? (film)

? is a 2011 Indonesian drama film directed by Hanung Bramantyo. It stars Revalina Sayuthi Temat, Reza Rahadian, Agus Kuncoro, Endhita, Rio Dewanto, and Hengky Sulaeman. The plot revolves around the interactions of three families, one Buddhist, one Muslim, and one Catholic. After undergoing numerous hardships and the deaths of several family members in religious violence, they are reconciled.

About ? (film) in brief

Summary ? (film)? is a 2011 Indonesian drama film directed by Hanung Bramantyo. It stars Revalina Sayuthi Temat, Reza Rahadian, Agus Kuncoro, Endhita, Rio Dewanto, and Hengky Sulaeman. The plot revolves around the interactions of three families, one Buddhist, one Muslim, and one Catholic. After undergoing numerous hardships and the deaths of several family members in religious violence, they are reconciled. Released on 7 April 2011,? was a critical and commercial success: it received favourable reviews and was viewed by more than 550,000 people. It was nominated for nine Citra Awards at the 2011 Indonesian Film Festival, winning one. However, several Indonesian Muslim groups, including the Indonesian Ulema Council and Islamic Defenders Front, protested against the film because of its pluralist message.? focuses on interfaith relations in Indonesia, a country wherein religious conflicts are common, and there is a long history of violence and discrimination against Chinese Indonesians. The storyline follows three families living in a village in Semarang, Central Java: the Chinese-Indonesian Buddhist Tan Kat Sun and his son Hendra, the Muslim couple Soleh and Menuk, and the Catholic-convert Rika and her Muslim son Abi. The individual characters are based on people based on real-life Indonesians and people of mixed-race descent.

The film was meant to counter the portrayal of Islam as a \”radical religion\”. It has been known to be controversial due to the film’s theme of religious pluralism, which often results in conflict between religious beliefs, represented in a plot that revolves around a Chinese restaurant that serves pork, which is forbidden for Muslims, although the restaurant has many Muslim clients and staff. In a pre-release press conference, Bramantyo said that if the film had been named Liberalism or Pluralism, there would be protests by opponents of those ideologies. He chose the title? to avoid protests upon the film’s release, saying that if there had been a better title, he could not think of a better name for the film. He decided to direct a pluralist-themed film based on his own experiences as a mixed- race child, and chose? to be a direct direct answer to the arguments about Islam and Liberalism. The title was chosen to avoid misleading arguments and counter the portrayals of Islam as a “radical religion’ and “clarify arguments about it’”. The movie has been screened internationally, including at the Cannes Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival. It has also been shown in Australia, where it has been described as a ‘must-see’ film for those who want to understand Islam and the role of Muslims in Indonesia.