Movies fail to attract adults

Joko E.H. Anwar, Contributor, Jakarta

For a long time, adult audiences here felt left out by not having movies that focused on the kind of problems they dealt with. However, when local filmmakers began to produce movies that dealt with adult issues, mature audiences seemed to ignore their efforts.

Riri Riza's Eliana, Eliana, which received rave reviews from critics here and abroad, only made a small dent at the box office.

From its premiere on June 21 until its last screening in Jakarta and Bandung on July 23, the film -- which tells the story of a relationship between a young woman and her mother -- only attracted 16,000 moviegoers.

The number is far below the figure reached by teen film Ada Apa dengan Cinta? (What's Up with Cinta?), which Riri coproduced. A total of 600,000 moviegoers took in the film in its first two weeks and a total of 2.5 million saw the movie nationwide.

The film's producers had previously predicted that Eliana, Eliana would attract at least 60,000 moviegoers.

The low audience turnout is quite puzzling since people who have seen the movie have made good comments about it.

The movie, which cost filmmakers about Rp 1 billion (US$109,890), was also highly publicized.

"Riri and I keep asking each other what could have possibly kept Eliana, Eliana from scoring big (at the box office)," the film's coproducer, Mira Lesmana, told The Jakarta Post.

Another movie dealing with adult issues was Nia Dinata's Ca Bau Kan, which was also released this year.

The movie cost about Rp 5 billion to make, a very big budget for a local film. It only attracted 200,000 moviegoers, which was far below the figure the film needed to reach its break-even point.

Slamet Rahardjo Djarot's Marsinah, which is a true account of the highly controversial murder of the female activist/laborer, also yielded disappointing box office receipts.

The film, which appeared at movie theaters in July, was only watched by 7,534 moviegoers, while Slamet's other movie, Telegram attracted even less moviegoers than Marsinah.

The results have made filmmakers and observers scratch their heads in confusion over the problem.

Riri said the fact that local moviegoers were mostly teenagers could not be denied.

"The pattern of moviegoers is determined by Hollywood films shown here, which are geared toward the 15 to 21-year-old audiences," Riri told the Post.

There had been almost nothing other than Hollywood imports shown at local theaters for almost 10 years before local box office smash Petualangan Sherina (Sherina's Adventure), which Riri directed, hit theaters in 2000.

A keen observer of the Indonesian film scene, A. Rahim Latif, said that unfavorable styles kept recently made mature films from scoring big at the box office.

"Despite its critical success, Eliana, Eliana is too dark for mainstream audiences," Rahim said.

The movie, which was shot in digital camera and then transferred to celluloid, was filmed entirely using a handheld camera technique and then edited in a daring style.

However, the film still has a clear storyline, which is far more easy to follow and more entertaining than local art films, including Pasir Berbisik (Whispering Sands).

Fortunately, our local filmmakers are not the same people who produce sinetron (local television drama), who only have profit on their minds.

Box office failures do not make our filmmakers simply follow a commercially successful pattern to make money, such as TV producers do.

This will ensure that our local film scenes will consist of various genres.

"We have to keep exploring new territory if we want (our film industry) to advance," Mira said, adding that she would keep producing films of issues, which she thought were important subjects to be filmed.

"We have to be brave to make statements, which we think are necessary."

Her film company, Miles Films, is currently developing a new project, a bio-pic of student activist Soe Hok Gie, who was known as an important voice of democracy during former president Soekarno's era.

The story, which is going to be produced on film, is aimed for more mature audiences due to the nature of the story and the fact that the main character is not well known among younger audiences.

Nia Dinata, who has vowed to produce only films dealing with adult issues, is also currently developing a new project titled Biola Tak Berdawai (A Stringless Violin) which is going to be directed by Sekar Ayu Asmara.

Despite the unsatisfying response from mature audiences for movies made for them, filmmakers are still optimistic that in time adults will start becoming regular moviegoers.

"Film festivals held here, including the Jakarta International Film Festival (Jiffest), which are aimed at a mature audience, always attract a big audience. So I'm sure that (our audience) is out there somewhere," Riri said.