Stand van de maan

Shape of the Moon is the middle part of the cinéma vérité trilogy of Retel Helmrich about modern Indonesia. Rumidjah, a 62-year-old widow, lives in Jakarta, Indonesia, with her son Bakti and her granddaughter Tari. Since the fall of dictator Suharto seven years before, she has witnessed the country passing through a tumultuous period of socio-political chaos. Islam, the largest religion of Indonesia, is becoming increasingly fundamentalist in its tone, which has consequences for the everyday life of all Indonesians, no matter what religion they profess. Rumidjah seriously considers leaving the hectic city forever and moving to the safety of the countryside where she grew up. The one and only thing that still ties Rumidjah to the city is the responsibility she feels for Tari. She knows that there’s no future for an eleven-year-old girl in the countryside.