Telling of a family's struggles in Jakarta, it set a new record at the 1986 Indonesian Film Festival when it won nine Citra Awards.

Her eldest, Farida (Niniek L. Karim), has married the nouveau riche Gatot (Galeb Husin).

Zulfikar has left his wife (Ayu Azhari) and young child for a cougar with whom he is sleeping to further his career.

Driven to guilt through his experience with the film, Zulfikar breaks off his relationship with his sponsor, leaving her in tears, and returns to his wife.

[2] The depictions of the characters are in accordance with the mannerisms of the Javanese middle class, without mixing Western acting styles.

[2] A write-up by Monash University notes that another theme is racial prejudice, as shown by the discrimination against Luke because of his ethnicity.

"[b][2] Ibunda received nine Citra Awards at the 1986 Indonesian Film Festival, out of 13 total categories, winning Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress (Niniek L. Karim), Best Supporting Actress, Best Music, Best Sound Editing, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Screenplay.