In the past, the excellent audience of the Far East Film Festival had the opportunity to discover how the Indonesian cinema is able to offer children’s movies, too. And Riri Riza movies Laskar Pelangi (The Rainbow Troops) and Sang Pemimpi (The Dreamer) even ranked third for two times at the Audience Award in Udine. What the audience of the FEFF probably does not know is that one of the genres in fashion among Indonesian children has a soccer setting because it is the most beloved sport, a very important form of social aggregation and a possible way out from poverty and social hardship even in the great archipelago of the south-east of Asia.
At last, this sub-genre arrives in Europe thanks to this simple and direct, but not obvious movie, certainly one of the most convincing successes of Indonesian soccer movies. Tendangan dari Langit (literally, A kick from heaven) tells the story of Wahyu, a boy who lives in a village in the eastern part of Java and who has a natural talent to play soccer. His father, a poor but proud and stubborn street trader (who also was a promising soccer player, but whose dreams of glory were broken by an accident) is not happy with the talent of his son because he fears that he might have his past disillusion and unhappiness. Despite the prohibitions of his father, which also lead to a pretty heated family conflict, Wahyu continues to play and win and tries to conquer his lovely schoolmate, Indah. His talent is finally noted and Wahyu plays for Persama team, in Malang, but a health problem might hinder the realization of his dreams.
Thanks to a well integrated cast made up of sound professionals (playing the adults) and a group of determinate beginners (playing the children; Yosie Kristanto played Wahyu), as well as the good still of one of the most famous operators of the Indonesian cinema (Faozan Rizal), Hanung Bramantyo shoots a movie which is fully local and absolutely universal at the same time: the geographic, social and religious contexts are a substantial part of the story of Tendangan dari Langit. The passion of the young leading character, his desires, his dreams and lust for improvement through soccer talk to any audience and transmit emotions which cross the borders of a well described reality. Besides this, Hanung Bramantyo is one of the most competent and reliable directors of Indonesian commercial movies: he is at his ease in all genres, but is more successful in dramas with a religious setting; he is the author of great successes like Get Married and Ayat-Ayat Cinta, and also directed one of the less ambitious (in terms of budget and narration), but maybe even the most immediate and convincing movie. As occurs in the movies of Riri Riza, even in Tendangan dari Langit there is a strong accent on moral values and respect towards parents, but such teachings are not given with the emphasis and pomposity of religious dramas. On the contrary, the basic universality of the values conveyed by the movie will not trouble Western audiences. And what is more, Tendangan dari Langit is primarily a movie about soccer being a game, a dream, the apprenticeship for life: in this way, there are no doubts that the surprising and unusual training scene on a horse will create a lasting impression in the audience. Don’t lose it!
Paolo Bertolin