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span class="inline inline-left">JP/Willy WIlsonA three-minute trailer of Negeri 5 Menara (The Land of Five Towers) would send shivers down the spine of anyone who has read the novel.

An adaptive film based on Ahmad Fuadi’s novel of the same name, it tells a story of six young students who meet at Pondok Pesantren Madani Islamic boarding school in Ponorogo, East Java.

The students’ friendship begins when they are all punished at the school. As they grow closer, the six make a habit of standing beneath a mosque tower and gazing at the dusk, fantasizing about spending their futures in far-away lands.

Some dream of America and Europe, while others are keen on making it big in Asia and Africa.

They promise to conquer these lands and one day return to reunite at the mosque tower. With academic knowledge in their minds and a mantra in their hearts — “Man Jadda Wajada”, an Arabic saying that roughly means if you give it everything you’ve got you will surely succeed — they embark on journeys to different corners of the globe.

With such an intriguing storyline, it is hardly surprising that the novel had sold more than 200,000 copies at the last official count. The film, which is set to hit the cinemas early next year, also promises a winning formula for a successful Indonesian film: a friendship theme, Islamic philosophy and a superstar cast.

But perhaps the film’s most promising asset is its director, Affandi Abdul Rachman. But 32-year-old “Fandi” (as he is affectionately known) isn’t exactly the kind of director you would expect for Negeri 5 Menara.

When Salman Aristo, one of the film’s producers and script writer, called Fandi in January this year to discuss the possibility of getting him on board, he hadn’t even read the novel yet.

“Three days later, having read the novel, I told Salman my opinion fairly frankly — I told him the storyline was rather flat, since there are no heroes or villains in it. But I have to admit the subtlety of the novel made me tick,” he said.

Fandi said that, Alif, the central character and narrator, reminded him of Forest Gump, since they are both exceptionally observant and have no significant barriers in achieving success despite living in their own worlds. The difference is that Gump’s enemies are the people around him and his environment, while Alif’s worst enemy is himself.

“Therefore, the exploration of the story is rather inward. Adding flavor to the story is the pesantren setting and friendship between Alif and his friends,” he explained.

Fandi’s casual attitude toward the novel could be the best thing about the film, since he has deliberately avoided the obligatory soppy tone found in many religious films. Instead, the Colombia College of Hollywood graduate, together with the script writer, highlighted the awe-inspiring friendship between Alif and the other boys.

“One novel with 10 readers will result in 11 interpretations — I get that. But Man Jadda Wajada, a life philosophy these boys live by, is a universal concept true to anyone — Muslims and non-Muslims. At a deeper level, this is an inspiring story about friendship and hard work, and not about religion,” Fandi said matter-of-factly.

For Fandi, whose previous films have always championed friendship, Negeri 5 Menara is a coming-of-age story. Therefore, the innocence of the characters in the story shouldn’t be overwhelmed by any religious tone, he added. Instead, the fact that they are schooled at a seemingly progressive pesantren should add richness to the story.

During a recent interview with The Jakarta Post, author Fuadi explained that students of his pesantren were equipped with the most important tool to travel around the world: language.

He was quoted as saying that English and Arabic were the cornerstones of his education, and the students at his pesantren spoke both alternately from week to week.

Fuadi said the modern system had influenced everything right down to clothing, with students now often looking more like English boarding school students with ties and shirts, and not peci [Islamic caps] and sarongs.

As such, Fandi has indeed hit the nail on the head. What is so special about Negeri 5 Menara is not that the story is based on the novelist’s life experience as a pesantren student, but his unique experience at the pesantren that defy geopolitical and cultural boundaries.

What can one expect from the film? Well, according to Fandi, the movie and the book complement each other.

“Certain parts of the film will narrate what hasn’t been written in the novel. Take, for instance, the scene where the children are taught about Man Jadda Wajada,” he said.

“Instead of creating the whole scene with dialogue, we made the Ustad break a solid piece of wood using a wooden sword in the classroom, exemplifying that relentless effort will break even the toughest form of nature,” Fandi enthused.

The film also promises an accurate visual interpretation of the novel, as Fandi and his crew were allowed to shoot at Pondok Pesantren Gontor (named Pondok Pesantren Madani in the novel), the religious school that served as the backdrop for the story.

“We are the first film crew to ever shoot here. The school has rejected a few requests to shoot here in the past, but thanks to Fuadi we were granted permission without any significant hassles,” Fandi said.

Viewers can also expect a consuming performance by old-timers including Ikang Fauzi, David Chalik and Lulu Tobing, who hasn’t acted since marrying former president Soeharto’s grandson Danny Utomo in 2006.

Playing the six friends are first-timers Gazza Zubizzaretha as Alif, Ernest Samudera as Said, Billy Sandi as Baso, Rizki Ramdani as Atang, Aris Adnanda Putra as Dulmadjid and Jiofani Lubis as Raja.

Negeri 5 Menara is the first installment of a trilogy written by former journalist Ahmad Fuadi. The second installment, Ranah 3 Warna (Domain of 3 colors), chronicles Alif’s journey to America. Fuadi is currently working on his the third novel, and it is hoped that all three novels will eventually be adapted into film.