Pertaruhan (At Stake)

Just finished watching this great documentary film anthology produced by Nia Dinata last night. It made me burst into tears. It hit my heart badly. I lost my words. Kept thinking about it all night long.

This movie is a compilation of 4 short documentaries about Indonesian women and their authority on their own body. There's Ruwati, who must go through a tumor surgery but feels reluctant to do it since her future husband doesn't allow it for the sake of her virginity. There's also Riantini who cannot express her sexual orientation in her hometown.

Second story is about the pros and cons of woman circumcising. What's the point? Is it related to health, religion or just a tradition? The third story is about the treatment for unmarried women. They have to face a lot of difficulties from paramedics when they want to take pap smear test just because they don't have marriage certificate.

And the last one, the most touching story, is about Nur and Mira, who have to make their living by crushing the pebbles during the day and become prostitutes at night to earn only 1$ for their service.

If people said that documentary movie is boring, you have to check this one out. You'll feel that you involve with it. You'll be curious and at the same time a bit stressful thinking about what will happen with all these strong women. Watching this movie make me realize that women are special with our uniqueness, strength and weakness. This movie reminds me of Perempuan Punya Cerita, produced also by Nia Dinata, but I think Pertaruhan is better, perhaps since it's a documentary movie and talks about reality around us, it just seems so real.