Garin is swimming against the current

Garin is swimming against the current

By Marseli Sumarno

JAKARTA (JP): It's fortunate we still have Garin Nugroho. In the past few years, with the Indonesian film industry in a doldrums, the name Garin Nugroho has continued to ascend. Last year, film reporting in the Indonesian media was dominated by discussions about Garin's second work, Surat untuk Bidadari (Letter to an Angel).

A string of commendations was accorded to Surat throughout 1994, beginning with one awarded by the German newspaper Berliner Zeitung at a ceremony during the Young Cinema festival in Berlin. Successively, Surat was named best film at the Taormina festival in Italy, earned Garin the honor of being named best director at the Non-Aligned countries film festival in North Korea and was named best film in the Young Cinema section of the Tokyo Film Festival.

The young graduate of the Jakarta Art Institute also received awards in Indonesia, including one from the literary magazine Horison and one from the newspaper Republika.

Ironically, Surat untuk Bidadari has not been shown in movie theaters in Indonesia. Controversy over the film's merit has arisen. One observer, complained about the demanding film language Garin employed. At the other end, there are observers who are prepared to extend the director the appreciation that is his due but argue that Garin is intentionally taking an uncompromising stance with regard to market preferences.

Garin is swimming against the current. As a consequence, a special network of theaters is needed to present such works, which require a certain finesse to appreciate.

Garin, who is 32 years old, shows little concern for the controversy. On one occasion he made it clear that he was determined to place himself in the position of a "voyager" by continuing to pursue his creative journey without allowing himself to be confined by any restrictions. He believes that taking such an attitude is one of the important steps that has to be taken to improve the crisis situation in which the Indonesian film industry is currently immersed.

At present, Garin, who has been engaged in making documentaries, appears to be searching for new artistic and thematic expressions. In the thematic context, the boy Lewa in Surat untuk Bidadari is a representation of his own self, which is constantly seeking answers to questions.

Garin and his crew are busy finishing his third work, Bulan Tertusuk Ilalang. The estimated Rp 600 million (US$300,000) in production costs will be provided by the National Film Board.

While Surat untuk Bidadari was shot entirely on the island of Sumba, his newest film will be shot on location in and around the city of Surakarta in Central Java. Some of the oldest parts of the kraton (royal court) will be part of the film's setting.

Bulan tells the story of a 25-year-old Javanese composer named Ilalang, a young man beset by many traumatic experiences concerning his relationship with his parents. In his childhood, Ilalang witnessed his mother die slowly in solitude after his father forbade her to dance.

Ilalang later took lessons from a master gamelan player by the name of Waluyo, who has a young wife named Bulan. In time, Ilalang fell in love with Bulan and this was reflected in his musical compositions.

Suspecting the nature of the relationship between Ilalang and Bulan, Waluyo burned all of Ilalang's compositions on the pretext that they were "shallow and lacking in sincerity". The relationship between the two, however, continued and Ilalang completed his crowning composition.

Although ill, Waluyo tried to burn this composition too, but inadvertently dropped the kerosene lamp with which he was lighting the paper. The fire swept through the house, killing Waluyo.

"Bulan (the moon) is a symbol of blood-stained beauty," says Garin, explaining the theme of this tragedy.

In his first film Garin chose to use unknown actors. His reason: "I wanted to give a distinct nuance to my film. Using actors who are already known would give it a different image. As an idea it would not be complete."

He applied the same ploy to his following films. He chose a native Sumba boy to play the key role in Surat untuk Bidadari and invited a freelance photographer by the name of Norman whom he accidentally met in Jakarta to play the part of Ilalang in Bulan and Ilalang.

With the shooting completed, Garin expects the post-production work on Bulan to continue until next month and hopes the film will be ready to represent Indonesia at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival in Jakarta in July.

As for this year's plans, Garin says he is looking forward to working on a film for TV in cooperation with Rano Karno, the actor-producer whose popularity soared after his successful acting, producing and directing of the television serial Si Doel Anak Sekolahan.

Meanwhile, another feature film is already in the planning. Although a title has not been found, the funds are already available, thanks to the Rp 400 million prize Garin won at the Tokyo Film Festival.