The Dancer

It’s a love story set in an impoverished village in Central Java of mid 1960s. Rasus, a young soldier, tracks through his hometown, looking for his missing love, Srintil.

When both are very young and in love with each other in their small, impoverished village, Dukuh Paruk, something gets in the way. Srintil’s magical dancing skill makes the elderly believe that she is a ronggeng (a Javanese certain traditional dancer) reincarnation.

When Srintil is getting ready for her duty, she realizes that becoming a ronggeng doesn’t only mean that she represents her village in dance performances; she will belong to every villager as well. This puts Rasus in a dilemma. He thinks that his love is robbed and in desperation leaves his village to become a soldier.

The age is in turmoil. Rasus has to choose: loyalty to the country or love for Srintil. When he’s in the dilemma, he loses the traces of his lover. His search is far from easy, bearing fruit only after ten years later.