Original subtitles

Thisfilm is aversion ofthe Abduction of Sinta

Often dramatized in Javanese dance and puppet theatre

In the story, the kings Rama and Rahwana...

...both love Sinta and fight over her

At the end, Rama puts Sinta to the test offire

To prove her love and purity...

In a pig's liver one can see an entire life

You can read anyone's fate in a pig's liver

Life, death, and love are all mixed together!

This is the story of Dewi Sinta...

Hear nowthe story of Dewi Sinta...

Men everywhere have vied for her heart

Since the beginning oftime!

From our ancestor Adam right up to Adam Smith!

Everyone wants to knowwhat really happened

But no two people ever agree on the whole truth

Everyone thinks that their version is right...

That's howit is!

Oh...Hear nowthe story ofDewi Sinta

This is the story ofDewi Sinta!

When your mind is fitful and uneasy...

It is as ifyou were...

At a play put on...

In a madhouse...

Every utterance...

Broken by stuttering...

Full of awkwardness...

Unpolished...

Disorganized, errant...

Ever since our land became barren...

...we have been like Rama and Sinta

They were banished from their own homeland!

All that remains to us is faithfulness...

...hope and love...

I am of my mother's flesh and blood!

Her mind shaped my body!

Her blood made me great!

I am the ruler ofthe world!

Whosoever should oppose my wishes...

...my commerce or my power...

Shall perish!

Thy blood shall spill forth and drench the earth!

You scum!

Just because you have power...

You terrorize everyone!

Howhave I wronged you that you torment me?

And leave me smeared in blood?

Unmindfully greedy!

You hoard everything for yourself!

Man, life...

Man, fear...

Man, power...

Man, blood...

Man, wounds...

Please watch the house and guard my wife...

I am offto sell my wares

Forget not that danger lurks everywhere...

...in this life of ours

Our work is light

But in our defeat...

...we have naught to protect save our faithfulness

An oxcart cannot be hurried

Whipping the oxen will only bring them to a halt...

Rickety-rack, rickety-rack...

"Like the very essence of devotion..."

"...you must work with absolute conviction"

"The more secure you feel, the more care you must take"

Those were his treasured words

Ifyou truly seek her love...

...Iearn what pleases her

Knowher mind!

Your son loves Siti...

She who used to dance the role of Sinta

But, ever faithful, she no longer dances...

...out of respect for her husband

Dance is but a body suffused with life

Weave her a dance scarf, as wide as a bedstead...

And as long as the road oflife...

As pure as her heart...

This I beg ofyou...

My beloved Siti...

Agree to dance...

Please accept Master Ludiro's invitation

Ludiro has bestowed money and goods...

Upon my children and grandchildren...

Forgive me for asking this ofyou...

But I can no longer survive as a gamelan player

And work is so scarce...

I am undone!

Unable to tell right from wrong!

To tell sinner from saint!

I am like flotsam in the river

O Lord, protect me, thy humble servant!

My lovely earthenware jar...

...howl cherish it!

Singing and dancing have sustained...

...my children and grandchildren

But life has become so hard

To what avail are my tears?

My lady, what is to become of me?

The market for earthenware has crashed!

What should I do?

My children go hungry...

Better I should seek other work

A tray pilled high with steamed cassava delicacies...

...all topped with a smidgen of grated coconut

Pop them into your mouth!

Nowbob your neck from side to side!

Give your wrist aflick!

Move with the rhythm of gamelan...

A tray pilled high with steamed cassava delicacies...

...all topped with a smidgen of grated coconut

Pop them into your mouth!

Nowbob your neck from side to side!

Give your wrist aflick!

Move with the rhythm of gamelan...

A tray pilled high with steamed cassava delicacies...

...all topped with a smidgen of grated coconut

Pop them into your mouth!

Nowbob your neck from side to side!

Give your wrist aflick!

Move with the rhythm of gamelan...

Oh, my God!

My Almighty Lord!

When overcome by their lusts...

...humans are no more than beasts!

The horse, prancing and galloping, resist my reins

I looked back hesitantly at my beloved

Gripped by pangs oflonging

Her sleeping body is like a corpse!

A talisman for my impending battle, an echo of my love...

The long long sugarcane

Separate them into five

All wrapped in an old carpets

Why are men always so contrary!

I'd be better offwithout him

Why are men always so contrary!

I'd be better off without him

Birds are fluttering aloft

My little pumpkin...

...Iet me bounce you on my knee

My little pumpkin...

...to whom I sing my lullaby

The prenjak bird is still there

Down comes the ceiling on our heads

Ah! That feels good!

Nini Thowok, the magic puppet, gives a massage

A bird, like a bird, not a bird

Fa la la la

I cannot move!

The whisperings of my heart entrap me!

Would that I could ignore them!

I must remain strong...

Lord, give me strength!

Ifl betray him, what will become of me?

I am like a gnat to the flame!

Like rice mashed to gruel!

Powder on a beaten brow!.

Your charms are irresistible!

Go quickly and check up on my wife

For I knownot...

...in my difficult situation

Is there still love?

Is there still faithfulness?

Is my place in her heart intact?

Down with exploitation!

Wipe out poverty!

Down with exploitation! Wipe out poverty!

Down with exploitation! Wipe out poverty!

Down with exploitation! Wipe out poverty!

When I muse upon these times...

Well, everything is so hazy...

It's all so confusing...

The wealthy are on the alert...

The poor are on the verge...

Everyone is bewildered..

All are ready to fight

Day is this, night is that...

Who should I follow?

The noose is tightening

No strength to think

Trapped on all sides

When will our loyalty be repaid?

Unrest and fighting have broken out across the region

There are reported cases of homicide and arson

Umbul Makmur villagers set fire to their local police station

They cited their disappointment that the police...

...had failed to curb the abuses of a local businessman

He allegedly organized rioters to help him seize others' business

The owner ofthe seized business are equally critical ofthe police

They claim the authorities turned a blind eye to the culprits

Whereas they believe they themselves have followed the letter of law

25 people are reported dead, and 64 wounded

My riches fill warehouses

But they bring me no joy

I held my love in my fist

But she's gone, lost, gone

Why is my heart so stricken?

No matter what, I love her!

My fire is burnt out

My sperm sparkles in the heavens!

Release the ox from the cart...

...and sell it to the butcher

I can no longer afford...

...to go on working the land

My wilting heart cries out...

Sobbing, morning, noon and night...

Despairing, overcome by misfortune

In my heart, the darkness grows

Oh wretched, wretched me!

Overcome by misfortune...

Stand straight, grasp the scarf between two fingers

Stomach in, chest forward, this will please the eye

Legs in a graceful half-crouch, head swung to the side

Hand to the ear, darting on quick ankle steps

My son, why do you return to your mother?

I cradled you when you were a baby

You took your first steps on my lap

But nowyou must find yourself a woman

In whose embrace you can be a man

Alas, mother...

My heart desires only one woman

Am I being punished?

That I can possess her...

But cannot win her heart?

Take advantage of others

Focus your thoughts on yourself!

And soon...

...there will be nothing in your mind...

...except the will to dominate

When you fully master yourself...

...you will rule the earth, the seas and the heavens

"Like the very essence...

"...of devotion"

I bought you the longest cloth

I stole the biggest bed

To prove that I love you!

More than anything in this world!

The red cloth I bought for you...

...has the power to help me win you

Because my love will never die

As long as there's someone to sing this silly song...

...my passion will always last

I got you the biggest bed...

At the stroke ofthree, unable to sleep...

The full moon illuminating the grounds...

Sitting alone with my thoughts...

Buffeted with the damp wind...

My heart goes chilly

So utterly alone in the world...

...am l

No brother, no sister, no cousin

Here I suffer on this marble slab

My poor soul! My poor body!

My love for you...

...is like my love for the earth

You are the finest earth...

...and so I have chosen you

I'm not mere earth, but earth quickened with human life

I'm not earth infused with oil...

...and I'm not earth that yields crops

Nor am I earth that is holy...

...nor earth to be fought for in battle

I'm made as a human who can thinks!

Who has hands, who has feet!

They've made fools of us, like water buffalo

Led into mire, whipped into obedience...

That's why we're so poor...

...driven into early graves

We're just water buffalo, on our last legs...

Spent, wasted, paralyzed...

But remember this!

Water buffalo have horns!

We're well equipped to fight!

So let's band together...

Snort your breath! Let your eyes glow red with rage!

Cock your horns! Kick your hooves!

Let our shared will be our strength!

Then, incinerate! Annihilate!

Kill!

Concentrate! Be attentive!

Hey ho! Hey ho! Ready and willing to fight!

Down with exploitation, wipe out poverty!

Be of one mind! Redouble your determination!

Be organized! Finish whatever you start!

Mama, I want to come back to your womb

Even at the cost of nine months cut offfrom the world

Mama, when a goat goes out in the morning looking for leaves to eat...

...it comes home it the evening

But my life is like a dried-out leaf!

Blown here and there by the wind...

...Ianding God knows where!

I want to come back

Come back to your womb, to your womb again

Friends, I'm worried...

My eardrums quiver with rage...

...when they hear the drums ofwar

And yet these same eardrums long for a peaceful life

Troops, everybody ready? Yeah!

Our prayers will crush the Evil One!

All together! Ready!

Down with exploitation! Wipe out poverty!

Down with exploitation! Wipe out poverty!

When comes the time offallow earth...

Of death and dust and barren land...

Just as it was for Rama and Sinta...

Who no longer recognized their world...

What remains is faithfulness...

Praises and prayers woven with love

And yet one may as well wait...

...for stones to float on water

Only God is almighty

When comes the time offallow earth...

Of death and dust and barren land...

Just as it was for Rama and Sinta...

Who no longer recognized their world...

What remains is faithfulness...

Praises and prayers woven with love

And yet one may as well wait...

...for stones to float on water

Only God is almighty

I am mother, the earth that has been ploughed

Parted, broken and spread

Composted, flooded with blood, irrigated with tears

Prayers for all the children...

This box encloses the thousand roles of my life

Cleverness becomes power

Prayers become threats

Disempowerment becomes anger

Strength becomes force

Siti is my name

I am earth tilled by the plough

There is no guile in me

I am replete with blessings

In me grow crops

I, Siti, am praised

In me growflowers and rice

Fragrance emanate from me

Delighting the heart

Providing sustenance

You are the esteemed Setyo

Seek your fortune!

Till whatever land you can find...

...to give life to humankind

Although men have chests...

...they have no breast

With which to feed their children

To breast-feed the children...

Ultimately, their lives are unfulfilled

I miss the kiss ofyour lips...

...which opens to your heart

I miss the bliss ofyour breast...

...to hear the beat ofyour love

The sign of motion in your heart...

Oh heart, which I have missed!

Now, you are silent!

You are blind, you are numb

You are just a red shape

You are the setting of a dispute

An object without boundaries

Oh, heart! Heart!

Scream!

Speak!

Setyo, head of a family in the village of Umbul Makmur...

...has been arrested by the police

He is charged with the murders of Ludiro, and his own wife, Siti

He subsequently cut Siti's heart from her body

It seems that he denies any wrongdoing

He claims to have been motivated by jealousy...

...and also blames the climate of lawlessness in the village

As the police took him into custody...

...he called out to the villagers...

...saying "In my heart lies justice"

Everlasting rest

Grantest them, O Lord

May perpetual light

Shine upon them

As upon Thy saints in eternity

for Thou art merciful

Cleverness becomes power

Prayers become threats

Disempowerment becomes anger

Strength becomes force

Cleverness becomes power

Prayers become threats

Disempowerment becomes anger

Strength becomes force

My heart cries out, oh Lord!

Bring us two together body and soul...

In mutual love, understanding and respect...

This film is a requiem...

For the victims of violence and natural disasters throughout the world...

Especially for those in Yogyakarta and Central Java...