Best Indonesian music movies
A curated collection of popular music movies from Indonesia.
Satria Bergitar (1984)
Satria Bergitar (1984)
In a neverland, King Wasit Aron organises forces to reclaim his throne that was seized by Abu Garin. The greedy Abu Garin is not satisfied, as he still wants to marry Wasit's daughter, Tirza, and get Wasit’s sacred stone. The battle between their two forces continues to go on. Then, King Wasit meets Rhoma, a wanderer who is always carrying a guitar. After the wanderer shows his power in fighting and his skill in healing the wounds of the King's daughter, Tirzah, King Wasit and his followers are successfully persuaded by Rhoma to convert to Islam.
Badai Pasti Berlalu (1977)
Badai Pasti Berlalu (1977)
Siska, a young woman was heartbroken after her fiancé broke off their engagement. Unwilling to see his sister depressed, her brother Johnny introduced her to his friend Leo, who is known as a womanizer.
There is Love in High School (2016)
There is Love in High School (2016)
In this high school musical, a talented teen tries to change his reputation by running for student council president against his ambitious friend.
The Three Maidens (1956)
The Three Maidens (1956)
Three sisters—Nunung, Nana and Nenny—are being raised by their grandmother in Jakarta after their mother's death. Though the sisters' father Sukandar lives with them, he is too involved in his own work to pay them heed.
Girl's Dormitory (1958)
Girl's Dormitory (1958)
The residents of a dormitory led by Bu Siti each have their own personal issues. Tari, a dance student, falls in love with a man old enough to be her father. Rahimah, a medical student, is about to be forced into marriage in her village but is rescued by Nasrul. Maria, a flight attendant, gets entangled in a love quadrangle. She is loved by Imansyah, a co-pilot, but Maria is more attracted to Broto, a wealthy merchant. However, Broto himself is more interested in Sita, a dance instructor. Additionally, two teenagers, Ani and Ina, are placed under Bu Siti's care because their parents are preoccupied with politics. All these problems are resolved in a comedic manner.
Three Sassy Sisters (2016)
Three Sassy Sisters (2016)
A musical drama inspired by the 1956 classic, Tiga Dara. It tells the story of three sisters—Gendis, Ella, and Bebe—who live with their father and grandmother after their mother passed away. Each of them has a different personality, but they are all independent and focused on their careers. However, their grandmother becomes worried because her granddaughters are still unmarried. She then tries to find them suitable partners, which leads to various comedic situations, family conflicts, and questions about love and freedom.
Samsara (2024)
Samsara (2024)
Darta, a man from an impoverished family, is rejected by the wealthy parents of the woman he loves. Desperate, he strikes a bargain with the Monkey King, performing a dark ritual to gain wealth. However, in doing so, he accidentally curses his wife and child to a life of suffering. Rooted in Indonesian mysticism, this universal narrative explores the insatiable hunger to become something one is not and the boundaries one is willing to cross to achieve it.
Sabyan Menjemput Mimpi (2019)
Sabyan Menjemput Mimpi (2019)
The story of youngsers led by Ayus (Ayus Sabyan) to build and develop a gambus musical group called Sabyan. Many interesting stories behind their struggle to reach a dream. They start to get famous thanks to simple video uploads on Youtube. Sabyan starts to have fans. There are even fanatical fans like Ndut Kece (Meni Agus Nori) who are always present wherever Sabyan is. Also Bilal (Chandra Wahyu Aji) who has physical disability and is only able to see Sabyan in cyberspace.
Wave of Cinema: Surat Dari Timur (2020)
Wave of Cinema: Surat Dari Timur (2020)
Featuring a mix of film footage and special performances, this virtual concert honors the memory and music of revered Indonesian singer Glenn Fredly.
Mendadak Dangdut (2006)
Viva JKT48 (2014)
Viva JKT48 (2014)
8 members of JKT48 got lost in the zoo, and when they return to theatre, they find out that their theatre has been taken by Miss Kejora, who create a rival group. They must find a way to get the theatre back,
Love Is U (2012)
Love Is U (2012)
The story of the Indonesian girlband Cherrybelle.
200 Pounds Beauty (2023)
200 Pounds Beauty (2023)
Juwita, a heavily overweight girl, almost gave up on her life after being hit by the ninth times heartbreak. Hope comes when she has a chance of transforming into Angel, a super gorgeous, golden-voiced girl.
D'Bijis (2007)
D'Bijis (2007)
Obsessed to reunite her late brother’s rock band, Asti tracks down its former members—now scattered and changed by life. As they struggle to reclaim their old sound, tensions rise, love sparks, and one final mystery remains: finding their missing keyboardist.
Slank Never Dies (2013)
Slank Never Dies (2013)
Abdee and Ridho are called by Slank, a rock band with Bimbim and Ivan. As it turned out, Slank want to prove the band still remains with only remaining Bimbim, Kaka, and Ivan went on tour. With just 3 days to perform 35 Slank songs, the tour begans.
Ambyar Mak Byar (2025)
Pengabdian (1984)
Pengabdian (1984)
Rhoma is too preoccupied with his music, which makes his wife, Ani, feel neglected. Then Ani falls ill and suffers from blindness. Concerned for his wife’s condition, Rhoma leaves his music and starts to look after livestock in the village instead. Pursuing a business that he knows little about is difficult. Then other farmers dislike the competition he represents that leads to disputes and fights. Finally, Rhoma decides to return to the music world.
Jaka swara (1990)
Jaka swara (1990)
Jaka Swara witnesses the slaughter of his parents by John Da Costa’s gang, a Portuguese who still controls a remote area. Jaka Swara painstakingly learns martial arts to seek revenge. When Fatma, is held captive by Da Costa, it spurs Jaka into action. Rhoma Irama’s rôle as Jaka is somewhat different from his norm due to the nature of the action film. He sings five songs for the romantic scenes.
Tandjung Katung (1957)
Tandjung Katung (1957)
Disappointed with her marriage, Sahara left Medan and moved to Jakarta, forgetting her profession as a ronggeng dancer. There she met Effendi who invited her to create a national social dance by creating from regional dances.
Melodi (2010)
Melodi (2010)
Ruli and Mili are brother and sister who live in suburb of Jakarta Mega City with his father who became a single parent. They live their life full of joy .. Ruli who have a nice voice works as a waitress at a coffee shop. Mili who like drawing always follow wherever his brother go. In the middle efforts to help his father find additional costs, he met Chika, daughter of Mrs. Waita which became part of the disaster. Unexpectedly encounter them develop into true friendship and deep spiritual relationship until they become trio together with Mili.
Menggapai Matahari (1986)
Menggapai Matahari (1986)
Rhoma Irama and his girlfriend, Kartika (Yatie Octavia), are affected by a disaster. Rhoma accidentally kills a woman with his car. Apparently, the woman is the sister of Ikang Fawzi, a rock star. The tension between Rhoma and Ikang intensifies.
Gejolak Kawula Muda (1985)
Gejolak Kawula Muda (1985)
For disturbing public order, a group of breakdancing teenagers are arrested by the police. Hence, Chicha’s father forbids her to breakdance and Chicha’s boyfriend, Rico, is asked to go his own way. Then parents and teenagers meet to discuss the issue. Chicha continues to breakdance and is even planning a show with her friends. Initially, her father opposes this but finally changes his mind after he sees the successful show. Almost half of the film consists of breakdancing scenes that were popular and polemical in the news at that time.
Aduh Aduh Mana Tahan (1980)
Aduh Aduh Mana Tahan (1980)
With a cast of dangdut singers and dangdut groups, this film also highlights a dangdut music festival. H. Imron forbids his daughter Diana to sing dangdut. Her outdoor activities are watched carefully. Meanwhile, Diana teaches their talented housemaid, Itje, to sing dangdut. Later she takes part in the dangdut music festival.
Pesta Musik La Bana (1960)
Pesta Musik La Bana (1960)
Amir, the son of a businessman, Yahya, is more interested in music than in having a position as president of the company. Yahya is totally against this, and even his brother, Ismed is not allowed to help him. Instead, help comes from Norma, his father’s private secretary, and some young musicians. A music festival that Amir organizes is a huge success. In the end, Yahya makes peace with Amir and retires happily. The company is handed over to Ismed while Norma goes off to help Amir. The film featured the Imam Band that was popular at that time. The members were Eka Djaja Combo, Dolok Martimbang, Teruna Ria, Kinantan, Irama Agung and Idris Sardi and his orchestra.
Nada-Nada Rindu (1987)
Nada-Nada Rindu (1987)
After failing to beat Rhoma in both music and women, Ramlan uses other cunning tricks. He does a duet with Camelia Malik aka Mia that is a huge success even though she is dating Rhoma. Ramlan proposes to his producer, Niko, to draw Mia out of their rival record company. Niko agrees with him. Hence, Ramlan gets his girlfriend Maya, who is addicted to drugs, to seduce Rhoma, and to drug Rhoma’s drink. When Rhoma is unconscious, Maya and Rhoma are photographed together in bed. The images are distributed to the newspapers, where it becomes a huge gossip. Then Mia is drawn to Niko’s company. Maya, who truly loves Ramlan, catches him in the act when Ramlan is about to rape Mia. Maya reveals the secret to Mia. Meanwhile, Rhoma, who is devastated, withdraws to his teacher’s place. There he is advised to change his name and start again from zero. Rhoma’s new persona is Zulfikar and he successfully receives a recording contract from Niko for his vocal similarities with Rhoma.
Lagu Untukmu (1973)
Lagu Untukmu (1973)
Containing eight songs, the film is like TV variety show of music and singers. Charma, an architecture student, falls in love with Anita. Thanks to advice from Bagio Sumarto, an old artist, Charma manages to win Anita, even though her mother, who has a royal lineage, considers that an artist would lower the family’s prestige. It was a strange assumption, present at the time of the film’s production. Charma then helps Bagio realise his dream of building a village for artists by staging a big successful show. And Anita turns out to be the daughter of Bagio who has long been separated from his wife.