Moviegoers get more of the same Hollywood hype

By Rayya Makarim and Tam Notosusanto

JAKARTA (JP): There's nothing new under the sun when we recap the film line-up for 1998. Thanks to those who select the films to be screened at local theaters, we were forced to once again face a Hollywood year.

It was a year of sequels with failures such as Scream 2, Mortal Kombat 2: Annihilation, and Species II: Terror in the Flesh (as if their predecessors were not bad enough). It was also a year of typical action flicks, legendary TV characters and Literary Classics. But most of all, it was a year of "disasters".

The new year opened with the doomed Titanic that sailed for almost five months in major theaters. The reason for such lengthy show time? Obviously DiCaprio, and not the exceptional special effects or pretty costumes. This was the beginning of the end of DiCaprio's career as a credible actor, but only the beginning of a trail of "disaster" movies to come.

Mass destruction seemed to be the order of the year. First, there was Godzilla. Then, two asteroids threatened to destroy life on Earth in the disappointing Deep Impact and the glossier, thrilling Armageddon (or to some "Deeper Impact"). Note: Armageddon did more damage to New York City in a few seconds than Godzilla did in the whole movie. In any case, recycled shots (though at different angles) of the crumbling Chrysler building became tiresome to avid moviegoers. A change of scenery was definitely in dire need.

Although the landscape we ventured through was still pretty much American, some instances allowed us to explore more exotic locations. We visited war-torn Bosnia in the U.S.-UK coproduction of Welcome to Sarajevo, a gritty look at the notorious civil war seen through the eyes of a real-life British journalist. We also went to Tibet and China with our respective Caucasian tour guides. Brad Pitt played a smug, bleach-blond Nazi adventurer who befriended the preteen Dalai Lama in his Seven Years in Tibet -- based on a true story (but it closely resembles Western propaganda which suggests that the Dalai Lama acquired his ways from a German explorer).

In Seven Years, we witnessed how the evil Chinese government invaded and oppressed the Tibetans. In Red Corner, Richard Gere showed us how the evil Chinese government and judiciary system trapped him. Apparently, China was Hollywood's designated Evil Empire this year.

From History, we go to Literature. There were at least three film adaptations of Literary Classics. The 1990s version of Great Expectations (Charles Dickens), directed by Alfonso Cuaron, failed to capture the dark somber mood of the novel. For the die- hard Leonardo fan, Richard Wallace's Man in the Iron Mask (Alexandre Dumas per) offered a choice of ... dark Leonardo or... sensitive Leonardo in DiCaprio's double performance as the cruel King Louis XIV and Louis' masked twin brother.

Unfortunately, the caliber of his performance did not match up to the size of his celebrityhood. As for Bille August's Les Misrables (Victor Hugo), one would probably prefer Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Shcnberg's musical rendition.

Action flicks are still king at Indonesian theaters, with 22 films belonging to the genre (more than the other genres being screened during the last 12 months). Pierce Brosnan slipped quite nicely into James Bond's tux in his second outing as 007 in Tomorrow Never Dies. Others, such as the overzealous Van Damme (Knock Off), along with Bruce Willis (Mercury Rising), Jackie Chan (Who Am I?) and Chow-Yun Fat (The Replacement Killers) kicked some ass, killed some baddies, and became this year's leading action heroes. Thanks to them, action spectacles are more than ever the staple fodder for our bloodthirsty, sadistic audience. As you can see, the 21 theaters remain the venue for endless jingoistic machismo.

Luckily, there were a number of strong women characters to counterbalance the high level of testosterone that dominated most of the films this year. Disney's Mulan is at the top of that list. Here, girl saves boy (although boy is too arrogant to admit it), and even better, saves China. If Antonio Banderas' sexy Zorro inspired females to watch The Mask of Zorro, Catherine Zeta-Jones' wit and quick sword surely took care of the male audience. And finally, no-nonsense Jennifer Lopez shows George Clooney who's boss in Out of Sight. It's amazing how women can be beautiful, sexy and intelligent, all at the same time.

There was plenty of adult entertainment going around. Kids, however, weren't so lucky. They only got seven movies tailored for them this year, which meant they could only go to the theater about every other month. The fun started with the third installation of Home Alone, without Macaulay Culkin. Alex D. Linz, the movie's star, went through the usual adult-bashing routine, applying torture methods that would make Don Corleone proud. But truthfully, Linz, who played Michelle Pfeiffer's young son in One Fine Day, is more winsome and has more acting talent than the original blond bad-good tyke. It's a shame he never became a household name in a world full of Culkin-fanatics.

Although Home Alone 3 and The Secret Agent Club were obviously directed for the boys, the girls practically had a ball with three movies featuring strong female leads. Mulan, Anastasia and Lindsay Lohan, the young actress who does double duty as twins in The Parent Trap. Meanwhile, A Bug's Life, the third offering from Disney this year, made by the creators of Toy Story, introduced kids to cuddly, lovable insects that would probably make children think twice before squishing that passing ant.

Comic-strip icon Mr. Magoo was brought to life by Leslie Nielsen's myopic slapstick performance in a film with the same title. Both Anthony Hopkins and Antonio Banderas became the legendary sword-wielding masked hero in The Mask of Zorro. Other legendary TV characters resurrected on the big screen were the unfortunate Robinson family in Lost in Space and dynamic duo John Steed and Emma Peel in The Avengers. On the other hand, the creators of X-Files did not wait 30 years for their creation to be adapted to a feature film. They did it themselves, and they brought David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson to embark on yet another mission for Mulder and Scully to fight aliens and evil government agents alike.

Indonesian

Back home, Indonesian cinema enjoyed a moment of glory when films made by local directors made the unusual feat of reaching the screens of the 21 theaters. Garin Nugroho's Daun di Atas Bantal, a gloomy tale about Yogyakarta's street children, stayed at theaters for a few months. This was followed by the rather enigmatic, four-in-one movie Kuldesak (jointly directed by Mira Lesmana, Nan T. Achnas, Riri Riza and Rizal Mantovani) which proved similar success. Another, more obscure success story was enjoyed by Dukun A.S. (Misteri Kebun Tebu), a film that retold an infamous murder case. It drew large crowds into non-21 theaters.

Despite the quality of some/most of the film choices of 1998, there were three Hollywood films that have not been mentioned.

Along with Mulan and Out of Sight, they make up what could be considered the five best movies of 1998. These include the exquisite As Good As It Gets, the ingenious Truman Show and the devastating Saving Private Ryan. Those who have not seen these films, do yourself a favor and go get a hold of them. They make the rest of the schmaltz and glitz screened at local theaters almost bearable.

Aside from 21 cinemas, an armada of cultural centers was on hand to indulge those with more selective taste. Erasmus Huis, Center Culturel Francais and The Japan Foundation are among the usual venues for quality, more universal cinema. But this year saw the more proactive role of newborn cultural centers (Usmar Ismail Film Center, Teater Utan Kayu and the ASEAN Secretariat) in promoting cinematic class. Usmar Ismail Center revived works by prominent Indonesian directors like Teguh Karya, Sjuman Djaya and Arifin C. Noer, while Teater Utan Kayu introduced the Indonesian crowd to the masterpieces of international auteurs like Woody Allen, Andrei Tarkovsky and Zhang Yimou. The ASEAN Secretariat added to the merriment with its own ASEAN Film Festival. This enabled the more cerebral, Hollywood-despising film buffs not to suffer too much.