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Director Indra puts his mistakes behind him

Hera Diani The Jakarta Post Jakarta

It was not so much the merits of his latest movie, the teen musical Biarkan Bintang Menari (Let the Stars Dance), which led The Jakarta Post to interview director Indra Yudhistira Ramadhan.

It's more the steady improvement in the course of the 32 year old's career, from 2001's Jakarta Project (a pretentious low- budget spy movie), 2002's Andai Ia Tahu (If Only She Knew), which was surprisingly enjoyable, and now Biarkan, a simple yet sweet musical drama.

He knows his weaknesses and, unlike many local filmmakers, is not afraid to own up to them.

Earlier this year, along with writers Akmal Nasery Basral and Ekky Imanjaya, Indra released a book called Andai Ia Tahu: Kupas Tuntas Proses Pembuatan Film, which thoroughly discusses the process of making Andai. He also wrote a special chapter called 10 things I hate about Andai Ia Tahu.

"I want to share my mistakes with beginners, so they won't repeat them," said Indra, an executive producer at private station Trans TV, which funded Andai and Biarkan.

A graduate of the TV and film production school at Vancouver's Columbia Academy, Indra's amateurish debut effort seemed to stamp him as part of the posse of rich, foreign-educated filmmakers lacking the smarts to be behind a camera.

He admitted his confidence took a beating with Jakarta Project.

"It's very bad, I'm so embarrassed. And I felt that other filmmakers really looked down on me. But what can I say -- I really haven't done anything."

Despite his display of modesty, Andai was quite successful commercially, with audience numbers reaching 350,000, at a time when 300,000 was about the highest one could expect for a local movie.

It boosted his confidence and prompted him to make Biarkan, which has received a generally positive critical reception.

Below is an excerpt of the interview at his office earlier this week.

The Jakarta Post: Why a musical?

Most movie-goers are teenagers and previous success has been with teen flicks, like Ada Apa Dengan Cinta? (What's Up With Cinta?) and Jelangkung. So, we deliberately aimed at teenagers.

Then we thought about the genre: There have been horror, drama, romantic comedies -- what hadn't been done was a musical.

I love musicals but it was going to be difficult to do it. I decided to go on anyway because this was the right momentum, as we're different from the others. We became the first (Indonesian musical) in 20-30 years.

It's debatable, but personally, I don't think Tiga Dara (Three Young Ladies, 1956) by the late Usmar Ismail is really a musical. Because if really were a musical, something would be missing from the plot if we took out the music.

The same thing is said for Biarkan, too, that it's not really a musical.

I don't agree with that and I can show you proof that there will be something missing if the music is removed.

What about the fairy-tale concept in the film?

We want to present Jakarta from an honest point of view of somebody like Neyna (played by Ladya Cheryl), who grew up in a fairy tale -- the world of black and white, good and bad.

We've been living in this city too long so that we've become too jaded by its wretchedness, which Neyna finds shocking.

We want to tell the teen audience how we, Jakartans, tend to forget the values of life, the simple things, like friendship. We also would like to show the problem of teenagers in big cities, like premarital sex.

Some say that Andai Ia Tahu is less pretentious than Biarkan and the structure is tighter. What do you think?

There are many comments, which is OK. But Andai is so light, which makes me wonder whether Indonesian audience prefer something light.

I personally think that there's progress in Biarkan. We read many works about musical films, and we tried to formulate an Indonesian musical.

And I guess (screenwriter) Monty Tiwa succeeded in making good dialog, through idioms which I find smart and atypical, and not preachy.

Why did you write 10 things I hate about Andai Ia Tahu?

This country has no medium to learn about film. There is only one film school, and there are no books or magazines about film. It's a dangerous situation.

If we want to establish a film industry, we have to accept criticism, acknowledge our mistakes, and be willing to share.

We wanted to share something with the book. Even if (the film) is not good, aspiring filmmakers will learn something and won't make the same mistakes.

If somebody told me to write 20 mistakes of Biarkan, I could do it. I want somebody to discuss the weaknesses of my films, and I wrote down what critics said.

When you release your films, you have to accept whatever people want to say about them. But, of course, we can't please everybody.

Why filmmaking in the first place?

It's a really powerful media, which touches me deeply and affects my way of thinking. I see how films affect people, and think, how dangerous it would be if I'm giving them the wrong message.

One of the films that really affects me, because I can relate to it, is Jerry Maguire. Gosh, I really want to be Jerry. I want to be an honest, credible person. That film is magnificent. It's simple yet teaches us something without preaching. I want to make a film like that.

Your favorite filmmakers?

Steven Spielberg and Zhang Yi Mou. Zhang tells without teaching us.

I really like Korean films as well, because they have strong character. Andai is, in fact, really influenced by Korean romantic comedy. Someday, though, I'm sure we'll find our formula of romantic comedy.

Any comment about the recent releases of Indonesian films?

I think there are films that are not up to standards, such as Kafir (Infidel), Peti Mati (Coffin) or even Cinta 24K (24K Love).

However, I'm really glad that this week, three Indonesian films (Eiffel, I'm In Love; Biarkan and Arisan!) are being screened at the same time in movie theaters. It's history-making after almost a decade.

I haven't seen Arisan! but I believe it's good. Somebody has got to be brave (a subplot features a gay relationship and there is a same-sex kiss -- ed.). It's a choice, but those choices are supposed to give color.

What's important now is to produce as many Indonesian films as possible. We have to create to know our mistakes.

Trans TV is going to produce four big screen films next year. Sounds like an ambitious project.

(Laughs) We agree that TV stations must support the film industry. I won't direct all of them, maybe just one. It's an action teen flick, sort of like Romeo and Juliet. But it's between Chinese and other ethnic groups. It probably will be called Kota because the setting is in the Kota area (West Jakarta).

I'd like to try something new. I don't know anything about action films but I'm going to learn about it..from books, or maybe going to Hong Kong. That's what I like, learning, so I won't be stuck.