Toba Dreams is Benni Setiawan'€™s latest film, which exposes full-on family conflicts that drag on and on.

While many local films have exposed the beauty of the eastern part of Indonesia, Toba Dreams takes the audience to a region in the country'€™s west '€” North Sumatra.

The title says it all about the location preference. It refers to the name of the biggest lake in Indonesia, Lake Toba, in North Sumatra, which is the hometown of the film'€™s main characters.

The film is an adaptation of a novel with a similar title, written by former administrative reform minister and retired general TB Silalahi. TB, also an advisor to former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, sponsored the movie through his foundation.

Benni admitted the movie was a challenge for him to direct as he was from West Java and knew little about the culture of North Sumatra, which is home to the Batak ethnic group.

'€œI learned a lot about the culture through this project,'€ Benni told The Jakarta Post.

But Toba Dreams is more than a movie about Batak culture. It talks about family conflicts '€” from misunderstandings, disappointments to parent and children clashes '€” which can be found in many cultures.

Thus, Benni'€™s differing ethnicity is not a really problem as the director speaks in a universal language concerning human relations.

Benni is known as a master of film dramas. His filmography consists of movies that explore human conflicts, including 3 Hati 2 Dunia 1 Cinta (Three hearts, Two Worlds and One Love), which concerns religious tolerance and secured him a Citra Award in 2010.

Benni'€™s style can still be found in Toba Dreams, which opens in theaters on April 30. He uses his magic formula in filmmaking: a mix of humor, deep dialogues and moving scenes to stir the audience'€™s emotions.

The movie follows the character of Ronggur (Vino G. Bastian), who is always at odds with his father Tebe (Mathias Muchus). After retiring, sergeant Tebe asks the whole family to return to his hometown in North Sumatra because his pension fund cannot afford the family'€™s expenses in Jakarta.

The plan encounters opposition from Ronggur, who considers Jakarta his home. He also has his own reason to stay in Jakarta because his girlfriend Andini (Marsha Timothy) lives in the capital.

While his mother (Tri Yudiman), brother (Haikal Kamil) and sister (Vinnesa Inez) live with his father in North Sumatra, Ronggur prefers to stay in Jakarta and work there to fulfill his ambition to get rich.

Aside from drama and comedy, Benni also offers a bit of action in the movie, a first for his career.

The actors give good performances. Kudos is given to Mathias and Vino for their superb performances. Praise should also be given to Jajang C. Noer, who plays Ronggur'€™s grandmother, Ompung Boru. Jajang once again delivers a high quality performance with her part as a Batak woman.

What is lacking is the chemistry between Ronggur and Andini despite the fact that the actor and actress are husband and wife in real life.

It seems 144 minutes is too long for a drama that originates from father and son conflicts. The second hour of the movie really drags. New conflicts are brought up without proper explanation in the beginning.

Some scenes are also irrelevant, like the one that features the school of Ronggur'€™s sister. TB Silalahi once attended the school, which may explain why it appeared in the movie. In this scene, TB himself appears in a cameo role.

Given the complexity of the family conflicts and the action scenes in between, Toba Dreams is a tense family drama that will drain the audience'€™s emotions for more than two hours. So brace yourself.

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Toba Dreams
(Semesta Productions and TB Silalahi Center, 144 minutes)
Producer: Rizaludin Kurniawan
Director and scriptwriter: Benni Setiawan
Cast: Mathias Muchus, Vino G. Bastian, Marsha Timothy, Jajang C. Noer.

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