Director
Jakarta experiences a rapid growth after Indonesia gains full sovereignty in 1950. The Republic’s capital becomes the city of hope and dreams for people living in rural areas. One of them is Mulyono. He leaves his wife and kids in the village. But Jakarta turns out to be a horrible city and Mulyono has bad luck until he finds work at a gas station. One of his customers is Nani who asks him to work at her father’s office. Soon, they become husband and wife and Mulyana forgets about his family back home.
Through diligence and hard work, a young villager named Mardiman, has developed a successful career as a scribe. His wife, Warsiah, and her family have been unable to help him advance his career, as none of them have any influence. Not long after Warsiah gives birth to a son, Mardiman is promoted and asked to work in the city. There he becomes infatuated with a sophisticated city woman, one who is more "modern" than Warsiah.
Although they are siblings, Asnah and Kumala have very different characters. The older sister Asnah is rude while Kumala is kind. Asnah is attracted to Safi'i, but he is more interested in softhearted Kumala. Out of disappointment, Asnah runs off to the city and becomes a singer. Meanwhile Kumala has to borrow money from a loan shark to get medical treatment for her sick mother. It turns out that Asnah is married to the loan shark. Finally, Kumala runs into Safi’I, who is in a taskforce aimed at eradicating illegal money lending, and he helps her to solve the problem.
Tjioeng Wanara is the man who crushes the evil king of Galuh. The revolt succeeds with the help of the people who have suffered enough. This is the first epic film in Indonesia, and its publication was considered massive during its time.
