Oeroeg (1993)

Johan Ten Berghe joins the Dutch army when the Durtch East Indies unilaterally declare independence as Indonesia. He initiates his naive driver Twan in life in the East, having grown up ... See full summary »

Director:

Hans Hylkema

Writers:

Trevor Griffiths, Hella S. Haasse (novel),

Stars:

Jeroen Krabbé, Rik Launspach, Martin Schwab

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Jeroen Krabbé	...	Hendrik Ten Berghe
Rik Launspach	...	Johan
Martin Schwab	...	Oeroeg
Ramelan Bekkema	...	Kleine Oeroeg
Peter Faber	...	Van Bergen Henegouwen
Tom Van Bauwel	...	Twan
Joris Putman	...	Little Johan
François Beukelaers	...	Van Woerkom
Tom Jansen	...	Kolonel van Dalen
José Rizal Manua	...	Deppoh
Chris Tates
Marcel Musters	...	Soldaat
Patrick Kerkhof	...	Soldaat in training
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ayu Azhari	...	Satih
Marjon Brandsma	...	Valerie van Amerongen

Storyline

Johan Ten Berghe joins the Dutch army when the Durtch East Indies unilaterally declare independence as Indonesia. He initiates his naive driver Twan in life in the East, having grown up there as son of colonial official Hendrik, now missing. Their adventures intertwine with Johan's childhood memories, especially concerning his native best friend, Oeroeg, who joined the rebellion, as well as their nanny and later de facto stepmother. Conflicting loyalties become tangible in extreme situations.

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Plot Keywords:

loyalty | public humiliation | master servant | shower | male bonding | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Indonesia Belgium Netherlands

Language:

Dutch Indonesian

Release Date:

10 June 1993 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Going Home

Company Credits

Production Co:

Added Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Did You Know?

Goofs

Johan and Oeroeg sing the Dutch song "Kijk eens in de poppetjes van m'n ogen" by Annie de Reuver. This song was first released in 1951, however the scene takes place in the late-'30s.

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Connections

Features Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)

User Reviews

This movie did not quite realize what it promised

This movie is a free adaptation of a novel by the well known Dutch author Hella Haase. A white Dutch boy and the son of an Indonesian servant grow up together. Later on, their lifes take different paths. When they meet again after many years, in the period of the Indonesian war of independence, their outlook has grown so different that they are not capable of finding a common language any more.

The movie - in which apart from Dutch a lot of Bahasa Indonesia is spoken - is impressive because of the magnificent Indonesian scenery. The acting by the Dutch and Indonesian actors is in general quite decent. Nevertheless, the movie fails to fulfill its promise.

In an effort to present a "politically correct", anti colonial point of view, quite a few scenes have been turned more into a caricature than into a realistic picture of the period concerned. It should have been possible to avoid this, as Hella Haase, in her considerably more subtle novel, did draw a much more equilibrated picture.