Ένας ιδεαλιστής Ολλανδός αποικιακός αξιωματικός που τοποθετήθηκε στην Ινδονησία τον 19ο αιώνα είναι πεπεισμένος ότι μπορεί να κάνει τις αλλαγές που θα βοηθήσουν πραγματικά τους ντόπιους που είναι επικεφαλής,.
Knew the existence of the book and learned the tragic history surrounding the events captured in the book as middle school student in northern West Java. (Lebak, where most of the events took place, is only less than 150km away).
"Max Havelaar" is a 19th century novel about the Dutch colonial rule in Indonesia - specifically, about one man's fight against the oppressive, bureaucratic and inhuman nature of the Dutch/Indonesian rule in the poor province of Lebak. The novel is (rightfully) considered one of Holland's most enduring and powerful works of literature; Fons Rademaker's 1976 cinema adaptation, however, has been largely forgotten.
I saw this film once, thirty years ago, when it first came out. It was regarded as avantgarde at the time, and was shown in a small "alternative" movie theaters in Aarhus, Denmark.