybody can relate to," Riri said.
"High school has a nostalgic value to it and everybody wants to revisit their high school years," Mira added.
It will be hard for this sequel to be as successful as Laskar Pelangi, a critically acclaimed movie that generated 4.7 million viewers.
There are many expectations on Sang Pemimpi. The question is: Will Miles Film pull it off, once again?
Given the beautifully heartbreaking and sometimes, funny plot, the excellent performance of the actors and the crew's hardwork, Sang Pemimpi is not a movie that needs to hinge on another, as it is excellent.
What they say about the characters
Rendy (as Arai): "He *Arai* is very optimistic about his life and about where he's going, even with all the challenges he faces. He's loyal too, and he's a good friend to Ikal and Jimbron. Basically, Arai's a good guy, and fun too."
Maudy Ayunda (as Zakiah): "Zakiah is friends with the three boys. Arai likes her, and she's always rejecting him. He always tries to flirt with her, coax her with these Melayu poems but she keeps ignoring him. But then, there is this one scene where he sings to her and in the end...it looks like she kind of...accepts him...or his pursuit of her."
Azwir (as Jimbron): "Jimbron is very innocent. He has a stutter and is obsessed with horses. It's always horses, horses and horses... Jimbron is really funny. I guess his stupidity makes him funny. It's an innocent kind of stupidity though. But underneath all that, Jimbron is really nice. He's loyal to Ikal and Arai, and he thinks positively."
Vikri Septiawan (as Ikal): "Ikal is....pessimistic. He's very quiet. And of course, his hair is curly."
