Christine Hakim

Acting

Christine Hakim

Born 1956-12-25 · Kuala Tungkal, Jambi

Herlina Christine Natalia Hakim (born December 25, 1956, in Kuala Tungkal, Jambi) is an Indonesian actress, film producer, and activist. Christine is of mixed ancestry, with family roots from Aceh, Minang, Java, and the Middle East. Christine Hakim was born in Jambi and grew up in Yogyakarta, initially aspiring to become an architect or psychologist. Her career path changed when she was discovered by director Teguh Karya for his 1973 film Cinta Pertama (First Love). Her role in the film earned her the Citra Award for Best Leading Actress and convinced her to pursue a career in acting. Since then, she has starred in numerous films, including Badai Pasti Berlalu (The Storm Will Surely Pass) in 1977 and Tjoet Nja' Dhien in 1988. She also had a minor role in the 2010 Hollywood film Eat Pray Love. As of 2018, she had won eight Citra Awards, received lifetime achievement awards from the Indonesian Film Festival, the Indonesian Movie Actors Awards, and the Cinemanila International Film Festival, and served as a jury member at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. Christine expanded her career into film production in 1998, producing Daun di Atas Bantal (Leaf on a Pillow) and Pasir Berbisik (Whispering Sands). She later ventured into documentary filmmaking and became an advocate for education and autism awareness. Since 2008, she has served as Indonesia's Ambassador to UNESCO, focusing on education issues. Christine initially had no intention of becoming an actress. She dreamed of becoming an architect or psychologist. However, her fate changed when Teguh Karya offered her a role in Cinta Pertama. He approached her after seeing her modeling photos in a magazine, which she had done merely to help a friend. Unable to refuse Karya's warm and friendly demeanor, Christine described how he "reeled her in slowly, like a fisherman." Despite initially considering leaving acting after completing the shoot, her work in Cinta Pertama earned her a Citra Award for Best Leading Actress, convincing her to continue acting. Teguh Karya later revealed that he had argued with the film's producer over casting Christine. The producer was concerned that she was "too skinny and lacked a figure," to which Karya retorted, "Are we selling a movie or selling breasts?" The following year, Christine starred in another Teguh Karya-directed film, Kawin Lari (Elopement). The experience gave her a deeper understanding of acting, allowing her to "see life from a different perspective through character study." In 1976, she starred in Sesuatu yang Indah (Something Beautiful), directed by Wim Umboh, marking the first film in which Christine used her own voice. In previous films, her voice had been dubbed by Titi Qadarsih as her natural voice was considered "too deep." In 1977, she appeared in Badai Pasti Berlalu, featured on the film's poster and soundtrack album cover. Christine showcased 14 Indonesian films at the Nantes Three Continents Festival in November 1983, appearing in half of them. Two years later, she attended the Cannes Film Festival as an observer, establishing a working relationship with Pierre Risient, who later helped bring her films to Cannes.

Acting credits

Eat Pray Love poster
6.2

A married woman realizes how unhappy her marriage really is, and that her life needs to go in a different direction. After a painful divorce, she takes off on a round-the-world journey to "find herself".

Eat Pray Love

2010

Semua Akan Baik-Baik Saja poster
7.2

Mentari's death forces the estranged siblings to reunite under Langit's care. Amidst their respective conflicts and wounds, they learn to accept their loss and rediscover the meaning of family.

Semua Akan Baik-Baik Saja

2026

Sleeping Man poster
7.8

Ever since an accident in the mountains outside town, Takuji's slept in a coma; his neighbors care for him as new events occur every day.

Sleeping Man

1996

Grave Torture poster
6.6

When a violent act kills her parents, Sita vows to debunk the idea of supernatural torment after death — a fixation that leads her on a dark quest.

Grave Torture

2024

Impetigore poster
6.7

A woman inherits a house in her ancestral village, but she's unaware that members of the community have been trying to locate and kill her to remove the curse that has plagued them for years.

Impetigore

2019

Sri Asih poster
6.6

Alana discover the truth about her origin: she’s not an ordinary human being. She may be the gift for humanity and become its protector as Sri Asih. Or a destruction, if she can’t control her anger.

Sri Asih

2022

On Your Lap poster
7.8

Sartika, a pregnant young woman, moves away from her city hoping to provide a better future for her child. She meets Maya, a coffee shop owner in Pantura. Maya takes care of Sartika and helps with her deliveries. After Sartika gives birth, Maya manipulates her into working for her as the "Kopi Pangku" waitress, a job that requires her to serve coffee on a man's lap, until one day she meets a fish distributor truck driver named Hadi and falls in love. Will she find happiness?

On Your Lap

2025

Merantau poster
6.5

In Minangkabau, West Sumatera, Yuda a skilled practitioner of Silat Harimau is in the final preparations to begin his "Merantau" a century's old rites-of-passage to be carried out by the community's young men that will see him leave the comforts of his idyllic farming village and make a name for himself in the bustling city of Jakarta.

Merantau

2009

Whispering Sands poster
8.4

Berlian and her teenage daughter Daya are on the run from political violence. Constantly daydreaming that her absent father will return, young Daya chafes under the stern hand of her mother. Forced to move inland from their seaside home to a desert of constantly shifting sands, the pair settle down to their familiar antagonism. Finally, Daya sees a vaguely familiar face shuffle in from across the wasteland.

Whispering Sands

2001

The Sea Speaks His Name poster
NR

In the turbulent final years of Indonesia's New Order, 1998, a generation of young idealists risked everything for the dream of freedom. Among them is Biru Laut, a university student whose passion for justice and belief in democracy draws him into a secret circle of activists known as the Winatra group. The story follows the disappearance of Biru Laut and the subsequent search for him and other student activists by his family, particularly his younger sister Asmara Jati, revealing a dark period of Indonesian history marked by violence and the struggle for democracy.

The Sea Speaks His Name

2026

Sukma poster
5.4

Arini and her family went to a small town to start a new life, but it turns into a disaster after they find an ancient mirror in a secret warehouse.

Sukma

2025

Four Seasons in Java poster
NR

Pertiwi returns to her hometown after spending two decades in prison to rebuild her life. There, she finds power in things that have been abandoned: discarded electronic devices that mysteriously light up and a community of outcasts living on the fringes of society. But coming home also means confronting the four men who sent her to prison and now rule the village. Together with the outcasts, Pertiwi begins to uncover the darkness that still haunts the place - and the past she thought she had left behind.

Four Seasons in Java

2026

IBUKU poster
NR

A widow attempts to reunite with her daughter who has been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for murdering her employer. However, the daughter refuses to see her mother, having never forgiven her for past betrayals.

IBUKU

As White as the Heart, as Red as the Lips poster
7.0

A study of middle class life in Jakarta.

As White as the Heart, as Red as the Lips

1982

Sultan Agung poster
7.0

The story of Sultan Agung Hanyakrakusuma, the king of Mataram when he was still a teenager until he becomes a king.

Sultan Agung

2018

Retak Gading poster
NR

Gading became the topic of discussion and contention on campus. The star who managed to get Ivory's heart, their love relationship did not go perfectly.

Retak Gading

2014

The Golden Cane Warrior poster
6.5

A martial arts master angers two of her protégés when she selects a third to take her post and the legendary weapon that comes with it.

The Golden Cane Warrior

2014

Sekar poster
NR

Sekar is a blind woman who makes her mother's batik her whole world. Until Sekar met a silversmith who made batik motifs for her. The man brought batik to life in another way.

Sekar

2018

Sara poster
7.5

Sara, a transgender woman goes back to her remote hometown to attend her father’s funeral. She finds the village has changed greatly, and that the villagers have become extremely religious. Added to that, her mother suffers from dementia and treats her like a complete stranger.

Sara

2023

A Perfect Fit poster
7.3

Sparks fly when a fashion blogger in Bali meets a gifted shoemaker, leading her to question her commitment to her fiancé.

A Perfect Fit

2021

Bridegroom's Bed poster
NR

Bram and Nona marry without her parent’s approval, as she is already arranged to marry Paul. The life of the husband and wife is only supported by Bram’s small salary so they live in the slums, which is realistically depicted. They also have problems with Nien, Bram’s old unmarried sister.

Bridegroom's Bed

1974

Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash poster
6.7

Ajo Kawir is a fighter who fears nothing, not even death. His raging urge to fight is driven by a secret: his impotence. When he crosses paths with a tough female fighter named Iteung, Ajo gets beaten black and blue, but he also falls head over heels in love. Will Ajo’s path lead him to a happy life with Iteung, and, eventually, his own peace of mind?

Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash

2021

Bandung Lautan Api poster
NR

Set on 24 March 1946 in Bandung, when the city was engulfed in explosions as if it was a sea of fire, the battle scenes between Indonesian and Dutch dominate the film. The main plot line is the conflict of Nani, a Red Cross nurse, who loves Priyatna, an ex PETA fighter. Meanwhile, Hidayat, the commander of Priyatna’s troop, also likes Nani. It is a small story, within a war, that ends with the death of Hidayat.

Bandung Lautan Api

1974

Irisan-irisan Hati poster
8.0

Even though he is not a "left wing" student, Nurhadi, nicknamed Hadi, insists on becoming a volunteer in the fight against Malaysia. Wati, his lover, tries to stop him, but fails. She pretends to be pregnant so that Hadi marries her. But Hadi still goes to Malaysia. Hadi’s group is detected by a Malaysian patrol, when they are about to land in Malaysia, which leads to a firefight. Everyone dies except Hadi, who is found unconscious by Latifah at the beach. Hadi is taken care of by Latifah and his father, Somad. He claims that he is a fisherman who has been stranded and is named Mohamad Noor. The confrontation between Indonesia and Malaysia then ends. Wati still believes that her husband is alive and goes to Malaysia to find him. She finds Hadi already married to a pregnant Latifah. Wati goes home in disappointment.

Irisan-irisan Hati

1988

Behind the camera