People's Enthusiasm of Laskar Pelangi
Inspirational Book of The Year
Laskar Pelangi is the first book of the tetralogy novels by Andrea Hirata. It tells us about ten poor students in Belitong Island, Indonesia, who tried hard to reach their own dreams. They were studying in Muhammadiyah Elementary School and Muhammadiyah Junior High School.
Because of the greatness and the natural of the book, Laskar Pelangi has become a best-seller novel in Indonesia. It has already been the 22nd printing with more than 300.000 copies sold out. Moreover, it was also announced as an “Inspirational Book of The Year”.
Since Laskar Pelangi was launched in 2005, Andrea Hirata, the author, frequently be invited to some forums in both national and international levels. He said that he has attended more than 140 forums to discuss about the book and meet his fans. People who attended the forums usually stand in line to ask for Andrea’s autograph on their book. That’s one of many evidences to prove that Laskar Pelangi has amazingly influenced people so well.
And to please the fans, Laskar Pelangi was also released as a movie in 2008. It was directed by Mira Lesmana, a famous and talented director in Indonesia. People were getting so excited to hear the news. And at the 22nd day of the release date, there had been 2,2 million people have watched it. The author himself was shocked to know the huge amount of people interested in the movie. He didn’t expect that people’s enthusiasm of the movie would be that high. Until now, Laskar Pelangi has always become a must-seen film, especially for kids and teenagers. Unexpectedly, this movie attracts parents to go along with their children to the cinema.
World Responses
The movie Laskar Pelangi [Rainbow Warriors] had amazing responses since its release date. Even the president of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and some of cabinet ministers watched it in the night of October 8, 2008 at Blitz Megaplex Jakarta after holding a cabinet meeting about some current economic problems in Indonesia. The president praised the crew and the casts of the movie who played so well and natural.
Besides that, there were also many good responses from some other countries. After being played at Festival Film Islami (Islamic Film Festival) as the only film that came from Indonesia, Laskar Pelangi has also being played in CineStar Cubix Alexanderplatz, Berlin, on Februari 2, 2009 and in Berlinale International Film Festival in Germany. Some of the people who watched it said that the movie is very touching and has a deep meaning of friendship and social life.
In addition, Laskar Pelangi has also being played in Hongkong and several countries in South-East Asia. It was also being invited to join the Pusan Film Festival in Korea.
Riri Riza, the director, feels quite happy of the success of the movie. He’d never thought that people’s enthusiasm would be that high before. He also hopes there will be more people who give their appreciation to Indonesian movies that would make the movie industry in Indonesia become more attractive and successful in the future.
Citations
http://bunga-kata.blogspot.com/2008/02/melihat-antusiasme-peminat-novel-laskar.html
http://pemburubeasiswa.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/laskarpelangithemovie.png
http://mediaindonesia.com/read/2008/10/10/37437/90/14/Mira_Lesmana_Melawan_Jakarta_Sentris_
http://satlaser.com/entertainment/17493-laskar-pelangi-diputar-di-festival-film-islami.htm
http://www.liputan6.com/news/?id=166283&c_id=3
http://www.lintasberita.com/Hiburan/Laskar_Pelangi_Diputar_Di_Jerman