THE EYE OF THE DAY
Price: $350.00 Code: 2411 |
Directed by Leonard Retel Helmrich
2001, 92 Minutes
Purchase: $350 | Classroom Rental: $125
Against a backdrop of social unrest that led to the ouster of Indonesia's long-time dictator President Suharto, The Eye of the Day begins filmmaker Leonard Retel Helmrich's award-winning trilogy Sun, Moon, Stars . It introduces us to the Sjamsuddin's, an ordinary family living in the slums of Jakarta; a family Helmrich would return to and document for more than a decade.
Indonesia, 1988. A deep political and economic crisis forces President Suharto to resign after thirty-two years in power. Thus begins the tumultuous era known as REFORMASI. Since then, Indonesians have seen ongoing political change, protests and poverty.
The Eye of the Day tells their stories by following one family, including the sixty-year-old-grandmother Rumidjah, her sons Bakti and Dwi, and her friend Ibu Sum. The film depicts their world, from harvests in the countryside to mass protests in the cities, from mysterious natural forces of the volcanoes and mountains to religious seances and pilgrimages.
This a rich and powerful documentary work about a crucial, transformative era in one of the world's most populous countries.
* Winner, Special Mention FIPA-Biarritz
* Winner, Audience Award, Visions du Reel
* Winner, Audience Award, International Film Festival
Highly Recommended . "Helmrich constructs a larger narrative of a country at the crossroads of big change, grappling with growth and the effects of globalization. Helmrich’s cinematic eye and vigilant attention to detail combined with his aptitude for juxtaposing the urban and rural makes the story all the more compelling.
- Educational Media Reviews Online
" I would recommend this film for students in ethnographic film. There are many examples of creative camerawork that break through more prescriptive approaches to ethnographic filming techniques that one finds in the classic films of John Marshall, Timothy Asch, and even Jean Rouch, that still form an academic core for the efforts of visual anthropology." - Troy Belford, Anthropology Review Database
2001, 92 Minutes
Purchase: $350 | Classroom Rental: $125
Against a backdrop of social unrest that led to the ouster of Indonesia's long-time dictator President Suharto, The Eye of the Day begins filmmaker Leonard Retel Helmrich's award-winning trilogy Sun, Moon, Stars . It introduces us to the Sjamsuddin's, an ordinary family living in the slums of Jakarta; a family Helmrich would return to and document for more than a decade.
Indonesia, 1988. A deep political and economic crisis forces President Suharto to resign after thirty-two years in power. Thus begins the tumultuous era known as REFORMASI. Since then, Indonesians have seen ongoing political change, protests and poverty.
The Eye of the Day tells their stories by following one family, including the sixty-year-old-grandmother Rumidjah, her sons Bakti and Dwi, and her friend Ibu Sum. The film depicts their world, from harvests in the countryside to mass protests in the cities, from mysterious natural forces of the volcanoes and mountains to religious seances and pilgrimages.
This a rich and powerful documentary work about a crucial, transformative era in one of the world's most populous countries.
Subjects & Collections
Southeast Asian Studies Anthropology Cultural Studies Political Science Islamic Studies Religion & Spirituality Sociology Asian Studies 2012
Festivals & Awards
* Winner, Audience Award, International Documentary Festival Amsterdam* Winner, Special Mention FIPA-Biarritz
* Winner, Audience Award, Visions du Reel
* Winner, Audience Award, International Film Festival
Reviews
Highly Recommended . "Helmrich constructs a larger narrative of a country at the crossroads of big change, grappling with growth and the effects of globalization. Helmrich’s cinematic eye and vigilant attention to detail combined with his aptitude for juxtaposing the urban and rural makes the story all the more compelling.- Educational Media Reviews Online
" I would recommend this film for students in ethnographic film. There are many examples of creative camerawork that break through more prescriptive approaches to ethnographic filming techniques that one finds in the classic films of John Marshall, Timothy Asch, and even Jean Rouch, that still form an academic core for the efforts of visual anthropology." - Troy Belford, Anthropology Review Database