Director-writer Yandy Laurens and his lead actor Chicco Kurniawan discuss their contemporary re-interpretation of Arswendo Atmowiloto's 90s classic.
ometimes, two auteurs from two entirely different generations can share such a fascinating bond. For instance, the late Arswendo Atmowiloto and the film director-writer Yandy Laurens.
In 2019, Yandy successfully managed to breathe fresh (and contemporary) air into his cinematic interpretation of Arswendo's classic saga, Keluarga Cemara. And now, six years later, Yandy returns to the screen with another contemporary interpretation of one of Arswendo's revered bodies of work: 1 Kakak 7 Ponakan (A Brother and 7 Siblings).
The funny thing about adapting a different story by the same auteur for the second time: The filmmaker in question manages to forge an even closer bond with the icon who started it all.
"When I do an adaptation, I'd always try to discover what was inside the heart of the original author so that the adaptation wouldn't betray the initial purpose [of the story]," Yandy divulged in a conversation with The Jakarta Post on Jan. 16.
"If asked whether I got to understand Arswendo, I'd probably say so. I got to know, once again, about how he saw life."
'How reality can bite'
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