Islamic Revivalism and Religious Piety in Indonesian Cinema

Islam has been the main theme of film narratives in Indonesia since 1959. The film Titian Serambut Dibelah Tudjuh (literally, A Hair-Width Bridge Divided Sevenfold), directed by Asrul Sani, is an example. The film tells the story2 of a young teacher, Ibrahim, who is sent to a village to teach Islam. Arriving in the village, Ibrahim is surprised to see Islam has been abandoned by the villagers, who live a degenerate life of gambling, prostitution, and alcoholism. There is an old teacher in the village whom Ibrahim is supposed to help in teaching Islam; however, this old teacher considers Ibrahim’s modernized teaching method as a heresy. Moreover, the old teacher’s wife falls in love with Ibrahim, who is in love with another woman in the village. Ibrahim gets into trouble when the old teacher’s wife defames him. The villagers, agitated by the old teacher, cast Ibrahim out of the village but he manages to stay after a mysterious traveler comes to the village to clear Ibrahim’s name.