Gie (2005)

Soe Hok Gie is an activist who lived in the sixties. Set in the darkest era of Indonesian modern history, "Gie" is an interpretation of what happened based on his journal.

Director:

Riri Riza

Writer:

Riri Riza

Stars:

Nicholas Saputra, Jonathan Mulia, Thomas Nawilis

5 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nicholas Saputra	...	Soe Hok Gie
Jonathan Mulia	...	Young Soe Hok Gie
Thomas Nawilis	...	Tan Tjin Han
Christian Audi	...	Young Tan Tjin Han
Sita Nursanti	...	Ira (as Sita Nursanti RSD)
Wulan Guritno	...	Sinta
Lukman Sardi	...	Herman Lantang
Indra Birowo	...	Denny Mamoto
Surya Saputra	...	Aristides Katoppo
Donny Alamsyah	...	Jaka (as Doni Alamsyah)
Robby Tumewu	...	Soe Lie Piet (Soe Hok Gie's father)
Tutie Kirana	...	Nio (Soe Hok Gie's mother)
Gino Korompis	...	Soe Hok Djin
Marcell Audi Buwono	...	Young Soe Hok Djin
Lidia Andriani	...	Dien Pranata

Storyline

Soe Hok Gie is an activist who lived in the sixties. Set in the darkest era of Indonesian modern history, GIE is an interpretation of what happened based on his journal. He is a history student when his world stretches between politics and personal life. A critical young man, he sounds his great concerns about his collapsing nation. Yet, he is sensitive and romantic. He loves to explore the mountains, to admire the great beauty of nature. His life is a clash between the high drama of national political events and the small world of friendship and romance. He is falling apart when he sees that his constant battle for justice and truth gives labor to another dictatorial regime, and caused the massacre of millions suspected communists, including his childhood friend. He continues to fight but his uncompromised idealism drives people away. His best friends left him. The woman he loves rejects him. From time to time, nature is a place where Gie finds peace and it's where his life comes to ...

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | one word title | friend | idealism | communist | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Official submission of Indonesia the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category of the 78th Academy Awards in 2006.

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Quotes

Soe Hok Gie: [voice-over] The history of the world is one of oppression. The question is, can there be history without oppression or without sadness and betrayal? It's like, when studying history, the only thing we find is betrayal. It is there, in each and every part of our life, and yet we can do nothing about it. How very tragic this is. But "life is suffering," so says the Buddha, and people cannot escape from it.

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Connections

Featured in The Year of Living Vicariously (2005)

User Reviews

A Little Too Slow

Don't get me wrong,Riri Riza's 2005 biopic, Gie, is well done for what it is.

The movie encompasses the teenage and early adulthood years of Soe Hok Gie, and does so competently enough.

The trouble with Gie is that it's just about two and a half hours long and plods its way through Gie's thoughts and experiences, based on his journal, in a rather uninteresting way.

After having read a few other reviews from other users about the film, it appears Riza also took various liberties with fictionalizing his life, but not in a way that really made the film more interesting (save for adding the character Han to the picture).

What we get is a movie that solemnly trots through Gie's experiences during upheaval and political unrest taking shape in Indonesia during a battle of Democracy versus "guided" Democracy (i.e,. Communism).

The actual upheaval is rarely depicted and the effects of the political change are mostly glossed over in the film itself. We only get Gie's interpretations of these events rather than a cinematic macrocosm of their effects.

In short, despite the film being rather lengthy and covering various events, it doesn't quite elaborate on the societal toll quite like other similar films in the sub-genre, such as The Year of Living Dangerously or The Motorcycle Diaries, both of which managed to capture more of the cinematic idealism of the story's portrayals rather than maintaining a one-note depiction of events.

Even still, Nicholas Saputra's portrayal of Gie is wonderfully refrained. A lot of his inner turmoil and angst are withheld from any outbursts or external shouting matches. Instead Saputra was directed to emote through facial expressions and the matching inner dialogue that the audience experiences through the journal's narration.

I feel like in the hands of a more audacious filmmaker Gie could have been much better than what it is. Even still, if you're unfamiliar with Indonesia or its political history, this is a fascinating film that gives you a small slice of what one of the more turbulent and unpredictable moments in Indonesia's recent political history was like.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Indonesia

Language:

Indonesian

Release Date:

14 July 2005 (Indonesia)

Also Known As:

Гие

Filming Locations:

Indonesia

Box Office

Budget:

IDR10,000,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miles Films, Sinemart Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

147 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1