JP\/Y\/FILML<\/p>\n
Many local films released, but has quality improved?<\/p>\n
Lisabona Rahman and
\nPaul F. Agusta
\nContributors\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesian cinema saw an eventful year in 2005, with more than 50
\ntitles either released or produced, making it the most prolific
\nyear in Indonesia's film history in almost a decade.<\/p>\n
The year's spate of releases began in February with the
\npremieres of Jatayu Films Panggung Pinggir Kali (Stage by the
\nRiver), a musical directed by veteran filmmaker Ucik Supra that
\ntells the rags-to-riches story of a dangdut singer, and
\nSinemArt's Tentang Dia (About Her) from popular director Rudy
\nSoedjarwo, a tale of friendship between two women brought
\ntogether by trauma and heartbreak.<\/p>\n
Panggung had a rather unfortunate blink-and-you'll-miss-it run
\nin large theaters but was able to maintain a somewhat steady run
\nis the cheaper, smaller theaters within and outside of Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Tentang Dia proved to be quite a box office draw, as well as a
\nmerchandising coup, with a very popular soundtrack album by
\nsinger Melly Goeslaw and a short story collection also by Melly,
\nfeaturing the story on which the film was based.<\/p>\n
March saw the release of five films that varied in type and
\nappeal. First was Bobby Sandy's postcolonial melodrama Anne van
\nJogja, followed by Pingkan Utari's Me vs. High Heels, a
\nsuccessful adaptation of a highly popular teen novel.<\/p>\n
Hanung Bramantyo's Catatan Akhir Sekolah (Notes from the End)
\nwas about three best friends who are labeled as outcasts at their
\nschool, while Fantasi (Fantasy) was a musical starring the
\ncontestants of the Akademi Fantasi Indosiar talent show produced
\nby the TV station Indosiar.<\/p>\n
Salto Films Banyu Biru, a surrealistic drama directed by Teddy
\nSoeriaatmadja was possibly the bravest and most original release
\nof the month, if not the year.<\/p>\n
April welcomed the highly successful directorial debut of
\nArisan coscreenwriter Joko Anwar in Janji Joni (Joni's Promise),
\nthe story of a film reel delivery boy on a very bad day. Janji
\nalso featured a popular soundtrack album that featured some of
\nthe best artists in Jakarta's indie music scene.<\/p>\n
That month also saw the repackaging and rerelease of last
\nyear's controversial teen comedy from Multivision Plus Pictures
\nBuruan Cium Gue! (Kiss Me Quick!) into a tamer version titled
\nSatu Kecupan (Just One Kiss).<\/p>\n
Recognition of local filmmakers<\/p>\n
May saw an important milestone set by maker of short films
\nEdwin, whose Kara, The Daughter of a Tree, had the honor of being
\nthe first Indonesian short film to be included in the Directors'
\nFortnight at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in France.<\/p>\n
The two films released theatrically this month were Lovely
\nLuna, the feature-film debut of music video director Lasja Fauzia
\nthat was based on yet another popular teen novel, and Inikah
\nRasanya Cinta? (Is This How Love Feels?), an adaptation of a
\npopular teen TV drama directed for the screen by Ai Manaf.<\/p>\n
June was marked by a quite uplifting achievement for the
\nIndonesian film scene. Director Ravi Bharwani's Impian Kemarau
\n(The Rainmaker) was selected as Best Film for the Asian New
\nTalent Award at the 8th Shanghai Film Festival.<\/p>\n
Impian Kemarau is a very exotic depiction of a community
\ndealing with drought and the nation's politics, very much
\nreminiscent of Hindu aspects of Javanese culture.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian film scene also witnessed the debut of director
\nRako Prijanto with feature film Ungu Violet, a tearjerker set in
\npresent-day Jakarta with adorable cinematography and appealing
\ncharacter development.<\/p>\n
In July director Riri Riza1s released Gie, a biopic of
\nIndonesian-Chinese student activist Soe Hok Gie. There was a
\ngreat response from audiences of all ages. Costing about Rp 7
\nbillion to make, Gie is one of the most expensive contemporary
\nIndonesian films produced since 1998.<\/p>\n
Despite public enthusiasm, critics had split opinions about
\nthe film, making for a lively debate about the representation of
\nthe most mysterious period in modern Indonesian history, namely
\nthe alleged slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Indonesians
\naccused of being Communists.<\/p>\n
Amid the unholy trinity of love, teenage romance and horror --
\nthe predominant themes of this year's releases -- another film by
\nRiri Riza, Untuk Rena (For Rena) was released in time for the
\nMuslim fasting month of Ramadhan and Idul Fitri holiday in late
\nOctober, a kind of continuation of Garin Nugroho's offering last
\nyear, Of Love and Eggs, which could well indicate the genesis of
\na Ramadhan film genre in years to come.<\/p>\n
Another theme raised quite often on the silver screen is drug
\ntrafficking. One example is director Nanang Istiabudi's Detik
\nTerakhir (Final Moment), a story combining an insight into the
\nlife of drug addicts, and lesbian love.<\/p>\n
Controversy, JiFFest, overall conclusion<\/p>\n
One of the most anticipated pics has been director Garin
\nNugroho's Javanese opera-film Shinta Obong (an episode from the
\nRamayana epic), produced at the invitation of U.S. opera director
\nPeter Sellars, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Mozart's
\nbirth in Vienna.<\/p>\n
Though still in the middle of production, the film has already
\ntriggered a reaction from a Hindu organization claiming the
\nadaptation is misleading.<\/p>\n
Finally, one of the highlights of the year: The Indonesian
\nFilm Festival (FFI 2005) chose Gie as best picture and Hanung
\nBramantyo (Brownies) as best director.<\/p>\n
The festival jury was quoted as saying that Gie was awarded
\nbest film on grounds that are quite irrelevant to film aesthetics
\nbecause the film proves that the young generation of Indonesian
\nfilmmakers is brave enough to raise political issues.<\/p>\n
It was therefore somewhat uprising that Gie was chosen as the
\nyear's best film, and not Janji Joni, which, many would argue,
\nhas content of greater interest, unique characters and better
\nstory telling.<\/p>\n
Another important year-end event was the highly successful
\nseventh year of the Jakarta International Film Festival
\n(JiFFest). This year's JiFFest shifted the focus more toward
\ndocumentaries and the holding of technical workshops by film and
\ntelevision professionals from all over the world, rather than
\nfeature films.<\/p>\n
Another notable feature of this year's JiFFest was the
\ncomplete lack of Indonesian feature films at the festival, a
\ndecision that produced some grumbles among industry folk.<\/p>\n
JiFFest asserts that one of its functions as a festival is to
\npremiere films that have not been or could not be released at
\ntheaters in Jakarta; however, all of this year's local
\nproductions had been released prior to JiFFest and could not be
\nincluded.<\/p>\n
The year 2005 will go down as an important one in the history
\nof the reemergence of Indonesian cinema, due to the quantity of
\nfilms made and released.<\/p>\n
However, the question to ask at this point is whether quantity
\nalone is enough. Indeed there were a lot of films made but what
\nof their artistic merit? Were filmmakers producing lightweight
\nworks merely to draw in larger audiences?<\/p>\n
Hopefully, next year will bring a stronger focus on quality as
\nwell as quantity.<\/p>",
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