Un oficial colonial holandés idealista destinado a Indonesia en el siglo XIX está convencido de que puede realizar el tipo de cambios que realmente ayudarán a la población local a su cargo,.
Knew the existence of the book and learned the tragic history surrounding the events captured in the book as middle school student in northern West Java. (Lebak, where most of the events took place, is only less than 150km away).
"Max Havelaar" is a 19th century novel about the Dutch colonial rule in Indonesia - specifically, about one man's fight against the oppressive, bureaucratic and inhuman nature of the Dutch/Indonesian rule in the poor province of Lebak. The novel is (rightfully) considered one of Holland's most enduring and powerful works of literature; Fons Rademaker's 1976 cinema adaptation, however, has been largely forgotten.
I saw this film once, thirty years ago, when it first came out. It was regarded as avantgarde at the time, and was shown in a small "alternative" movie theaters in Aarhus, Denmark.