MovieChat Forums > Arisan! (2003) Discussion > questions about this movie...

questions about this movie...

posted 18 years ago by azarimy
12 replies | jump to latest

before i start with my questions, i'd like to state that this is one of the most wonderful indonesian films i've ever seen. i'm a malaysian, but i havent been back to malaysia for quite some time. usually i'll wait for my sister to send me VCD or DVDs to the UK, which how i end up with my copy of arisan.

now for my questions, which i'd hope some of u might clarify:

i. what is arisan? i have no understanding whatsoever of what it's all about. i dont mean the movie, but this arisan group. apparently it's quite wellknown in indonesia, and probably known under a different name in malaysia.

ii. what is pariban? (spelling?)

iii. i'm quite familiar with indonesian language, and i understood java (jawa) and a little of banjar, but this is the first time i heard batak language. when lita spoke, she spoke with a weird slang. is that batak slang? or is she making it up?

iv. in the story, meimei was desperate to have a child, and later the film suggests that because of this, her husband left him. she was depressed, and later consoled by nino, and almost fell for him. later in the end, she was alright about being left by her husband. but that's not the case, isnt it? i mean, the issue is obsession of having a child, not her husband leaving her. all the plots ended up properly, but i think meimei's story is not. i wish the director would wound everything up and close her story too.

[–] toasian4u 18 years ago

iono bout all the other questions but i think i can help you with the first question.

Arisan is a common term for a monthly social gathering between friends and relatives who chip in money to be won in turns through a lucky draw.

[–] azarimy 18 years ago

thanks for the reply.

but what's the point? i dont get it.

we chip in money into a pool. then there's the part of lucky draw which i understand where the winner will host the next party/arisan. is that the purpose of the pooled money? to host the party?

sorry, i might sound ignorant or stupid :D.

[–] bingu 18 years ago

Actually arisan is made for keeping friendship in a group of (mostly) woman. The important thing in arisan is gathering with your friend every month. That is why winning the money is not the goal, because a person can't win the lucky draw twice.

about "pariban"... i think it means "soulmate" or in Indonesian "jodoh". i'm sorry if i'm wrong because i'm not batak. i'm indonesian but i'm not very familiar with batak language.

[–] bob_vhan 18 years ago

i agree with "bingu" about arisan.

And about "pariban" its olmost meant a soulmate. U see, there is many clan in batak. Some clans have blood brother with another clan, so intermarriage cannot allowed . some clans are not related, but some are meant to be married.and they are calling " pariban".
And yes, lita spoke with batak slang.

[–] lex-shen 18 years ago

Pariban means cousin from mother's side. I'm not quite sure about its relation to soulmate. However, in Indonesian (Batak?) culture, marriage between cousins happens, though not much people do it nowadays.

CMIIW.

[–] azarimy 18 years ago

thank you all for explaining/answering my questions. sure shed some light to the richness of the nusantaran culture.

[–] pizza_sky 18 years ago

well, meimei obsession is not having a child, but rather she think if she can bear a child, her husband will love her again as before.

[–] savatose 18 years ago

I agree with pizza sky. She just don't wanna feel lonely, she need to have someone. At the end of the story, she realizes that she's not alone, she still have her friends.

Arisan is a social gathering (because Indonesian people really looove to socialize :) ). The money is not the main reason, it’s only to spice things up, it’s like a saving with no interest….sometime the value of the money is less than what people spend for the gathering (transport, food & beverages & sometimes dress & make up).

[–] sluttiest_duo 18 years ago

you guys!!!
we can see ARISAN THE SERIES now on ANTV!!!
i'm so glad they made this series!

[–] dinikusuma09 18 years ago

No, I think the series just make this movie become borring, just wait till they don't have any story to perform, arisan tv series would just be the same as other Indonesians sinetron.

[–] fakhrur 17 years ago

yeah, i watched only the first 3-4 episodes, the plot is really slow and boring.. too bad

[–] napi_badung 17 years ago

Pariban is a term that is used in batak toba. Batak has a few sub cultures; toba, karo, simalungun, etc.. And each uses different slang. For example, Karonese use the term impal in equivalent to pariban.

From a male perspective, pariban is a female cousin which has the same family name as our mothers. The principles is that if a father which has a surname X can marry a mother from surname Y, then the son (automatically an X) can marry a Y female. The closest one would be the daughter of the mother's brother's.

But that is not the only case. It can be broadened by marrying from grandma's family name(if different to mom's), uncle's wife (from father's side) family name, etc, which will give more options.

This is still common in batak culture. Even some still recommend their kids marriage (e.g batak karo).

If a batak marry a non batak, usually the outsiders will be honoured a batak family name, and an elder couple of the family name will be their godparents.

And yes, lita, sakti's mom, and the masseus spoke in batak (batak toba slang).