The Dancer

Sammenlign priser

Plot

This is a dramatic love story set against the darkest period of Indonesian history, in the mid 1960s. RASUS, a young military officer, travels from village to village, looking for his lost love, SRINTIL. The story cuts back to the two as they grow up and gradually fall for each other in their tiny, impoverished childhood village of Paruk. But something stands in the way of their love. Because of Srintil’s magical dancing ability, the village elders believed her to be the next Ronggeng, the village dancer with powers bestowed on her by the supernatural indang (spirit of a dancer goddess). When Srintil prepares for her duties, she discovers that there is more to being a ronggeng than representing her village in dance competitions. She is expected to share the bed with wealthy men, and hand over the money she makes to the village elders. The prospect of Srintil becoming a ronggeng angers Rasus, who sees his love being taken from him and in desperation he leaves the village to join the army. On his last night in the village, though, she gives herself to him. A communist politician takes advantage of politically naïve Srintil and uses her as entertainment in his political campaigns. When the military moves to crush the communist movement, Srintil gets sucked into the political turmoil of her days. It is now up to Rasus, who has become an army officer, to find his love and save her life.