Photos / WheninManila.com and Netflix
Cigarette Girl just made history as Netflix’s first Indonesian series. It was released on November 2, 2023, and has spent two weeks on the streaming platform’s top 10 most-watched non-English series, with 1.5 million views from November 13 to 19 alone.
The series follows three brothers, heirs to the Djagad Raja Clove Cigarettes, as they embark on a quest to fulfill their father’s dying wish: find Jeng Yah, the mysterious woman he has been calling out to on his deathbed.
With the little clues they have, the brothers travel across Java, delving into its secrets to locate Jeng Yah. It traces the growth of a clove cigarette enterprise from its humble beginnings in the Dutch East Indies during the early 1940s. The book acquaints readers with the history of Indonesia through the lens of clove cigarettes and unrequited love.
Cigarette Girl has an average audience score of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8.4 rating on IMDb, the online database of information related to all kinds of content. It’s a hit and sounds like the series you should watch over the weekend.
But before you open Netflix and stream the show, we’re making the case for you to read its source material first.
Photo / Netflix
The series began as a novel by Ratih Kumala, first published in 2015 under its Indonesian title, Gadis Kretek. Milflores Publishing recently released a Philippine edition of the book with an English translation by Annie Tucker.
While the book is set in Indonesia, Filipinos can still enjoy Cigarette Girl because of the parallels between the the two Southeast Asian countries.
Family drama
Both have a family-oriented culture, and the book is a sweeping drama following two rival clans in the clove cigarette industry. If you like multi-generational movies and teleseryes with juicy family secrets, love, and betrayal, you’ll enjoy Cigarette Girl.
Past and present
The book is set from the 1940s to today, so it shuttles between the past and present. In the present time, the brothers try to fulfill their father’s dying wish to find Jeng Yah.
The past, meanwhile, narrates the start of the clove cigarette industry in Indonesia and its growth through the years. It takes its sweet time to get to Jeng Yah and her connection with Djagad Raja Clove Cigarettes, but the story is enthralling, and the payoff is worth it.
The character of Jeng Yah is interesting because she engages with Indonesia’s idea of what a woman’s role should be in society (which would also be familiar to many Filipinos).
Photo / Netflix
A lesson in history
Another enjoyable part of Cigarette Girl is its excellent introduction to Indonesia’s history. One of the pleasures of reading is being exposed to different cultures, and the book is set amid major turning points in the country’s timeline.
It turns out that we have another thing in common with our Southeast Asian neighbor besides a strong connection with family: both countries have a history of colonization. The Dutch colonized Indonesia from 1815 to 1942, while the Japanese took over from 1942 to 1945. The events in Cigarette Girl touch on these historical events, making it a familiar and fascinating read for Filipinos.
I have not watched the Netflix adaptation, but the trailer looks good. I am invested in the characters in the story, especially Jeng Yah, so I will definitely watch it. The fact that Kumala, the book’s author, is involved in the adaptation as a screenwriter is promising.
Watch the trailer below:
If you’re thinking of watching the series, please make sure to read the book first.
The Philippine edition of Cigarette Girl is available on Milflores Publishing’s website and at their official shops on Lazada and Shopee.
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