Slamet wants to bring Marsinah back from the grave

By Gotot Prakosa

JAKARTA (JP): With his latest film Telegram just released in Europe and the United States, film director Slamet Rahardjo is now working on another film called Marsinah.

This is a film about Marsinah, a young female factory worker who became a heroine when she was tortured and murdered by a tyrannical power.

Gunawan Mohamad, a noted cultural activist, said that Marsinah was a clear but painful symbol of human rights violation. She was found dead in a hamlet in Nganjuk, East Java, and her mutilated body showed that human rights were not a mere topic of discussion or an imported commodity that only important people can lay their hands on. The place where Marsinah was killed at the age of 23 was not a field of soft turf.

Slamet Raharjo is interested in turning Marsinah's tragic story into celluloid while the real story itself is still tightly wrapped in mystery, just like many other similar stories related to human rights violations which are much talked about in Indonesia and in the international arena.

Marsinah, a high school graduate, and some fellow workers on May, 1993 went on strike at the watch-making factory PT Catur Putra Surya, in Porong, Sidoardjo, where they worked. They demanded a raise in their daily wage from Rp 1,700 to Rp 2,250 which is the government stipulated minimum wage. The management granted the demand for the raise. However, Marsinah, was abducted, locked and tortured. An iron rod and a wooden stick were driven into her genitalia. Her body was dumped in a area close to her birth place in Nganjuk, Yogyakarta.

Marsinah was proclaimed the worker's heroine. On Dec. 10, 1993, she posthumously received the Yap Thiam Hien human rights award in Jakarta.

Slamet, a prolific film maker, in cooperation with Gusti Randa, who is the producer of the film, is now shooting the film in Yogyakarta.

"The film is being shot in Yogyakarta because most of the people who were involved in Marsinah's life are still living," Slamet said.

His also wants to make this film into a poem of sorts, something that even a layman can understand. To him Marsinah was an ordinary person leading an ordinary life.

Slamet reconstructed Marsinah's life with the help of a Yogyakarta-based theatrical group. Masinah is played by Margarita, a student of the theatrical department of the Jakarta Arts Institute who was once cast in a short film titled Hati Hati Malam Malam (Be Careful At Night) which was a success at the recent JiFFest 2000.

Born in Serang on Jan. 21, 1949, Slamet entered the film world when he joined Teguh Karya's Teater Populer. In 1971 he was cast for the first time in Teguh's film titled Wajah Seorang Laki-Laki (Face of a Man). After having acted in a number of Teguh's films, Slamet, in 1979, directed his first film Rembulan dan Matahari (The Moon and the Sun).

Many thought that Slamet would follow Teguh's footsteps in terms of film directing. Slamet, however, differs from his teacher. He explores his culture in greater profundity than his teacher. Many did not quite make head or tail of the cinematographic plot of his maiden film, which, unlike most feature films at the time, did not assume a linear format. He attempted to portray, in his own way, the philosophical significance of a Javanese. The result was a personal expression not many people could comprehend. Many agree, however, with this film, the novice film maker has positioned himself as an "art" film maker.

In the 1980 Indonesian Film Festival, the film won several citations but was a flop in the market. So Slamet tried to depart from the style of his first film and also attempted to fathom the wishes of the market with his later films such as Semerah Bibirnya, Seputih Hatinya (As Red as Her Lips, As White as Her Heart, 1981), Kembang Kertas (Paper Flower, 1983) and Kodrat (Destiny, 1985). Although some of his later films won a number of citations, they were not commercially successful, evidence that the market is indeed difficult to guess.

In 1986 Slamet made an art film titled Ponirah Terpidana (Convicted Ponirah), which was imbued with traditional and contemporary elements. To foreign observers, the final part of the film, a scene in a red-light district in Jakarta, damages Slamet's solid vision. Slamet had intentionally inserted this scene to present life in urban Jakarta, his place of residence.

Slamet has always told his colleagues that he considered D. Djayakusuma his teacher because it was through him that he got his traditional footing on which to make films. This footing is apparent every time he makes a film with a traditional setting. When he makes a film, he always tries to associate it with his environment and he seems to be in control of his creative space. Slamet turns small visual and audio elements which may escape other people's notice into charm and strength in his films.

His most laudable film among film critics, at home and abroad, is Langitku Rumahku (My Sky My Home, 1990). His brother Eros Djarot of Ekapraya Film, produced this film. With this film, Slamet, Eros and their colleagues had to confront the national film company, PT Perfin, as they felt that its distribution was being obstructed. Ekapraya was regarded as opposition because they opposed the government-sanctioned monopoly of film distribution. They lost the legal battle.

But Slamet kept on making films. He accepted a project to make an Omnibus film titled Southern Wind (1992) which was a combination of a number of short films. It was financed by NHK and is a combination of the works of four directors from Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Japan.

'Correspondence film'

He also got an offer from film director Kohei Oguri to make a "correspondence film", a film comprising the works of Oguri and Slamet. Oguri made a film based on his interpretation of Slamet's maiden work, Rembulan, while Slamet did the same with Oguri's Sungai Berlumpur (Muddy River). The combined film is just like a piece of letter beginning with "How are you, how are you faring" ..... and so on, in a visual form, certainly.

Slamet has tried to explore cinematography. On the one hand, the exploration strengthened his commitment to films and on the other he provided an alternative to the national films which have become stagnant.

Slamet's career has also developed socially. He is now accepted in various film circles. He was appointed member of the National Film Council and when the film council was replaced by the National Film Advisory Board, Slamet was elected chairman of a commission. He has also been elected chairman of the Association of Film and Television Workers, a position he has assumed until now.

Slamet has also cashed in on the TV boom. He made short TV series such as Soero Boeldog (1993) , Tajuk (Editorial, 1995) which was on journalism and Oh, Ibu dan Ayah ( Oh, Mama and Papa, 1997) on population control.

His latest full-length feature film Telegram (1998) is based on Putu Wijaya's novel of the same title.

Slamet always tries to face challenges. He believes that every problem has a solution and each time he makes a film there will be different problems.

The emergence of young filmmakers such as Mira Lesmana, who is associated with I-Sinema and one who is resolved in making independent films, do not in the least discourage Slamet. He has increasingly shown himself to be a film maker with class and quality that even his peers, let alone the younger generation, find it difficult to be on a par with.