Artikel-Feature:Idealism versus Commercialism in Indonesian Cinema: A Neverending Battle?-New Order Regime (1966-1998)

Idealism versus Commercialism in Indonesian Cinema: A Neverending Battle?
By Ekky Imanjaya
Editor of Rumahfilm.org, Jakarta

New Order Regime (1966-1998)

The New Order Regime began right after the G30S event, the extermination of PKI members and followers, and the fall of President Soekarno. Soeharto became president, and the army dominated the political sphere (Sen 1994: 48).

In this era, the rules over filmmaking were very difficult and hard, for example the censorship and the bureaucracy. If someone wanted to make film, he/she should submit their scripts for approval before production, he/she should be members of one of government-sanctioned organizations of film workers union. Shooting permits for all forms of audiovisual recordings were the norm with prior approval required of production companies, and of course the company should be a member of the union (Marselli & Achnas 2002: 156). And, to become a director, he/she should serve as assistant director three times, and in order to be an assistant director, he/she needed to be a script continuity person several times[12]. And if the director had fulfilled all the requirements, the censorship affairs were the next step to face. Heider illustrates that the government film censorship board must approve the script of a film before shooting, and it must advise again during the editing stage. News items frequently appear in the press announcing titles of films which have been released by the censorship board (Heider 1991: 22).

Films scholars and filmmakers Marcelli Sumarno and Nan Triveni Achnas are witnesses to these kinds of rules: they writes: “Until quite recently, film law in Indonesia was subject to red tape and stifling policies. The main objective was to regulate film as stipulated in the state guidelines as ‘not only an entertainment vehicle but also as a medium for educational and cultural purpose’. (Sumarno & Achnas 2002: 160)

In this era, Krishna Sen highlights the lack of representation of the middle class, and the films focus on the stores of the dominant and the subordinate without an identifiable mediating middle class in between them (Sen 1994: 130).

Later, in 1996, Kuldesak became an important phenomenon because the directors broke all these complicated rules (Sumarno and Achnas 2002: 164) but in fact, in early 1990s Garin Nugroho did the same[13]. I will elaborate this topic later. Let me discuss this era by decades.

On 30 th May 1968, the Minister of Information BM Diah issued a decree on Dewan Produksi Film Nasional (National Film Production Council) which consisted of nine members from the public and private filmmakers. The unique thing in this is that Usmar Ismail and Djamaluddin Malik were excluded (Said 1991: 82)[14]. But DPFN did not establish for long. After making five model films, including the family drama Apa yang Kau Tjari Palupi (What Are You Looking For, Palupi?, Asrul Sani, 1969) and the comedy Mat Dower (the character’s name, Nyak Abbas Akkub, 1969), both are realist films, the organization disbanded. Palupi won the first prize in the 1970 Asian Film Festival in Jakarta, and tells a story of a woman who loses herself in search of an undefined ‘something’—which she sees as happiness. The dominant discourse of the film shows greed, immortality, and rejection of a man’s love (Sen 1994: 141). Mat Dower has a strong satire social critic and distributors were frightened away by its content (Said 1991: 82-83).

In 1970, Ismail made Big Village as an attempt to show the on-going and sometimes heated struggle between Jakarta the metropolis and Jakarta the cluster of villages, a place whose dominant lifestyle is in fact very much different from that of a large modern city (Jufri et al (eds.) 1992: 21).

In this 1970s era, new filmmakers were born. It became a first start for idealist filmmakers such as Teguh Karya, Syuman Djaya and Arifin C. Noer. Sjuman Djaya, who had studied film in Moscow, made his first film, Lewat Tengah Malam (Past Midnight, 1971), after the disbandment of DPFN and his resignation as General Director of Film (Said 1991: 91). His first film tells a story of a veteran’s disappointment in former friends-in-arms who have failed to live up to the ideals for which they once fought. Lono, the main character, becomes a thief who steals from his corrupt friends to divide the spoils among those badly in need (Said 1991: 91-92).

Then Djaya started to make films full of social and political critique such as Si Doel Anak Betawi (Si Doel Betawi Boy, 1973), Atheis (1974), Si Doel Anak Modern (Si Doel Modern Boy, 1976), and Si Mamad (1973). Both Si Doel films speak of the indigenous people of Jakarta; the first is a children film and the latter tells about the culturally-shocked teenager Doel toward modernity. Si Mamad tells about an honest middle-aged clerk called Pak Mamad, who works in the archives section of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and lives in slum quarters on the edge of Jakarta. Mamad’s wife is pregnant with their seventh child, and that situation forces Mamad, the only officer who does not commit corruption, to steal some things. But, soon, he wants to confess his mistakes but nobody cares. Tormented by guilt and inadequacy, Mamad gets ill and later dies. Budiman, his friend, at the burial site, pays his last tribute to him:

People called him Pak Mamad. But he preffred Muhammad. Muhammad has left us. And the world has lost a person whom I knew as the most human of human beings...Muhammad who was honest and Muhammad who was truthful. Unfortunately, he died because of his honesty. I trust that God will recieve him unto Himself.[15]

In the same year, Teguh Karya made his first film with Teater Populer, Wadjah Seorang Laki-Laki (The Face of a Man, 1971). It tells about an uncompromised portrayal of the development of a young man into adulthood. Later, in 1980s, Karya made Secangkir Kopi Pahit (A Cup of Bitter Coffee, 1984) and Ibunda (Mother, 1986) among other titles. Some great actors, such as Tuti Indra Malaon, Slamet Djarot, Christine Hakim, and Alex Komang were born from his hands. From his first film, Karya wanted to make films showing the life of ordinary people (Sen 1988: 5). For example, Ibunda describes a mother as a strong woman surrounded by her own children‘s problems such as divorces and drugs.

Arifin C Noer[16] made his first movie in 1973. Rio Anakku (Rio My Child) has the same passion to represent on-screen the reality around him as, for example, Suci Sang Primadona (Suci the Prima Donna 1977), Petualang-Petualang (The Adventurers, 1978) and Yuyun Pasien Rumah Sakit Jiwa (Yuyun, Patient of a Mental Hospital, 1979). Petualang Petualang was first titled Koruptor-Koruptor (The Corruptors). The film was pended in Badan Sensor Film (Film Censorship Board) for almost six years for the content, and was released with 319 meters-long cut (Kristanto 2007: 179).

Another filmmaker from the idealistic group is Nico Pelamonia with his debut work, Anjing Anjing Geladak (Harbor Dogs, 1972), which tells about the harsh life in the harbor area.

Nyak Abbas Akub, who used to help Ismail in Perfini, was the figure that had succesfully combined the commercial and idealistic groups of filmmaking. He made social criticism through comedies with, among others, Inem Pelayan Sexy (Inem the Sexy Maid, 1976), Cintaku di Rumah Susun (My Love in Apartment House, 1987) and his last film Boneka dari Indiana (Doll from Indiana, 1990). Those films concern gender role in society and the power of women with their sexuality toward men. And those Akub films are successfully combined idealistic purposes and commercial gain.

Regarding producers from the commercial filmmakers, Karya states: “We have to revolt against the producers. Do not give them a change to dictate to us. They know nothing about filmmaking. They possess the capital and see filming as a lucrative investment” (quoted in Said 1991: 117). But, still, Karya and other idealistic directors should sometimes make compromises in order to realize their next idealistic projects.

In 1978, Frank Rorimpandey directed Perawan Desa (The Village Virgin), adapted from a true story about Sumarijam, 17 years old girl from Jetak near Jogjakarta who was raped by a son of senior civil servantofficial in September 1970 (Sen 1989: 13). It was a legally difficult process because the rapist was the son of a man of power while the victim was a nobody. The film depicts the huge difference between wealthy people in the mansion and poor people in kampung (Sen 1989: 14-15). Film journalists commended that Perawan Desa is a film of very high social relevance, extremely relevant in the efforts of the Indonesian people to search for and establish truth and justice and it depicts clearly the fate of the little people (rakyat kecil) who suffer, trampled by injustice. “The film also shows the courage of the citizens, both men and women, including journalists and youth, who become involved, individually and socially, in the defense of someone who becomes the victim of arbitrary authority” (quoted in Sen 1994: 119).

The commercial group of filmmakers still existed in 1970s. Pengantin Remaja (Teenage Wedding, Wim Umboh, 1971) was controversial because some people considered it a plagiarism of Love Story (USA: Arthur Hiller, 1979). The film made the star couple, Sophan Sophian and Widyawati, popular.

In this era, commercial filmmakers also began to produce sexploitation films. Popular actress known as the queen of mystic and sex symbol Suzanna started her adult career in 1970 with Bernapas dalam Lumpur (Breathing in the Mud, Turino Djunaidi 1970), the first film to accentuate sex, rape, and dirty dialogues. Her other film, Bumi Makin Panas (The World is Getting Hotter, Ali Shahab 1973) was of similar topic, and was once banned in Cianjur (West Java) and Malaysia. The phenomenon of sexploitation cinema underlines the strong position of the commercial group of filmmaking. These films were made for commercial aims, thus the stories were poor and female bodies were exploited to sell the films.

The most popular box-office film in the 1970s was Ratapan Anak Tiri (Lamentation of Step-Daughter, Sandy Suwardi Hassan, 1973).

However, the slowdown of film industry reoccured in 1972. The number of productions decreased. People kept on blame on each other. Some blamed the filmmakers, some blamed film journalists and critics. Farouk Afero, an actor and singer , said that the cinemas were at fault and he shaved his head bald in protest against cinema owners (Said 1991: 86). As a result, cinema owners threatened to boycott Afero’s films. FFI was held again in 1973[17]. But this did not change the situation. In 1974, there were 77 films, but downed to 41 in 1975. On 18 th January 1975, some directors, producers and actors gathered in Taman Ismail Marzuki (Art Center), Jakarta (Said 1991: 86-87). They discussed the crisis in film industry and its connection to cinemas and government. As a result, three ministers issued a regulation stating that every cinema should put national films on-screen. But still this step did not help fixing the problems. In 1976, the Minister of Information stated that film importers should produce national films as a condition to import film from abroad. Yet, film productions increased rapidly although most of them were of bad quality.

In 1977, the star system, from the commercial group, became stronger, using the term “The Big Five”—the five film stars with the highest salary, i.e. Rp. 5 millions. They were Yatie Octavia, Robby Sugara, Doris Callebout, Yenny Rachman and Roy Marten. Another popular star couple was Yessy Gusman and Rano Karno.The star system, as one of the important elements of commercial group of filmmaking, dominated the film market. Most of the films used popular film stars, and most of the spectators were (and still are) going to the cinemas to watch their idols on screen.

In the 1980s, Asrul Sani was still a scriptwriter. Kejarlah Daku Kau Kutangkap (Pursue Me, I Catch You, Chairul Umam, 1985), written by Sani, won Citra Award in 1986 FFI for best scenario, box-office award (Piala Antemas) and best comedy award (Piala Bing Slamet). The film tells about man-woman relationship connected in a comical marriage life. The film made director Chaerul Umam travel around the world from one festival to others. Naga Bonar (character’s name, MT Risyaf, 1986) won Citra Award for best scenario, best picture, best story, best actor, and best supporting actress, music, and sound. It is a social comedy about an ex-pickpocket who participates in the independence war and inaugurates himself as general.

Some first-rate films from this group are Doea Tanda Mata (Mementos, Teguh Karya, 1984), Matahari-Matahari (The Suns, Arifin C Noer, 1985) and Tjoet Nyak Dien (Eros Djarot, 1986). Slamet Rahardjo Djarot made films like Kembang Kertas(Paper Flower, 1985), Kodrat (Fate, 1985), Ponirah Terpidana (Ponirah the Convicted, 1985), whereas his first film was Rembulan dan Matahari (A Time to Mend, literal meaning Moon and Sun, 1979). Chaerul Umam made films representing Jakarta such asRamadhan dan Ramona(Ramadhan and Ramona, 1992) and Oom Pasikom, Parodi Ibukota (Uncle Pasikom, Parody of the Capital City, 1989).

However, the most phenomenal film is Pengkhianatan G-30S/PKI (G30S/PKI Treason, 1982), the official version of the event. Many film scholars consider it a propaganda film; the film became compulsory to be watched by all students, and was to be annually screened on TV to commemorate the event until the Reform era came.

The film was especially commissioned by Soeharto to provide an official narrative of the controversial 1965 coup by the PKI, and highlights the suffering of the military heroes victimized by PKI as well as Soeharto’s heroism in aborting the coup and stabilizing the situation (Paramaditha 2007: 42, 42). The keyword is “stability” (Paramaditha 2007: 43), and in order to reach the state of national stability, Soeharto made the official (the one and only) version of the events by which he confirmed his purpose to preserve his power by eliminating the entire communist element in the society and also the trace of the previous Soekarno’s political charisma. Film scholar Intan Paramaditha underlines that Soekarno is represented as lying motionless in bed, emphasizing his serious illness, or looking through his window from his claustrophobic space without showing significant movement; thus Soekarno’s illness denotes impotence and the lack of capacity for actions (Paramaditha 2007: 49). Other films which depict Soeharto as historical and narrative hero are Janur Kuning (Yellow Coconut Leaf, Alam Rengga Surawidjaya, 1979) (Sen 1994: 90) and Serangan Fajar (The Dawn Attack, Arifin C Noer, 1981) (Sen 1994: 101).

From the commercial group of filmmaking, there were the comedian group Warkop DKI and dangdut singer Rhoma Irama. New film stars were born, including Meriam Bellina and Marrisa Haque. Films for teenagers became box office and had influence on lifestyle, such as Catatan Si Boy (Boy’s Journal, Nasri Cheppy, 1987) and Lupus (character’s name, Achiel Nasrun, 1987). Both films were commercially successful and the sequels were produced..

In 1983, there was a sexploitation film, Bumi Bulat Bundar (The World is Round, Pitrajaya Burnama, 1983; starred by Eva Arnaz, Yeni Farida, and Wieke Widowati). This genre increased rapidly in the late 1980s and dominated the film industry in the 1990s. The most controversial was Pembalasan Ratu Laut Selatan (Lady Terminator, literal meaning Revenge of the South Sea Queen, Tjut Jalil, 1988; starred by Yurike Prastica) which was withdrawn from cinemas due to its erotic scenes (Jufri et al (eds.) 1992: 1). The same situation happened to Akibat Terlalu Genit (the Result of Too Flirtatious, Hadi Poernono, 1988, starred by Yurike Prastica) and Ketika Musim Semi Tiba (When the Spring Comes, Bobby Sandy 1986, starred by Meriam Bellina).

This is the era when the New Order became politically and economically weaker. In the early years, the control of the state was still strong. The cinema industry also felt pressures from some regulations (I will discuss this phenomenon in particular section). But later, in 1997, as politics scholar Julia Suryakusuma writes: “The international financial marketplace had ravaged the rupiah, plunging Indonesia into its worst economic crisis of New Order. The rupiah lost 75% of its value, prices spiraled, and ¾ of the companies listed on the local stock exchange were technically bankrupt. The sector was in tatters, and unemployment was expected to triple this year” (Suryakusuma 2004, 4). Pro-democracy movement became stronger against New Order’s authoritarianism, human right abuses, etc., and the support for Suharto’s government began to increasingly wane[18]. Later, student movement began in early 1998 and Suharto stepped-down[19].

Economic crisis and political pressures toward film regulations affected film production. The slack in film production in early 1990s made sexploitation cinema—low budget films with easy money—grew rapidly. The 1990s era belonged to sex films and Garin Nugroho. The sexploitation genre that flourished in the last years of 1980s continued. Some of the films were Kenikmatan Tabu (Taboo Pleasure, RA, Danesh, 1994; starred by Inneke Koesherawati, Kiki Fatmala)and Gairah Malam (Night Passion, Maman Firmansjah, 1993; starred by Malfin Shayna). Others were Nafsu Liar (Wild Lust, Steady Rimba, 1996; starred by Deby Carol, Megy Megawati), Bergairah di Puncak (Passion in Puncak, Steady Rimba, 1996; starred by Windy Chindiyana), Misteri Permainan Terlarang (Mystery of The Forbbidden Game, Atok Soeharto, 1993; starred by Kiki Fatmala, Lela Anggraeni) and Ranjang Pemikat (Bed of Charmer, Pitrajaya Burnama, 1993; starred by Sally Marcelina, Windy Chindiyana). The domination of sexploitation genre remained strong from 1993 until 1997 (Kristanto 2007: xxii, 376-402).

There were only few films produced by the idealist group of filmmakers in the 1990s, such as Taksi (Taxi, Arifin C Noer, 1990), Sri (character’s name, Marselli, 1997), Telegram (Slamet Djarot, 1997), Badut-Badut Kota (City Clowns, Ucik Supra, 1993) and Cemeng 2005 (The Last Prima Donna, N. Riantiarno, 1995). Taksi and Badut-Badut Kota contained representation of the hard life in Jakarta for common people, taxi driver and clown, respectively. Cemeng tells the story of the harsh life of a traditional performing art group in modern era, set in a city in Central Java. But it is Garin Nugroho who becomes the prolific director and directed Letter to an Angel in 1993, And the Moon Dances in 1994 and Leaf on a Pillow in 1997. I will discuss Garin Nugroho below.

Concerned with this condition, the Department of Information decided to intervene. In 1994, Dewan Film Nasional, an organization under the Ministry of Information, produced Bulan Tersusuk Ilalang (Garin Nugroho) and Cemeng 2005 (N Riantiarno). This policy was made due to the slowdown in the film industry and to produce films to represent Indonesian cinema in the Asia Pacific Film Festival (Kristanto 2006: xxi).

In 1996, four young directors—Riri Riza, Rizal Mantovani, Mira Lesmana and Nan Achnas--made omnibus project as their debut. It was called Kuldesak (Cul-de-sac, 1996), and the production finished in 1998, right after the Reform Movement succeeded. They were influenced by Robert Rodriguez’ works—both his low-budget debut film El-Mariachi and his famous book Rebel without a Crew. Kuldesak is a representation of their generation. The film became a snowball; young people wanted to make independent films (Heeren 2008). Its rebellious production[20]and fresh content and techniques set Kuldesak apart from both the films produced by the earlier generation and from the everyday soap operas on television (Heeren 2008). The press labeled it the first-ever Indonesian 'independent' film and often highlighted its 'non-Indonesian' features. The film was highly successful among young audiences. In several cities ticket counter queues stretched into the street (Heeren 2008). Also important was the wide availability of new audio-visual technologies such as digital video cameras and projectors (Heeren 2008). Indeed, Kuldesak is the gate for the post-Reform generation.

Garin Nugroho is one of the representations of the idealistic group filmmakers. He made his first feature, Cinta dalam Sepotong Roti (Love in a Slice of Bread, 1991), seven years before the Reform Movement started, and still continues to make films (his recent most celebrated film is Opera Jawa which took part in the New Crowned Hope Tribute to 250 th Mozart's anniversary in Vienna[21], 2006). David Hanan cites Nugroho as “the most important director to emerge in Indonesia, and possibly in South East Asia, in the last ten years” (Cheah, Philip (ed.) 2004: 144). Nugroho is a figure who witnessed the transition from the New Order to Reform era, and the most well-known Indonesian director internationally, but we can hardly watch his films in Indonesia because Indonesian spectators find the films too difficult to understand (Cheah 2004: 12, 144). In fact, in 1990s, film industry was dominated by sex films while Nugroho became the most prolific director from the idealistic group. His films were screened on international film festivals such as Rotterdam, Berlinale and Cannes International Film Festival.

He made Puisi Tak Terkuburkan (The Poet, 1999) and Aku Ingin Menciummu Sekali Saja (Bird-Man’s Tale, 2002); both tell us the forbidden issues—the Indonesian Communist Party in Aceh and Organisasi Papua Merdeka (Free Papua Movement) in Papua. And both showed us the political violence done by police and—especially—government: the killing without trial, the kidnapping and torturing, and other inhumane treatments. Both are poetic movies, executed with great cinematography, but the stories are very political (Imanjaya 2006: 10), and Garin used non-professional actors. In Puisi, according to film critic Tadao Sato, the leading actor Ibrahim Kadir even plays his own story as a poet who was arrested and imprisoned, and 70% of the other prisoners are also played by people directly involved in the event (Cheah (ed.) 2004: 90-91). Sato explains Nugroho’s strategies toward these amateur actors. “When their memory of this event returns, they become unstoppable. As they are amateurs, it is difficult to make short shots of them like in usual films. That’s why continual recording must be made of their activities” (Cheah, 2004: 91).

Two other films, Daun di Atas Bantal (Leaf on a Pillow, 1999) and Serambi (Veranda, omnibus project withTonny Trimarsanto, Viva Westi, Lianto Luseno, 2006) are representations of social issues faced by street children in Jogjakarta and the victims of tsunami in Aceh, respectively. Both films were shot in real locations with nonprofessional actors (in Daun, street boy characters are played by real street children, and the characters are named after the actors) (Cheah (ed.) 2004: 88). Daun was developed out of a documentary on street kids—Kancil and the other actors in the film—entitled Dongeng Kancil tentang Kemerdekaan (Tale of Kancil on Independence), which is based on real events: the accidents of street kids. Serambi was officially chosen to enter the competition for Un Certain Regards[22], Cannes International Film Festival. Daun was also screened in 1998 Cannes Film Festival on the same program[23].

Nugroho wants to represent Indonesia’s different cultures, mostly outside Jakarta and even outside Java Island, the central island of Indonesia. For example, Surat untuk Bidadari (Letter to an Angel, 1993) was shot in Sumba and Bulan Tertusuk Ilalang (…And the Moon Dances, 1995) was filmed in Jogjakarta. (Cheah (ed.) 2004: 12). Philip Cheah illuminates that Nugroho intended to prepare the new generations of filmmakers hence he would change crews periodically and push them along on their own career path (Cheah (ed.) 2004: 12). Among them are Riri Riza and Asep Kusdinar (Cheah (ed.) 2004: 12).

Nugroho is a senior director and consistently makes films on political and social issues before and after the Reform, and he definitely belongs to the idealistic group of filmmaking.

[12] Also check: Kaki Seni. http://www.kakiseni.com/articles/columns/MDEyMQ.html#top. 24 th March 2008.

[13] Nugroho broke all rules since his first feature films. Check: Femina Online. http://www.femina-online.com/serial/serial_detail.asp?id=110&views=26. 28 th March 2008. I also interviewed Nugroho about the same topic when I met him in Amsterdam, on February 2008.

[14] According to Perfini’s member, Ismail rejected government interventions on film production. But according to Asrul Sani who was one of the members, Ismail did not want to mingle with Naziruddin Naib, one of Perfini founder who made conflict with Ismail in the past. The other source mentioned that as “senior” filmmaker, both of them objected the attitude of Sjumandjaya toward them, Film General Director of Ministry of Information who were former officer in Perfini (Said 1991: 82).

[15]Quoted in Sen, Krishna. “Power and Poverty in New Order Cinema: Conflicts on Screen” in Creating Indonesian Cultures. Sydney: Oceania Publications, 1989: 10).

[16] For some information, please check: Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0633938/. 16 th April 2008.

[17] In 1955, 1960, and 1967, the name was Indonesian Film Appreciation Week. In 1973, the event was renamed to Festival Film Indonesia and the award is called Citra, and it stopped in 1992. In 2004, the annual movie festival was revived until recently. For more information, please check: Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_Film_Festival/ 22 nd April 2008.

[18]Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Order_(Indonesia). 1 st July 2008

[19] For chronological story of the Reform Movement, including the riots, see “Bananas, Backstabbing and Anarchy” (Suryakusuma 2004: 3-20).