Daun di Atas Bantal
| Daun di Atas Bantal | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Garin Nugroho |
| Written by |
Garin Nugroho Armantono |
| Starring |
Christine Hakim Heru Kancil Sugeng |
| Music by | Djaduk Ferianto |
| Cinematography | Nurhidayat |
| Edited by | Sentot Sahid |
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Release date
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Running time
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83 minutes |
| Country | Indonesia |
| Language | Indonesian |
Daun di Atas Bantal (released in English as Leaf on a Pillow) is a 1998 Indonesian film directed by Garin Nugroho. It is one of the most acclaimed films from Indonesia in recent years and was the country's proposal for an Academy Award. It was also screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.
The film follows three street children, Sugeng, Heru, and Kancil (played by themselves), in their day-to-day lives in Yogyakarta. Although they live in poverty, are from broken homes, and must do anything to survive, they aspire to rise above poverty and hope to receive an education. They are supported by Asih (Christine Hakim), a saleswoman who lets them stay in her workshop; the children fight over Asih's leaf pillow.
The children's lives do not go smoothly. Kancil is decapitated while playing on top of a train. Heru falls victim to an insurance scam, where he is given false identification papers and then killed to collect the premium.
Daun di Atas Bantal was produced by Hakim, who also played Alih. The film was her first production, and she initially did not intend to act in it to avoid stress; however, she changed her mind after being told the film would be more marketable in Japan if she acted in it. Hakim has called the film "an expensive university" for her because she made a mistake that required Nugroho to reshoot all of the footage. In an attempt to cut expenses, she had saved all cans of exposed film in an attempt to send them to the developing together; upon their receipt, the lab notified her that a technical fault with the camera had rendered the film unusable, and that it could have been detected earlier had she sent each can as it was filmed.
Hakim chose Garin Nugroho to direct the film, noting that he was a "very talented young director", partly inspired by Nurgoho's 1995 documentary film on street children Dongeng Kancil untuk Kemerdekaan.
The street children in Daun di atas Bantal are actual street children, who portray "dramatized versions" of their own lives. After production, Hakim ensured that the children received an education; for example, Heru was placed in a music school.
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Wikipedia