Hafalan Shalat Delisa

Hafalan Shalat Delisa
Deep Heart Touching

Release Year: 2011
Distributor : Kharisma Starvision Plus
Director : Sony Gaokasak
Producer : Chand Parwes Servia
Screenplay: Armantono
Cast : Reza Rahadian / Nirina Zubir / Chantiq Schagerl / Mike Lewis / Fathir Muchtar
Music : Tya Subiakto
Cinematography : Bambang Supriadi
Editing : Cesa David Lukmansyah
Budget : -
Duration : 106 menit

Hafalan Shalat Delisa is a movie from a best seller novel with the same title by Tere Liye. This film is made to commemorate 7 years of Aceh tsunami disaster in 26 December 2004. Delisa (Chantiq Schagerl) was a cheerful little girl living a lovely life in Lhok Nga with her father, Ubi Rusman (Reza Rahadian) who worked in a tanker of an overseas oil company. There were also her mother Ummi Salamah (Nirina Zubir) and her sisters; Fatimah, the Zahra twins, and Aisyah. As a present, Ummi Salamah always gave necklace for her children whenever they had done their praying recitation. Delisa as the youngest was the only one who hadn’t got one. In 26 December, Delisa was prepared for her praying recitation test. Unfortunately, a great tsunami swept in and destroyed everything in sight.

It is Sony Gaokasak’s second movie after his debut Tentang Cinta (2007). By this movie, he is proved to be a specialist in tear-jerker movie. Like most of Indonesia movies, the defect is in the less detailed story that results in some imposed scenes. The depth of the character should be one aspect with more attention too, but for children audience, if they are supposed to be the target of this film, it’s already more than enough. Overall, this movie is in a group with other typical Indonesia dramas occupying sad theme.

Hafalan Shalat Delisa works well in controlling the audience’s emotion in some scenes, thanks to the professionalism of the main performer, Reza Rahadian, who won Citra Award for the best male actor in 2010. He carried out his character totally and was assisted well by Nirina Zubir and Fachri Muchtar. It was Chantiq Schargel’s debut and Delia’s cheerful and optimistic characteristics were so lively presented as the central character for the story. Though so, Mike Lewis and Loide Christina Teixeira need to be more expressive with their characters to level with the others. The casting should also have been better. Delisa and her sisters’ bond was not strong enough to look like siblings. None of the actors and actresses was well prepared to speak with Aceh dialect fluently to support the authenticity of the story.

The other thing with appraisal is the setting. Although the tsunami tragedy happened in the past few years, the choice of places for the movie could convincingly portray the great catastrophic effects of the disaster. The special effect is not too special but the visualization on the tsunami is fair enough although looks a bit rough in some parts. For the addition, the musical score from Tya Subiakto upholds the dramatic and touching acts in the movie. Being inconclusive, this film could still drag the audience by its emotive drama.

Debby Dwi Elsha

Graduate major in communication, writer at Montase, focusing on Indonesian and Asian movies.