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The long history of Indonesia's independence struggle has a variety of heroic stories, the Kingdom of the Netherlands has occupied Indonesia for more than 3.5 centuries. The kingdom of Aceh was one of those which was never conquered by the Dutch at that time until now the Marechausee army grave is still in Aceh as historical evidence.
Tjoet Nja 'Dhien is a woman of royal descent in Aceh, she chose to fight against the Dutch kingdom who wanted to occupy Aceh after her husband Teuku Umar died in a battle. Best ever Indonesian Biography Movie about Aceh's persistent woman is stored in Indonesian cinema.
The film Tjoet Nja 'Dhien is an epic drama of Indonesian historical biography released in 1988 and directed by Eros Djarot. This film won the Citra tribute as the best film at the 1988 in Indonesian Film Festival.
Tjoet Nja 'Dhien starring by Indonesian senior artist, Christine Hakim, Piet Burnama as Panglima Laot, Slamet Rahardjo as Teuku Umar, and also supported by Rudy Wowor.
This film was presented by Indonesia to the 62nd Academy Awards in 1990 for the Best Foreign Language Film award but did not pass the nomination. However, this film became the first Indonesian film to be shown at the Cannes Film Festival (1989).
Tjoet Nja 'Dhien tells the story of a woman who was leading the Acehnese forces against the colonial invaders at that time. Tjoet Nja 'Dhien and her husband Teuku Umar are a married couple who are both struggling to drive out invaders.
Before marrying Teuku Umar, Tjoet Nja 'Dhien was the wife of Teuku Ibrahim Lamnga. Teuku Ibrahim died as a result of the incident that began in November 1873, during the Second Aceh Expedition, the Dutch captured VI Mukim in 1873, followed by the seizure of the Sultan's Palace in 1874.
In 1875, Tjoet Nja 'Dhien and her baby, together with other women, were evacuated to a safer location, while her husband Teuku Ibrahim Lamnga struggled to reclaim VI Mukim. Teuku Ibrahim Lamnga died in action at Gle Tarum on 29 June 1878.
Upon hearing this, Tjoet Nja 'Dhien vowed revenge against the Dutch. Sometime after her husband's death, an Acehnese man named Teuku Umar proposed to her. Although he initially refused, Tjoet Nja 'Dhien finally accepted on the condition that She would be allowed to fight. Teuku Umar agreed and they were married in 1880.
Teuku Umar was killed in battle when the Dutch launched a surprise attack on Meulaboh. When Cut Gambang (Teuku Umar's son and Tjoet Nja 'Dhien) wept over his death, Tjoet Nja' Dhien slapped her and then She hugged and said: "As Acehnese women, we may not shed tears for those who have been martyred." said Tjoet Nja 'Dhien
After the death of Teuku Umar, Tjoet Nja 'Dhien never subsided in leading the Aceh army against the Dutch. Until 1901 the small army of Tjoet Nja 'Dhien felt its destruction. The factor of the destruction of the Tjoet Nja 'Dhien army was due to the Dutch being continually adjusting tactics to defeat Tjoet Nja' Dhien. Besides that, Tjoet Nja 'Dhien's old age factor also made her lose. Tjoet Nja 'Dhien suffers from nearsightedness (myopia) and arthritis (rheumatism), along with the aging conditions, the number of troops also continues to decrease and lack of logistics.
Seeing the condition of Tjoet Nja 'Dhien who was increasingly concerned, one of her bodyguards, Pang Laot, could not stand the sight of her ailing condition. Pang Laot decided to tell the Netherlands the location of his headquarters in Beutong Lhee Sagoe.
Apparently this was done on the condition when the Dutch arrested Tjoet Nja 'Dhien They had to treat the woman well and cure the disease she was suffering from. Apart from that, it must not separate Tjoet Nja 'Dhien from the people of Aceh. The Netherlands also agreed with Pang Laot's request.
The Dutch succeeded in arrested Tjoet Nja 'Dhien with resistance, but Tjoet Nja' Dhien's son, Cut Gambang got to escape and built another forces.
Tjoet Nja 'Dhien was taken to Banda Aceh, myopia, and rheumatism slowly recovering. But the Dutch did not keep their promises, Tjoet Nja 'Dhien was sent to exile in Sumedang, West Java. It's done because the Dutch were afraid that the woman would mobilize the Acehnese resistance again.
Finally Tjoet Nja 'Dhien died in exile. This film is worth watching, besides telling the biography of a brave woman, there is a lot of history that can be learned.
Not only aired at the Cannes film festival, but the biography film of Tjoet Nja 'Dhien also successfully brought home 9 trophies with categories, including the Best Female Actor (Christine Hakim), Best Director (Eros Djarot), Best Original Screenplay (Eros Djarot), Best Original Story (Eros Djarot), Best Cinematography (George Kamarullah), Best Artistic Arrangement (Benny Benhardi), Best Music Arrangement (Idris Sardi) at Indonesia's best film festival in 1988. The following is the part of Tjoet Nja 'Dhien movie for you can watch.
