Oeroeg (1993)

Johan Ten Berghe joins the Dutch army when the Dutch 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 Dutch 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 nudity | public humiliation | male rear nudity | male full back nudity | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Netherlands Belgium Indonesia

Language:

Dutch Indonesian

Release Date:

10 June 1993 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Going Home

Company Credits

Production Co:

Added Films

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

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

Featured in Zomergasten: Episode #15.2 (2002)

User Reviews

the best fiction of Indonesia Independence War

There were some movies which took Indonesia Independence War (1945-1949) as their setting. Most of them fell into two categories, propaganda and rubbish. Only few movies which were really good, such as Nagabonar and Soerabaja'45, although the latter sometimes fell into propaganda. Oeroeg was the best movie which took the era as it sets and ironically made by Netherland, which were Indonesia's enemy.

When the other movies only talk about the war, this movie took a deeper approaching. It pulled us to understand the reason behind the war. Why the Indonesian refused to be controlled by the Dutch. It showed the discrimination experienced by Indonesian as third class citizen in the Dutch rule.

The movie also showed a empathized-to-Indonesia-movement Dutch teacher which help Indonesia fighter degrading the fighting spirit of Dutch soldiers. It was more realistic role for foreigner in Indonesia at the time instead the irrational role which sometimes appeared in this genre (such as a dutch soldier in Indonesia line in "Singa Karawang" which was impossible due to high risk of being falsely recognized as enemy by the Indonesia people itself).

The dialog was also interesting. In the last scene, Johan, as the main character ask Oeroeg whether they have already in the same degree. Oeroeg's cynical reply is still relevant today. When the developed countries often call the other countries as the Third world, isn't it another form of humiliation in modern world?