Laskar Pelangi

Laskar Pelangi (English: The Rainbow Troops) is a 2008 Indonesian drama film adapted from the novel of the same name by Andrea Hirata. The film follows a group of 10 students and their two inspirational teachers as they struggle with poverty and develop hopes for the future in Gantong Village, located at Belitung. The film became a box office and critical success, becoming one of the highest grossing in Indonesian box office history and the recipient a number of local and international awards. Plot Belitung is known for its richness in tin, making it one of Indonesia's richest islands, though bureaucracy turning most of the natives poor and some unemployed; most men ends up working at the state-owned tin company PN Timah. Children of poor households are stereotyped as having no future who will end up working there. In 1974, SD Muhammadiyah Gantong, taught by Muslimah Harfan, and Bakri, awaits ten students as required by law. The school is small and poor, resulting in not having a student for a long time. The first student is Lintang, a boy living in the coastal area whose father is a fisherman, leaving him unschooled. Soon, more join: Ikal, Mahar, Sahara, A Kiong, Borek, Kucai, Syahdan, Trapan, and Harun. One day five years later, they see a rainbow forming, and Muslimah dubs the students "Laskar Pelangi" ("The Rainbow Troops"). As an Muslim school, Harfan teaches them perseverance and humbleness. Zulkarnaen, Muhammadiyah's assistant, expresses doubt over its legacy after the students are reaching their sixth grade, but Harfan says it is the only school around that does not prioritize grades; such schools show more success rate. Mahmud, a teacher at SD PN Timah, has unrequited love for Muslimah and frequently asks her to join his school while belittling hers; Muslimah always rejects. During the after-exam holiday, the boys meet Flo, an SD PN student who gives Mahar one of her National Geographic collections featuring the Asmat people. Mahar, skillful in art, is assigned by Muslimah to form an idea for the Independence Day carnival competition, and he proposes an Asmat-style dance; they won first place. Flo decides to join Muhammadiyah, but she distract the students from grades. Meanwhile, Bakri reveals that he accepted an offer to teach at Bangka State School.