'Alternative' films a rarity for movie-goes here
Alexandria Robinson, Contributor, Jakarta
Recently it was my pleasure to witness a rare gem of a film amongst the many mediocre churn-em-out-while-you-can Hollywood movies. This documentary film was Kandahar directed by Mohsen Makmalbaf and starring Nelofer Pazira.
It gave viewers a rare insight into Afghanistan, a country that has a habit of slipping in and out of the news for all the wrong reasons.
The depressingly bare movie theater, however, seemed to suggest that Indonesian movie goers would much rather watch Jedi Knights repeating tired lines while flashing their sabers, than an Afghani woman on a vital quest to save her suicidal sister.
Granted, this movie may not appeal to all ticket buyers but unfortunately the popularity of these "alternative" films will determine whether similar films are screened here in the future.
So why is it that Indonesian movie viewers would prefer to sit through a blockbuster than an "alternative" film? Of course there are many reasons for this, perhaps the main one being ignorance. In fact when I recommended the film Kandahar to a friend the response was "Erm...right" and a look that plainly said "Why would you go to see that?"
As little or nothing is known about such films as these, cinema addicts find it a safer bet to see a movie packed with popular stars and advertised by an attention-grabbing poster.
Another reason for the lack of interest in these "different" films is the severe side of life that they often portray. Documentary films especially, try to educate the audience; taking them out of the sphere of life that they usually reside in and showing them the world through others' eyes.
Indonesian viewers however are confronted with the harsh side of life every day. The UNDP (United Nations Development Program) estimated that in 1998/1999, 23.5 percent of the population of Indonesia was living in absolute poverty. For many Indonesians every day is a fight for survival and a movie from the West often allows ninety minutes of escape from this and a glimpse into a different lifestyle.
However the perfect boy-girl relationships, consumerism lifestyles and happily ever after endings that make up many of these films often leave viewers with a misconstrued picture of Western culture and aspirations to live like the middle class families portrayed in these films.
A further reason for the lack of interest in these "obscure" films is that audiences are not always selective about which films they see. Cinema going is a regular pastime for many Indonesians that, often for want of something better to do, spend hours in movie theaters.
Indeed Hatni, 23, and Menting, 24, (both from Jakarta) are typical of many young people. They make a habit of visiting the cinema during every holiday that they have. Movie viewing is often a way of passing the time and audiences are not always selective about what they watch, opting for the film with the nearest screening time or most colorful poster.
It is no wonder then that Indonesian audiences do not flock to screenings of films like Kandahar. But it is a shame as much more can be gained through watching a movie such as this than a predictable, tired Hollywood film.