Study Guide: Kulari ke Pantai

Kulari ke Pantai is a fun road movie that takes viewers on a picturesque journey across Java from Jakarta to Banyuwangi.

When Sam and her mother Uci arrive in Jakarta from the southern island of Rote, they have a plan to travel to the internationally renowned surf beach G-land – also known as Plengkung Beach. Sam wants to meet her idol, champion Balinese surfer Kailani Johnson.

As in all the best road movies, the characters' plans change. Sama and Uci are joined on their journey by Sam's cousin, Happy who has very different ideas about what makes for a fun trip.

Unlike the sporty Sam, Happy is an Instagram girl, eager to be accepted by the 'Glam Girls' and determined to speak English at all costs. What the cousins wear, eat and say highlights how different they are, but along the way they discover they have more in common than they first thought.

This upbeat narrative celebrates the beauty of Java, while exploring the pressures of modern society.

1. Watch the trailer (above) and share your responses as a class. Does the trailer make you want to see the film? What do you think the film narrative is about? What is the genre of Kulari ke Pantai? Explain your responses.
2. What does Kulari ke pantai mean?
3. Riri Riza is the director and is well-known in Indonesia for his films. Find out more about him and his films.

The main character Sam and her family live on the island of Rote and lead a very different lifestyle from the one experienced by Sam's cousins in Jakarta.

1. Find out more about Rote.
2. What do you know already about Jakarta? See what else you can discover about what the city looks like, the lives of the people who live there and what it is like to visit.
3. Locate both Rote and Jakarta on a map so that when you watch the movie, you have a better understanding of the role of place in the film.

Uci, Sam and Happy begin their roadtrip in Jakarta and then travel to G-land, stopping at many places along the way. Find out more about these places and then track the characters' journey on a map of Java. They include:

• Cirebon
• Kandangan, Temanggun
• Magelang
• Watukarung Beach in Pacitan
• Blitar
• Mount Bromo
• Paiton Power Station
• Baluran
• Banyu wangi
• G-land

As a class share and compare your responses to the film.

1. What did you enjoy most about the film? Explain why.
2. Which characters or story elements particularly stood out?
3. What did you learn that you had not previously known?
4. How important are the songs in the film? What do they add to the story?
5. In pairs, identify the main themes of the film. Share your discussion with the rest of the class.

Audience

1. Who do you think is the target audience for this film? Explain your answer.
2. How successful do you think Kulari ke Pantai is in reaching that target audience?
3. How would you describe this film to a friend?
4. Design a film poster that captures the key features of this film for a potential audience. Write a catch-phrase in Indonesian that can be used on the poster to communicate the key idea or theme explored in the film.

Storytelling and Genre

1. Now that you have seen the movie, discuss whether you think the trailer successfully communicates the style of Kulari ke Pantai and what it is about.
2. Explain how each of the following story elements are used in the film and give some examples. (You might like to divide these up amongst the class and then share your thoughts.)

• conflict
• family relationships
• difference and diversity
• place and setting
• language
• music
• comedy
• stereotyped characters

Dealing with difference

A common storytelling (narrative) element in films involves characters who are opposites having to learn to get along. In Kulari ke Pantai, Sam and Happy are very different and this is the source of the conflict and comedy that keeps the story moving along.

1. Use the character mapping worksheet (below) to understand how the differences between these two characters are communicated.
2. How are the differences between Sam and Happy resolved in the narrative?

Culture and language

1. Describe your impressions of Rote Island in the opening sequence in the film. What is communicated about this place and what stands out? When the family arrive in Jakarta, what are some of the differences between life on the island and life in the big city? How do the lives of Uci's family in Jakarta contrast with the way she, Irfan and Sam live in Rote?
2. Explain how language is used in the film to indicate cultural differences.
3. Why do you think Happy mostly speaks English? What does this tell us about her, her family and her friendship group?
4. What role does social media play in the narrative? Which characters use social media and what does this tell us about them?
5. What are some of the ways that Happy's growing distance from traditional Indonesian culture is portrayed?
6. How are the cultural differences between the two families resolved?