Plot
The film opens with a flashback to the May 1998 racial riots in Jakarta, which were triggered by economic issues and corruption. During these events, brutal violence was directed at the ethnic Chinese community, driven by the stereotype that all ethnic Chinese were wealthy. In 2009, at a senior high school in Jakarta, Panca attempts to deliver a love letter to Silvi through her younger brother, Edwin. However, Silvi approaches them herself and ask Panca to confess his feelings to her directly, neither accepting nor rejecting him. During class, a teacher orders all students to go home due to the outbreak of riots. On their way, the public bus carrying Silvi and Edwin is stopped by a mob. Silvi is taken away by a group of men and raped. Panca, who tries to help, is unable to do much, while Edwin is beaten unconscious. After regaining consciousness, Edwin runs home and discovers that his house is engulfed in flames.
In 2027, Indonesia has become a chaotic country in which discrimination against ethnic Chinese remains deeply entrenched. Edwin, who was raised alone by Silvi, is now an adult and works as a senior high school substitute teacher. Before her death, Silvi entrusted Edwin with the task of finding her child, who was born as a result of the rape seventeen years earlier. After working at five different high schools as a substitute teacher, he applies for a position at Bukit Duri Senior High School, which is notorious for its extremely unruly students. On his first day as the homeroom teacher of Class 3F, the students display demeaning behavior toward Edwin; one student named Jefri even throws a piece of wood while Edwin is writing on the blackboard. Edwin later becomes acquainted with a school staff member named Diana.
A group of Bukit Duri students led by Jefri is known for harassing other students of ethnic Chinese background. One day, while walking through Jakarta’s Chinatown, Edwin intervenes to stop a group assaulting Kristo. In class, Edwin recognizes Kristo’s talent for drawing and becomes involved in an argument with Jefri, who refuses to complete an assigned drawing task. Jefri’s gang later kidnaps a person and confines them in an abandoned building. That night, Edwin visits a bar frequented by ethnic Chinese patrons with Diana. After leaving the venue and escorting Diana home, Edwin is attacked by a masked man wielding a knife. He manages to fight back and stab his assailant in the leg. As the attacker flees, it is revealed that he is Jefri.
The following day, Jefri is summoned by the school principal and found guilty of assaulting Edwin, resulting in his expulsion from the school. In preparation for Indonesia’s Independence Day commemoration, Edwin asks Kristo to help decorate the school during a holiday. On that day, anti-Chinese riots once again erupt across Jakarta, echoing those of 1998 and 2009. Jefri’s gang exploits the unrest by coming to the school armed with weapons. Edwin, Diana, Kristo, and Rangga take shelter in the school auditorium. Rangga’s father comes to the school to pick him up and is allowed to enter by Jefri’s gang. Upon reaching the front of the auditorium, Rangga’s father is beaten by Jefri and his associates, who threaten to kill him unless Rangga comes out immediately. Gerry then begins torturing Rangga’s father. Edwin negotiates with Jefri, stating that he will leave the auditorium if the group agrees to move away from the door. Edwin quickly brings Rangga’s father into the auditorium and renegotiates, declaring that he will only come out after Rangga and his father are able to leave the school safely. Rangga and his father walk out but are captured by Jefri’s gang, while Edwin, Diana, and Kristo retreat back into the auditorium. Jefri ultimately burns Rangga’s father to death. Rangga, who attempts to escape, is also killed by Gerry.
Edwin later confesses to Diana that his reason for becoming a teacher at the school is to search for his nephew. He then enters the ventilation shaft above the auditorium restroom in an attempt to disable the signal jammer in the security room. Elsewhere, Jefri brutally murders Sim when he goes to the restroom. Gerry eventually uses a blowtorch to breach the auditorium door, prompting Kristo and Diana to escape through the same ventilation shaft previously used by Edwin. Edwin manages to subdue Reihan and Anto and inadvertently causes Gerry to fall to his death during a confrontation. In the laboratory, Kristo reveals to Diana that he is not Edwin’s nephew, as he knows his biological parents and was born in Malaysia. Edwin then confronts Jefri in a fight, ultimately succeeding in incapacitating him. Culap, Jay, and Dotty, who arrive at that moment, choose not to assist Jefri, unwilling to be associated with the series of murders, and decide to leave both Jefri and Edwin behind. Jefri is ultimately killed. Shortly afterward, a mob storms the school and loots its contents. As he exits the building, Edwin watches a video provided by Kristo revealing that Jefri harbored deep resentment toward ethnic Chinese people because he himself was the product of a rape seventeen years earlier. Edwin narrowly escapes the oncoming mob by getting into a car driven by Panca, while elsewhere a child discovers and frees the person who had been held captive by Jefri’s gang.
Reception
Pengepungan di Bukit Duri received generally thoughtful commentary from Indonesian media, particularly for its social themes and historical context. Cinemags noted the film’s gripping prologue, which evokes the traumatic events of the May 1998 riots in Indonesia. [9] The publication highlighted how the film reflects lingering anti-Chinese sentiment within society and explores its impact on daily life. Republika similarly emphasized the film’s focus on Indonesia's ongoing social crises, particularly violence and discrimination. [10] The outlet pointed out the film’s implicit references to the 1998 riots, portraying the Chinese–Indonesian community as a vulnerable minority subject to systemic prejudice.
During a press conference, co-writer Tia stated that setting the film in 2027 was a deliberate choice, intended as a warning. "It’s meant to be urgent, because 2027 is not far away," she said. "History can repeat itself if we fail to be cautious, if we don’t reflect, talk about, or attempt to heal the trauma of our nation’s past." [10] Director Joko Anwar revealed that the screenplay was originally completed in 2008 but was intentionally postponed in the hope that Indonesia's social climate would improve. By 2024, however, both he and Tia felt that the country had not changed significantly, prompting them to proceed with the film. “Seventeen years after we wrote the script, Indonesia still struggles with the same issues,” Joko remarked. [10]
