Low-class movie theaters cling to existence

By Edith Hartanto

JAKARTA (JP): The movie posters jump out at passersby with seductive images of tangled bodies and exposed flesh.

Provocative film titles -- spiced with adjectives like wanton, lust and insatiable -- also lure with promises of a steamy cinematic experience.

But what is up on the screen is usually tame stuff.

Yuan, a 20-year-old student, said he was thoroughly disappointed by Indonesian and B-rated foreign movies with titles such as Ranjang Birahi (Bed of Lust) and Affairs.

"The stories had no plots. One moment they started to build a logical path, then suddenly there was a picture of a half-naked women doing obscene things. It made no sense at all," Yuan said.

Ramli Husein admitted that he enjoyed watching Mandarin and Western movies in cheap theaters, such as the Majestic Theater in South Jakarta.

"For only Rp 2,000 (70 U.S. cents) you can pick your own seat and watch an old Bruce Lee, Jet Lee or Jacky Chan movie," Ramli said.

In Jakarta, those who cannot afford tickets costing Rp 7,000 to Rp 15,000 in the city's plush theaters can find cheaper but less comfortable seats in one of the 59 middle to low-class movie theaters in the city.

Effendy, a 25-year-old factory worker, said he liked to go to the movies with his girlfriend or friends.

His only complaint: rats.

"They are everywhere in the theater. Once we screamed out loud because the rat crawled on my leg as it tried to get to food on my lap," he said.

It was a showstopper. "The lights went on, and everybody thought there was an accident."

Djamilah, a junior researcher at the University of Indonesia, said watching films in cheap theaters made for an interesting sociological experience.

"Cheap theaters are mostly non air-conditioned, and it gets very hot inside, but you can just push open one of the windows yourself," she said.

Shows can be erratic. Power failures may stop the film midway, or the management can cancel a screening due to low ticket sales but refuse to give refunds.

Despite the nuisances, movie theaters serve important social functions as stress release outlets for many low-income people, according to University of Indonesia sociologist Paulus Wirutomo.

"They can let go of their stress from everyday life and do recreational activities with their families and friends."

Paulus acknowledges the threat to independent movie theaters from the popularity of TV and the upmarket movie theater chain21, the biggest in the country, which has bought out small theaters and turned them into associates. The 21 Group is owned by tycoon Sudwikatmono, who also owns and manages Subentra, the distributor of imported films.

Private TV stations, which show a lineup of Indian and Mandarin films daily, is affordable to all.

Paulus said movie theaters may reach slowed growth and some could slip into bankruptcy as a "logical consequence of the growth of technology".

Patrons of cheap movie houses know the grim prospects.

"It's a pitiful condition and apparently many theaters can not survive the fierce competition," Ramli said.

"The cheap theaters must be kept for little people," Effendy said. "We can not afford to go to the luxurious ones. TV is just not the same."

Lots of losses

Some independent theater owners are justifiably fearful of the future.

Suparman, manager of Lenteng Agung theater in South Jakarta. said he relocated the theater in 1988 from North Jakarta due to the downturn in business.

Unfortunately, there was no improvement.

"On average, only six to 10 people come to see the movie a day," he said. Showings on the theater's two screens are sometimes canceled because of poor turnout.

A cut in the ticket price from Rp 2,500 to Rp 1,500 had not helped.

"Maybe we will have to give up the business after all," he said.

But theater owner Wahid Affan refused to be downhearted. "It's better this way. What else can I do with this land?"

Suparman said revenues from ticket sales hardly covered the operational fees, or wages of the nine employees, each of whom gets paid Rp 125,000 a month.

An office worker in Majestic Theater, Apon, glumly described the current state of affairs as a "death sentence".

Electricity bills alone are Rp 3 million per month. "And no one comes. It's very quiet here, even on the weekend. It is definitely running at a loss."

But another theater manager, Gunawan, said he was luckier than his financially strapped colleagues. "My boss owns three cinemas: Viva 21, Wira and Tebet Theater, all in South Jakarta."

Gunawan said Patar Yulianto, owner of the theaters, sold part of the Viva shares to 21 Group in 1989.

Income from renting out Viva 21 subsidizes operations of both Wira and Tebet theaters, he said.

Out of the three, Wira draws the most visitors, with 800 seats.

"I think it's because our tickets are cheaper and, frankly, we screen many erotic movies that people like," Gunawan said.

Both Gunawan and Apon urged the government to help the independent theaters survive.

Robby, owner of Majestic Theater, said Subentra rules that independent theaters can only rent second or third run movies, two years after they have played in the 21 cinemas.

Apon said TV broadcasts of new movies was a problem.

"We are urging the government to make regulations for TV stations not to play second-run movies that we are supposed to screen. We are dying because TV shows new films,"

Robby attributed the closure of several theaters -- including Duta Theater, Krekot Theater, Pademangan Theater and Rivoli Theater -- to difficulty in obtaining movies.

"They gave up because they could no longer get good movies, they had zero viewers and, bang, they were dead."

Many owners are bewildered about how to change what appears to be a losing situation.

"I've been thinking of joining up with 21, but I don't know," Suparman said. "I think I will close down the business and start a new one."