'Ca-bau-kan' to hit theater next year<\/p>\n
By Tony Ryanto<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The compelling and best-selling novel by Remy
\nSylado, Ca-bau-kan, will soon graze the big screen with a release
\nscheduled for next year.<\/p>\n
Over the years, Ca-bau-kan, which means woman, is often
\nmisinterpreted as cabo, which has attached to it the pejorative
\nmeaning of prostitute.<\/p>\n
For the making of the film, director Nia Iskandar Di Nata, who
\nmakes her directing debut, received plenty of support, including
\nfrom Indonesian fashion designers who provided her with free
\ncostumes and discounts.<\/p>\n
\"This is great because we need an awful quantity of costumes,
\nconsidering that Ca-bau-kan is a film that spans over several
\ndecades, from 1932 up to 1951 and on to the present, and set in
\nold Batavia,\" said the 31-year-old New York University graduate
\nand daughter of Indovision's senior executive Dicky Iskandar Di
\nNata.<\/p>\n
According to a local film critic, the film, which is estimated
\nto cost several billions of rupiah, explores the lives of several
\nChinese Indonesians. \"It is an interesting tale of the good and
\nbad Chinese Indonesians,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The story starts with the arrival of Giok Lan (played by
\nleading actress Niniek L. Karim), a Dutch national of Chinese
\nIndonesian descent who is in search of her ancestors.<\/p>\n
But the film itself does not center around Giok Lan's search
\nfor her family. Instead, it highlights the ups and downs of the
\nleading character Tinung (Lola Amaria), the ca-bau-kan.<\/p>\n
Forced to marry at the age 14 to a man who already has four
\nwives, Tinung is driven out of her husband's house, accused of
\nbringing bad luck to his family as he dies five months after
\nmarrying her.<\/p>\n
Feeling lost and desperate, she is encouraged by her
\npromiscuous cousin Saodah to sell herself at Kali Jodo (Jodo
\nRiver).<\/p>\n
Soon, a womanizer from Tangerang by the name of Tan Peng Liang
\n(Moelyono) finds himself obsessed with Tinung and takes her to
\nlive with him. Pregnant with his child, Tinung finds life
\nunbearable with the man and escapes, going back to Kali Jodo.
\nThis time, she's a pregnant ca-bau-kan.<\/p>\n
After giving birth to a baby girl, she becomes a dancer and
\nlearns to sing Chinese classical songs. Her new profession leads
\nher to know a wealthy Chinese businessman from Semarang. His name
\n(believe it or not) is also Tan Peng Liang (Ferry Salim), a
\nmarried man with two grown-up sons.<\/p>\n
Unlike the first Tan, the second one allows her and her baby
\nto live at his luxurious mansion in the center of Batavia.<\/p>\n
Enjoying her new life, Tinung gives birth to a second
\ndaughter. Both children are named Giok Lan.<\/p>\n
Tinung's life takes a twist as the good Tan leaves for Macao.<\/p>\n
Finding herself and her two daughters without a home, Tinung
\ngoes back to Kali Jodo.<\/p>\n
Her fate takes her through many trials and tribulations. When
\nshe becomes seriously ill, she is forced to give her daughters up
\nfor adoption. The girls are adopted by a Dutch couple and taken
\nto the Netherlands.<\/p>\n
But the most severe and degrading ordeal she endures is when
\nshe is forced to become a Jugun Ianfu, Japanese sex slave.<\/p>\n
Learning about the life of her mother from her brother, Giok
\nLan, who is in her sixties, is not ashamed.<\/p>\n
\"I'm not upset if you call aca-bau-kan a cabo. But I do get
\nupset if aca-bau-kan is considered an immoral woman....\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ca-bau-kan-to-hit-theater-next-year-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}