'Cemeng 2005', N. Riantiarno's debut as a film director
By Marselli
JAKARTA (JP): Most Indonesian film directors began their careers in theater. Take D. Djajakusuma, Teguh Karya, Slamet Rahardjo, Putu Wijaya and the late Usmar Ismail. The latest to join them is N. Riantiarno.
Riantiarno has a reputation as a successful dramatist and leader of the group Teater Koma. Every time Teater Koma stages a play, it draws a huge audience. With such plays as Opera Kecoa and Suksesi, whose accusing tones are hard to ignore, Teater Koma actually offers purification, a spiritual renewal.
This year, Riantiarno made his film debut with Cemeng 2005 (The Last Prima donna) and has yet to find a specific style show the film world.
Cemeng is a traditional dance, typical of Cirebon, West Java, which also happens to be Riantiarno's birthplace. It is usually performed by one prima donna, a young male dancer as a fighter, an old lady dancer, two clowns and one puppeteer and five gamelan players. The art, which began in the 1950s, is very popular in Cirebon and in its surroundings. Many groups flourished and gained fame. But just as many vanished with the passing of time
Riantiarno deals with future problem -- in the year 2005 -- of whether the art of cemeng is really on its last legs.
He explores the issue through a cemeng dance group established by Nur Kelana (played by Sardono W. Kusumo). His wife, Nurbandiyah, (played by Ratna Riantiarno) was once a prima donna. Nur Kelana dies, however, not long after he forms the group. He cannot witness his daughter, Nurkatonah, (played by Nur Anani), become the new and brilliant prima donna. Meanwhile, Nurbandiyah, after the death of her husband, marries Sukra (Didi Petet).
Nurkatonah's brilliance makes her mother jealous. The mother becomes even more furious when Sukra becomes lustful for Nurkatonah. The problem is that Nurkatonah is in fact Sukra's child, born after her affair with Sukra.
The cemeng dance group of Nur Kelana, rife with family scandal, is on the verge of extinction. The group's morals and spirits disintegrate. Nurkatonah flees to Jakarta and Sukra goes mad.
In Jakarta, Nurkatonah tries to pick up the pieces of her life. She fails. She returns to Cirebon and tries to revive the group. Together with Badri (Alex Komang), and other faithful members of the group, the prima donna goes from village to village to sing and dance, feeling poor and neglected.
Many sad stories can be told about traditional Indonesian arts that have been crushed by the advance of time. Riantiarno's story, however, is nothing more than a soap opera. It leaves out the plight of the arts to focus on the tragedy of the prima donna. In short, there is something missing.
An even more serious problem is found in the directing. On stage, Riantiarno used a rambling style. In his first film, however, he is staid and neglects visual effects. Although the dances, for example, involve hundreds of dancers, they fail to make a lively impression.
If in his stage plays Riantiarno offers purification and spiritual renewal, with Cemeng 2005 he presents a very bleak mood. The movie stands out only because it is sad, especially the final episode when Nurkatonah dances on a garbage dump.
"I am not a pessimist, I am only being objective," said Riantiarno about Cemeng 2005 which was subsidized by the National Film Council. He added that he had poured all his ideas into the film.
Riantiarno's first film has some promise, but one thing is for sure, his speciality is back stage adroitly directing actors.