While Shawn Inosanto is brilliant, some feminist critics argue the film focuses too much on the romance (Minke/Annellis) rather than on the radical economics of Nyai Ontosoroh. In the book, she is the hero; in the film, she is the tragic supporting mother.

Drafting a complete write-up for the 2019 film Bumi Manusia (This Earth of Mankind) requires balancing its status as a grand historical epic with its roots in Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s legendary literature.

Bumi Manusia (released internationally as This Earth of Mankind

The film streamlines the narrative to fit a 2.5-hour runtime. It is best viewed as a "gateway drug" to the book, not a replacement.

The relationship between Minke, Annelies (a luminous Minka Kelly), and the mysterious Chinese-Indonesian student Robert Suurhof (an underutilized Jerome Kurnia) is compressed into soap opera dynamics. In the book, Suurhof is Minke’s intellectual rival, representing nihilistic assimilation. In the film, he is mostly a jealous third wheel.

Particularly the portrayal of Nyai Ontosoroh, which received critical acclaim for its intensity and emotional depth.

Bumi Manusia is a sweeping, visually stunning adaptation of Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s literary masterpiece that successfully captures the tension of colonial-era Indonesia, though its nearly three-hour runtime may test the patience of casual viewers.