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'La Tahzan': Here come the cherry blossoms
Atiqah Hasiholan (left) and Joe Taslim in La Tahzan
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Atiqah Hasiholan (left) and Joe Taslim in La Tahzan. (Courtesy of Falcon Pictures) (left) and Joe Taslim in La Tahzan. (Courtesy of Falcon Pictures)
Atiqah Hasiholan (left) and Joe Taslim in La Tahzan. (Courtesy of Falcon Pictures)
Hasan (Ario Bayu) and Viona (Atiqah Hasiholan) are best friends who don't realize they have feelings for each other.
Years of being close to each other doesn't automatically make Hasan and Viona an item. The two never declare their relationship, and yet they still hold on to each other.
Viona, a 23-year-old whose ultimate goal is to go to Japan, takes Japanese language classes after earning a bachelor's degree in graphic design. She is truly in love with the country ' as seen in her passion in drawing manga (Japanese comics) and her choice of clothes.
Meanwhile, confused Hasan has to take responsibility for his family after her mother becomes ill. He runs a mechanical workshop for a living, but his earnings are not enough to pay for his mother's medication.
Taking a shortcut, Hasan decides to sell his workshop and go to Japan to earn a better income. With a heavy heart, he leaves Viona who has no clue about his reasons for going. He even convinces Viona to stop contacting him while he is away.
Not long after, Viona gets a chance to join a program offered by her Japanese class, which allows her to study and work in her dream country.
With Hasan on her mind and her passion for the country, Viona sets off on her journey in Japan.
Busy juggling both her language studies and her job at a sushi shop, Viona accidentally meets a local, Yamada (Joe Taslim), who has Indonesian descent.
Yamada quickly becomes Viona's new best friend. Yamada helps her to find Hasan and invites him for a meeting. Just at the point of meeting up, Hasan sees Viona from afar and he chooses to walk away.
Brokenhearted, Viona finds comfort in Yamada and, over time, they grow closer. On one of their trips to the countryside, Yamada introduces Viona to a spot of Japanese philosophy inspired by an orange: something that looks good on the outside may be filled with bitterness inside.
One day, Yamada proposes to Viona. He says he is even willing to convert to Viona's religion so they can be together. Faced with such an important decision, Viona feels she must see Hasan before making up her mind.
Well thought out and meticulously produced, La Tahzan is one of only a few highly recommended Indonesian films, offering as it does a good dramatic storyline set against the beautiful natural landscapes of Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe and Wakayama in Japan.
The film was inspired by La Tahzan for Students, a compilation of experiences by Indonesians living abroad. The film La Tahzan focuses primarily on one vignette entitled 'Pelajar Setengah TKI' (Half-Student Half-Worker) by Ellnovianty Nine.
Joe Taslim, who stars here in his first dramatic role, gives an excellent performance as a Japanese man. His gestures, facial expressions and accent are simply perfect.
Ario Bayu does the same in his role, giving possibly his best performance as the diligent and sometimes depressed Hasan.
The theatrically trained Atiqah Hasiholan, however, does a bit too much in her role as Viona. In comparison to Ario and Joe's more natural performances, her acting is sometimes a little over the top, as if she was still performing for a theater audience rather than the camera.
With a screenplay by Jujur Prananto - who wrote the screenplay for the popular teenage flick, Ada Apa Dengan Cinta? (What's Up with Cinta?) - which led to his winning Best Screenplay at the Bandung Film Festival in 2002, and directed by Danial Rifki (Because I Love Markusa, which won Best Short Film at the Indonesian Film Festival in 2007), La Tahzan stands tall among Indonesian movies.
The film offers an honest portrayal of how most Indonesian students, with limited pocket money, survive overseas ' by working hard and only buying cheap food, and the kind of difficulties faced by Indonesians working abroad, including work contracts and immigration issues.
On one hand, the film exposes the beauty of Japan and its iconic cherry blossoms as well as all the benefits that can be enjoyed in a developed country but on the other, it stands as a salutary warning to Indonesians who may be tempted by dreams of earning good money overseas that a picture-perfect image may come with some bitterness underneath.
La Tahzan
(100 minutes, Falcon Pictures)
Director: Danial Rifki
Screenwriter: Jujur Prananto
Cast: Joe Taslim; Atiqah Hasiholan; Ario Bayu; Martina; Nobuyuki Suzuki; Piet Pagau; Early Ashy; Dewi Irawan; Prilly Latu Contina
Producers: HB Naveen, Dallas Sinaga, Frederica
