Ray of hope for RI films: Garin
Ray of hope for RI films: Garin
By Ivy Susanti
JAKARTA (JP): Fears have been voiced that the dire economic
crisis will serve to speed the total collapse of the ailing
national film industry, but film director Garin Nugroho can see a
ray of hope ahead.
Famed for his quality works, Garin said the film industry will
have a bright future provided people involved in the industry
remain strongly committed to their profession. He is also
optimistic that locally-made films will be able to "bridge"
cultural gaps between Indonesia and the rest of the world.
But he predicts that because the film industry virtually died
in 1992, long before the monetary crisis was even a shadow on the
horizon, it will be slow to recover.
Born in Yogyakarta in 1961, Garin is one of Indonesia's most
prolific filmmakers. His Cinta Dalam Sepotong Roti (Love in a
Piece of Bread) won him a Citra award, the local version of an
Oscar. His artistic films, Bulan Tertusuk Ilalang (And the Moon
Dances) and Surat Untuk Bidadari (A Letter to an Angel) were not
screened in Indonesia but won him admiration at international
film festivals.
In a recent interview with The Jakarta Post at his studio in
South Jakarta, Garin said that now was the time for filmmakers to
contemplate, seek ideas and translate their ideas into works that
focus on personal identity.
Question: How do you view the movie industry in view of the
monetary crisis?
Answer: In a 1986 article in Kompas newspaper, I said that in
the 1990s there would be only two genres of film: sex and art.
In a movie revolution or in a crisis, there are always two
extremes, sex and art, as an expression of anger toward a slow
industry. Look back to what happened in the U.S. during its
crises of the 1950s, and 1970s, when the television industry was
in its heyday. A lot of sex stories, such as Lady Chatterley's
Lover, were produced early in the '50s.
The main problem for us here is that we produce sex movies
which flop, not ones which are critical of the current times. Our
sex movies are esthetically poor. Lady Chatterley's Lover has
personality and it criticized the society of the day.
This year, I saw an effort to compromise between the two
extremes. But as the economic crisis looks likely to continue on
into 1999, filmmakers will be forced to produce films 'guerrilla'
style. However, this adversity could serve to make them more
independent.
Q: How do filmmakers seek to compromise between sex and art in
movies?
A: Sex is basically very philosophical, but it also incarnates
the animal spirit. Sex is something human and it can be
translated either superficially, philosophically or even
esthetically. So it has more than one interpretation. Here, we
only interpret it from one side -- the very superficial.
Q: Would our society accept that kind of sex movie?
A: I don't think we would have any problem with that. It's time
to offer some new values. The '80s cinema has died and we are
entering a new era which we cannot describe now.
People today have access to a wide array of entertainments,
such as laser discs and many television channels. We used to only
have the state-run TVRI. Pop culture has reached its golden age
and pop films are made based on novels and comics.
Film has an important new role today. In western countries,
the movie industry has been competing with the audio-visual
industry and TV. But movies offer more enjoyment than television.
Mood in the thriller, violence, and sensuality are all more
enjoyable when watched on the big screen rather than on TV. That
is why people go to the cinema.
Steven Spielberg and his friends, Francis Ford Copolla, Brian
dePalma and George Lucas, came up with new ideas when the movie
industry was facing ruin at the hands of television. They could
do so because they knew the language of television. So they
created movies like Jaws and ET which offered a new experience to
the audience. Spielberg was inspired by cartoon movies which he
saw on television.
They were eager to understand and use the demands of their
era. Our film industry must learn from them.
Q: Are our people ready for it?
A: Local film is dying because we only follow what people want.
It is not professional and it has no added value.
Take Batman as an example. When that hit the screen, people
here learned that the '60's style movie was back in vogue, so
they adapted the story of Si Buta dari Goa Hantu (The Blind Man
from Ghost Cave), but they used outdated technology.
Q: How should prospective filmmakers get started?
A: We should not be distraught by the long list of public
demands. We should find something to fill the demand. Sex movies
for example should be a reinterpretation of ideas. If we want to
create an action movie, we should continue renewing the martial
arts in a professional way so that moviegoers feel a new
sensation when they see the films. To accommodate people's
demands doesn't mean that we should give them everything they ask
for.
Q: What about our infrastructure?
A: The crisis has crippled our infrastructure and the equipment
needed to make films has become very expensive.
In Indonesia, sex and art movies could grow in popularity if
we gave them ample room. The petty minded among us have also
blamed things which are actually not the cause of the
difficulties that we face. They have not been able to read the
map of the new era to find the cause and effect of all of this.
Q: Are our people ready for it?
A: It takes time to develop art. Singapore and Germany both took
10 years to develop their cinema.
Q: What are the challenges?
A: Our film industry is in the process of recovery. The
infrastructure is dead. Conditions are abnormal.
What we need now is a local genius that takes a big leap.
We need a person like General Douglas MacArthur, who could
solve problems in an innovative way.
It all takes time. But we usually can't wait. I don't believe
in magic formulae that can solve problems in a short time.
Q: How can we develop an appreciation of art?
A: The process begins in early childhood. It's time to dump
doctrinal education. Art is education that teaches us how to
experience. If I want to experience Picasso, I should have begun
to learn about him when I was in elementary school. Then I would
remember the colors of his paintings. When I entered junior high
school, I knew his name. Later in senior high school, I learned
about cubism. Then I become knowledgeable about him.
We only tend to accumulate knowledge at college. How can one
learn all about history and understand it after only several
years at university?
Q: What role should our government play?
A: There's no government in a democratic country that has never
been roughed up. In the same way we would have to constantly work
to maintain our stability if we were standing on a small Irianese
boat, so the government should always be in limbo because it
receives criticism from all quarters.
So it has to be able to accept criticism. Only a good
statesman can lead a democratic country. We need to create an
argumentative society and a multicultural society which can
accommodate different ideas.
There are three phases in a nation's development -- violence,
a combination of violence and oppression, then finally argument
We are currently in the second stage. When we face revolution,
we cannot argue. It makes it very difficult for us to enter a
communicative society which has greater freedom. We have been
trained to solve problems with violence.