Max Havelaar (1976)
- 1976
- ·170 min
An idealistic Dutch colonial officer posted to Indonesia in the 19th century is cohvinced that he can make the kinds of changes that will actually help the local people he is in charge of, but circumstances soon make him realize just how out of touch he really is, and it doesn't take long for things to go from bad to worse.
- Actors
- Adendu Soesilaningrat·Maruli Sitompul·Peter Faber·Sacha Bulthuis
- Directed by
- Fons Rademakers
- Genre
- Drama
- Language
- Dutch·Malay
- Country
- Indonesia·Netherlands
- Director
- Fons Rademakers
Bodil Awards 1981
- Best European Film (Bedste europæiske film)
Knew the existence of the book and learned the tragic history surrounding the events captured in the book as middle school student in northern West Java. (Lebak, where most of the events took place, is only less than 150km away).
"Max Havelaar" is a 19th century novel about the Dutch colonial rule in Indonesia - specifically, about one man's fight against the oppressive, bureaucratic and inhuman nature of the Dutch/Indonesian rule in the poor province of Lebak. The novel is (rightfully) considered one of Holland's most enduring and powerful works of literature; Fons Rademaker's 1976 cinema adaptation, however, has been largely forgotten.
I saw this film once, thirty years ago, when it first came out. It was regarded as avantgarde at the time, and was shown in a small "alternative" movie theaters in Aarhus, Denmark.
