Jermal: De-romanticization of an (artificial) island in Indonesian Cinema

As an archipelagic nation, Indonesian films are inseparable from depicting islands. However, most of the mainstream Indonesian popular films tend to romanticize the island, especially when referring to other islands besides the “mainland” Java. For example, when films are set in Bali, Lombok, or other tourist islands, they tend to capture the island as an exotic, beautiful, and magical place. The film Jermal, on the other hand, moves away from romanticizing the “island” by depicting a harsh reality through its narrative, dialogue, and visuals. The research investigated a 2008 Indonesian film, Jermal (Fishing Platform), directed by Ravi Bharwani, by focusing on how the film de-romanticized the island through a more realistic and harsh portrayal of people living in a jermal/fishing platform. The research was qualitative research using a film studies approach. The method was observation and data collection that were drawn from the film’s cinematography and mise-en-scène aspects, such as camera movement and position, props, characters, actions, and dialogue. After collecting and interpreting the visual data, the researcher finds that the film manages to de-romanticize the notion of an “island” that is often seen as a place of beauty or mystery through visualization as reflected in the cinematography and mise-en-scène aspects.