Further Links Contact Us Search Help

Syllabus | Exams | Resources | What's on? | What next? | Dictionary

Indonesian

Home > Indonesian > Extension Course > Prescribed text > Extract 4 > Extract 4

• Scene 1

Extract 4: Scene 1 - Di setasiun Gambir

Content	Issues
Pak Dimik is anxiously waiting at the station. The train stops and the boys get out. Andri calls to him. They meet and embrace using their conspiratorial language (Tok, Bung Kecil).	Conflict & relationships
Gempol presents his gift of sandals to Pak Dimik.	Values & traditions
Andri is reunited with his father on the station steps and, while he is distracted, Gempol runs off. Andri pursues him but doesn't find him. City night scene; Gempol has rejoined Unyeng, who sings a mournful song.	Poverty & wealth
Cut to Andri's house where his father is praying. Andri, comforted by Peris, talks about Gempol and his whereabouts.	Values & traditions Conflict & relationships
Cut to Gempol and Unyeng, who explains the meaning of "Langitku Rumahku".	Values & traditions
Cut to Andri looking for Gempol along the railway tracks while walking to school.	Conflict & relationships Working conditions Urbanisation
Andri finds Unyeng playing his guitar and asks him where Gempol is.	Conflict & relationships
Unyeng comments on his devotion as a friend and hands him the toy gun Gempol has left for him. Unyeng explains that Gempol has returned to his village.	Values & traditions
Cut to Gempol running along the track and getting onto the train. Andri runs to the station and questions the attendant about the train's departure. Cut to train as it leaves the station. Gempol is standing at the end of the train. Finally the camera moves to Andri, who makes the conspiratorial sign with his hand. Andri, with tears in his eyes and a wistful look, waves goodbye - the theme song is played poignantly and the colour changes to sepia overlaying a still of Andri as the credits appear.	Conflict & relationships

Analysis

The pace of the film quickens as the last part of the boys' adventure unfolds. The camera work involves numerous cuts between Andri and Gempol as they go their separate ways. The reunion scene highlights the significance of Pak Dimik (a servant) in the lives of the family as a whole. For the first time, Andri shows concern for someone other than himself. His father and sister have clearly been affected by their recent experience. Again the camera juxtaposes Andri's comfortable life with Gempol's life on the streets. The film reaches its closure as night falls. As a kind of epilogue the boys see one another briefly before Gempol leaves by train for his village.

Questions

1. What is the significance of Andri and Gempol being met by Pak Dimik and not Andri's father?
   
   
2. What does the body language of Andri's father and Andri himself suggest about their relationship at this point in their lives?
   
   
3. Why does Andri say to Peris that his friend lives "di langit"?>
   
   
4. Explain the significance of Unyeng's telling Andri "dia (Gempol) mau pulang ke desanya. Mau ndandani kursinya yang rusak."
   
   
5. Comment on the shot of Andri's father praying in his traditional clothing.
   
   
6. How do you think Peris and her father have been affected by Andri's disappearance?
   
   
7. How is the concept of "nasib" reflected in Unyeng's poem?
   
   
8. In what ways has Andri been changed by his experience away from home?
   
   
9. Comment on the significance of the camera work (e.g. cuts) from the scene Di setasiun Gambir to the end of the film.
   
   
10. How does the director use music to create the mood in the final scene?

Tasks

1. Imagine the conversation in the car on the way home from the station. Write the script of the conversation in Indonesian.
   
   
2. Imagine that you are Andri. Write a letter to Gempol in which you recount what you did after your return to Jakarta.