New Film “Bumi Manusia” (This Earth of Mankind) From Falcon Pictures

Soesilo Toer’s Message About the Film “Bumi Manusia” (This Earth of Mankind)

By Arif Syaefudin for Detik.com, June 2, 2018

Blora – Soesilo Toer, the brother of the renowned author of the novel Bumi Manusia (This Earth of Mankind), Pramoedya Ananta Toer, has spoken out about plans for the film adaptation of Bumi Manusia by director Hanung Bramantyo.

Soesilo Toer, who is the younger brother of the novel’s author, emphasized how it important it was for the film’s production team to deeply understand the essence of his brother’s work. He said that Bumi Manusia has a significant impact on nationalism.

“When you actually read the novel you see it’s not just about “the world of people”, it’s dealing with the dignity of our country, concealment,” explained Soesilo Toer when Detik.com visited him at home.

Soesilo doesn’t deny that for those who merely scratch the surface, the internationally-acclaimed novel Bumi Manusia will likely receive widespread praise. However, for those who have delved deeply into what the novel is really about, they are bound to have reservations about the film adaptation.

“For anyone who has read the book thoroughly, they will surely have reservations, but for those who only look at the film making process, they will most likely praise the film. I stand in between,” he said.

He subtly critiqued the director Hanung Bramantyo’s audacity in adapting the novel into a film.

“But I must say, Bramantyo is a courageous person. In Pram’s words, life demands courage, victory and defeat are something else. Only the courageous can conquer three-quarters of the world,” he remarked.

“If Bramantyo treats it like eating fried peanuts, the adaptation of Bumi Manusia will undoubtedly fail. It needs to be thought about really deeply. The issue at hand isn’t just about dignity, but also our nationalism,” continued Soesilo.

This article is based on https://hot.detik.com/movie/d-4049803/ini-pesan-soesilo-toer-soal-film-bumi-manusia

For related background:

• 7 Potret Seru Gala Premiere Film Bumi Manusia dan Perburuan di Surabaya 
• Bumi Manusia at GoodReads This Earth of Mankind
• Bumi Manusia Dapat Klasifikasi 17 Tahun Ke Atas, Ini Komentar Produser
• IMDB https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10540024/
• Not much at Rotten Tomatoes https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bumi_manusia
• Falcon Pictures https://falcon.co.id
• For an academic treatment try, though there are many options, Tsao, T. (2012). The Evolution of Java-Men and Revolutionaries: A Fresh Look at Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s Buru Quartet. South East Asia Research, 20(1), 103-131. https://doi.org/10.5367/sear.2012.0088; and on the work’s relationship to nationalism A. Teeuw (1997) The ideology of nationalism in Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s fiction, Indonesia and the Malay World, 25:73, 252-269, DOI: 10.1080/13639819708729903.