1989 Selection

The action takes place during the confrontations between the Netherlands and the Sultanate of Aceh. On March 29, 1896, Teuku Umar, an Indonesian who had pretended coming to terms with the enemy, robs arms and money from the Dutch and with his loot, goes back into the jungle to command his troops. He died during the fight on February 10, 1899, but Tjoet Nja'Dhien, his wife, the true instigator of the revolt, takes over. The violence of the guerilla war is too much for Tjoet Nja'Dhien’s bad health. Blind and paralyzed by rheumatism, she still wants to go on. In order to stop her agony, Pang Laot, her faithful lieutenant, decides to give her up to the Dutch captain Veltman. Deeply shocked, Tjoet Nja'Dhien condemns this "treachery". Exiled in Sumedang by the Dutch, she died there on Nov. 6, 1908.