Sherina's Adventure

Riri Riza's 2000 Indonesian film is a children's musical. Sherina moves with her father's work from Jakarta to a farming area near Bandung and meets a bully named Sadam at her new school. While the two detest each other they end up in the middle of a kidnapping and have to run together. The film proceeds through songs, with Sherina Munaf both starring and singing them. Its importance lies less in its subject than in its timing: Indonesian cinema had almost stopped in the nineties, and this is counted among the films that brought audiences back to theatres. The story is aimed at children while also treating the greed of the adult world. Who it's for: viewers who like family films and musicals. Who it's not for: anyone expecting a complicated story; the film is built for a young audience.