See face of Indonesia in Hasse's novel 'Oeroeg'

See face of Indonesia in Hasse's novel 'Oeroeg'

By Gotot Prakosa

JAKARTA (JP): Oeroeg is a bestselling novel in the
Netherlands. Written by Hella S. Hasse, it was first published in
1947 and has been reprinted several times.

It is about the friendship between two boys of different
racial and cultural backgrounds; one is Indonesian and the other
Dutch. The friendship turns into animosity over the course of
history.

As Oeroeg (Martin Schwab) reaches adulthood, he has to keep
his distance from his childhood buddy Johan (Rik Launspach).
Oeroeg ought to support the independence movement that the Dutch
colonialists were trying to thwart, whereas Johan has already
joined the Dutch army.

The novel has been made into film by Hans Hylkema, a famous
director who has made many TV serials. He said he was fascinated
by the novel's strong characterization.

The film will be screened at Erasmus Huis on Saturday (today).

According to a 1993 edition of Moving Picture magazine in
Cannes, the film was shot in Indonesia over 50 days. It used
39,000 meters of 35mm-film and involved 80 professional actors
and 2,000 extras. Thirty five of the 150-strong crew were
European and the rest were from Indonesia.

The production cost was said to reach 5 million deutchmark
(about Rp 5 billion at that time). The money to make the film
came from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, the three main
backers. It was a big-budget film by Indonesian standards. By way
of comparison, Eros Jarot's colossal Cut Nya' Dien cost about Rp
1.5 billion to make in 1987-1988. Average production costs
averaged Rp 300 million at that time.

Oeroeg is a collaboration between a Dutch film company with
several European companies and Indonesia's Prasidi Teta Film.

When it was shot in 1992, the film was titled Oeroeg after the
novel's original title, but after it was distributed
internationally, it was renamed Going Home and dubbed into
English. The original language used when the film was shot was
Dutch. The film featured in the exhibition at the 46th Cannes
Film Festival in 1993.

Hylkema has used extra care in creating visual artistry. The
cast's costumes are immaculate -- too spotless in fact. If there
is a weaknesses in the film, it is probably the minimum role
played by the Indonesian cast.

The main actors are all Dutch. This should be understood as a
tactic to win the European audience. Indonesian actors were only
rewarded with minor parts.

The main Dutch actors are Rik Launspach, Martin Schwab, Tom
van Bauwel, Josee Ruiter, Peter Faber, Ivon Pelasula and Jeroen
Krabbe. The latter had the main part in Left Luggage, which was
screened in Jakarta recently.

Some of the Indonesian stars have their names on the posters
and in the credits, such as Ayu Azhari, Adi Kurdi and Yose Rizal
Manua, but their roles are minor.

A promotional article on Moving Picture by Hillsa
Entertainment said that while shooting in Indonesia the crew
encountered various problems, such as unpredictable stormy
weather and traffic jams in Cirebon, Sukabumi (both in West Java)
and Jakarta.

George Kamarullah, an local cameraman involved in the
shooting, said the project was very well planned and it was
accomplished on time -- something that local filmmakers should
learn from.

Oeroeg is one of a number of Dutch films shot in Indonesia and
involving Indonesians. Among those already screened in Jakarta
are Fon Rademakers' Max Havelaar (1976), a film based on a book
written by Multatuli; and Bernie Ijdis's The Great Pos Road
(1997) staring Pramudya Ananta Toer. The most recent Dutch film
shot in Indonesia was Tropic of Emerald (1997) directed by Orlow
Seunke.

Unfortunately, those films are not distributed in Indonesian
cinemas. Max Havelaar was banned by the New Order regime's censor
board for some time on the grounds that it offended the Subang
regent, while Rademakers insisted that the scene could not be cut
without disrupting the whole story.

Oeroeg was once shown in public cinemas and aired by a private
TV station but it was a financial flop, probably because of a
lack of promotion, technical problems or wrong timing.

These Dutch films with an Indonesian setting need to be seen
by a wider audience throughout Indonesia, not only by a
privileged few in Jakarta. They are made professionally, unlike
the locally-made films that always portray the Dutch as evil.

The Dutch films serve as a good mirror for Indonesians.