A big idea requires strong supporting facts, which the movie is still lacking.

As the sequel to Bulan Terbelah di Langit Amerika (Split Moon in the American Sky) that revolves around discrimination against Muslims eight years after the 9/11 attacks on the United States, the newly released movie apparently bears the responsibility of providing a counterargument to the existence of Islam in the western hemisphere.

The story’s premise is based on the published findings of the centuries-old manuscript and map of the sea fleet of Admiral Zheng He, a Chinese Muslim known as Cheng Ho in Indonesia, who explored the European and American continents 70 years before Christopher Columbus. The film builds the theory that it was Chinese Muslims who discovered the so-called land of the free.

There is more to the theory, with the supporting facts of Arabic letters adapted by some native American tribes and that the names of some cities in Peru were taken from Chinese words. However, the movie’s conviction lies in the great wealth of Chinese Muslim civilization that is still buried somewhere in modern America.

Our heroine Hanum (Acha Septriasa), a Vienna-based journalist who is in New York with her husband Rangga (Abimana Aryasatya), is assigned by her editor Gertrude Robinson to find the Chinese Muslim treasures after completing her mission of clearing the name of a man implicated in the terrorist attack.

She is promised a bonus of US$5,000 should she extended her stay in the US and complete the investigation, but she does not mention the money when she talks her husband into changing their plan of returning to Vienna.

Coincidentally, according to Gertrude, Azima Hussein (Rianti Cartwright) — the wife of the vindicated man — could be of help because she was a history major who once worked as a museum tour guide. The editor also suggested Hanum contact Peter Cheng (a different character with the same name also appeared in the first film, but this time he is played by Boy William) in San Francisco, California, for a possible lead.

The mission brings the ensemble cast to the windy city, including Stefan (Nino Fernandez) who was left by his pregnant girlfriend Jasmine (Hannah Al Rashid) at the end of the previous movie and Azima, who brings her daughter Sarah (Hailey Franco) on the trip, to make peace with her Christian mother Hyacinth (Ira Wibowo), the patroness of an orphanage.

Cultural mix: Hanum stumbles across a Chinese celebration while trying to uncover the mysteries behind an old coin.

There are additional layers to the story revolving around Rangga and Hanum’s dreams of having their own kids and the history behind an old coin presented by Cheng.

Director Rizal Mantovani again brings together all the conflicts into 100 minutes of screen time written by real-life married couple Hanum Salsabiela Rais and Rangga Almahendra, which turned out to be too difficult to do justice to the tagline “Did Chinese Muslims discover America?”

The truth is still out there, but little to no scientific evidence is presented to make the movie hold water, except for some web pages shown on a computer screen and a copy of Zheng He’s map. Even the old coin does not say much about the treasure but more about the gruesome past of the persecuted and predominantly Muslim Chinese Hui ethnic group.

The timeline is a bit mixed up, too, unless Peter Cheng — who speaks in an interesting Italian-American accent — and his siblings turn out to be immortal.

But perhaps it is not a big deal, despite the claim made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the discovery of America because, according to the director, the big ideas of the movie are in fact tolerance and respect — which apply to any human relationship, between lovers, friends, or family members of different faiths. Sadly, the gay character in the movie is no more than a token to lighten up the mood.

The ensemble cast is above decent, but the supporting characters, despite their pivotal roles, are less convincing. The characters switch easily from Indonesian to English or Mandarin. The film has Indonesian subtitles, despite the spoken language.

The placement of sponsored products was ambitious and caught the characters in awkward situations, which is actually a repeat from the first movie. Other than that, the movie is visually appealing, with some of the scenes shot in Chinatown.

In all, it’s good to know that our filmmakers have made the effort to create a different kind of religion-themed movie, one without a submissive wife character or polygamous marriage. In theaters from Dec. 8, Bulan Terbelah di Langit Amerika 2 is far from being categorized as a discovery movie akin to The Da Vinci Code, but it’s on the right track.

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Bulan Terbelah di Langit Amerika 2

(Falcon Pictures, Max Pictures, 100 minutes)

Director: Rizal Mantovani
Cast: Acha Septriasa, Abimana Aryasatya, Nino Fernandez, Hannah Al Rashid and Rianti Cartwright