I felt so bad not to watch this movie from long time ago. After five years I just watched it during my stay in other country for quite a long time. Indonesian government is really close to corruption, mostly. And seems like nothing can stop what they’ve been doing. Sure many movements have been created and established, but the structured organization and relation among the government are so complicated until many people have given up to even store their faith. This movie made a story indirectly related to the corruptors by creating setting surrounding what could be one of the impact of the guilty pleasure of the powerful government and by mentioning them in some dialogues.
Muluk starts convincing the young pickpockets and the chief to join his method on managing the money they earn.
Set in poor area and a low middle district of Jakarta, the story tells about Muluk bachelor degree of management holder who keeps looking for work from one to other office. When he is passing the crowded and noisy traditional market, he catches a young pickpocket who later will bring him to his ‘house’ where all the young pickpockets stay. Out of his expectation, they have chief who manages them into three groups and operate in different area. Originally he wants to try breeding worms but everyone keeps mocking him and one of the hajj (respected Muslim elder in his district) tells that it is better to find other job if there is better job. However the pickpockets give him different idea and he wants to start helping them by managing their money and putting it in the bank so later on they can slowly become street vendors. The chief gives him his trust while still reminding all the pickpocket boys to beware. Muluk also tells his father when he asks that he works in human resources and development division. After successfully convincing the pickpockets, he brings his desperate jobless friend who always gambles though he has degree in teaching and a jobless girl who keeps joining quizzes on TV but knows religion well to teach all the boys. However, after they are successfully educated and he tries to make some of them start selling things, they refuse because they don’t feel comfortable doing that. In the other hand, Muluk’s father, the hajj and one of other elder from the district wants to see Muluk’s office. Realizing that all this time Muluk’s money is from the pickpockets, his father does not want to use his money anymore. Muluk also decides to leave the pickpocket boys and starts taking driving course while leaving the street vendor equipment, telling one of the boys that he and other boys can use it later when they want.
The young pickpockets during school session
One of the big lack of this movie is probably bunch of advertisements that keep appearing in all parts of the movie. Some appear logically meanwhile some others appear in the part which will really make viewers bored to see them. Why should Muluk give ready-to-eat sausage gift to everyone? And there is a scene where they do a complete flag ceremony, which is not really important to be taught to pickpockets who want pragmatic way of getting something. The funniest part is probably Samsul’s confusion when he is asked to tell the importance of education. Then he explains about being educated and wrongly takes the talk to say that corruptors are educated and made them can earn more money in shorter time, resulting the pickpocket kids say that they want to be corruptors. Samsul, as one of supporting characters keep showing up with interesting scenes. In the other part, he keeps forcing Muluk not to stop running the school for the pickpockets just because they earn forbidden money because he feels that they will slowly go to the right path and they will no longer earn forbidden money, but Muluk and Pipit already got distressed by their fathers’ respond of what they have been doing. This movie also has depicted quite a realistic condition of Jakarta’s slum area even with the light tone of weather. Religion makes it more difficult for people like Muluk who wants to make a change to a better way but unfortunately crashing his father’s belief, someone whom he really respects. Still keeping a little love story, which thankfully doesn’t go anywhere and doesn’t take a really important part, the movie is actually showing how love can also take part on cornering someone’s life to decide something in the common Indonesian citizens’ life. Having Reza Rahadian as the main character, directed by Deddy Mizwar who also took part as Muluk’s dad and supported by lots of senior actors even who just took really small part like Slamet Rahardjo, Jaja Miharja, Rina Hasyim and Tio Pakusadewo, this movie is almost natural in every part. Unfortunately, this movies didn’t get nominated in 83th Academy Award for Foreign Movie.
Muluk’s father with two other elders visiting Muluk’s ‘office’
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