DVD Mursala

Personally, I knew this movie because of my Dad. He couldn't stop talking about it and eventually bought the CD for the whole family to watch. I also am not a huge fan of Indonesian movies, but for the sake of my Dad, I'll give it a try.

Even though, I'm Batak, I'm not really fond of the traditions. Fortunately, the Parna case here, is actually quiet familiar to me, because my Dad used to talk about it. My Mom is actually Parna and my Dad is Sonak Malela. On the other hand, people might get confused without having an explanation of the situation.

The movie itself exposed more to the wonderful scenery and to the traditions. Since, I'm a scenery type of person, I really enjoyed those parts. My critic would concern the pace of each scene, it took more time than it had to. I mean, the conversation took quiet long, like some feedbacks had 5-6 seconds gap. Perhaps, it was trying that serious atmosphere, but for me it wasn't necessary. Well, the content of the conversation wasn't.

I don't recall any familiar soundtracks, except for the ones sung in the churches. Most of the background songs were instrumentals ones. The acting for me was a so-so, I had some let downs, but some were right on spot. I would say Titi filled my expectations. While the least would be Anna Sinaga. Not because of her slow way of talking, but it felt really stiff. The Batak accent was fine on most of the cast, most of them aren't Batak. Well, I couldn't say much on that, cause I don't have a Batak accent either. Ha ha.

I would recommend this movie to the Batak people out there, so they wouldn't have to go through what Anggiat and Clarissa had to.

Overall, I would say that Viva Westi (The Director) has successfully enhanced the beauty of Indonesia and the Batak tradition, despite the fact that's she's not a Bataknese. Good Job!