Slamet's 'Telegram' is set for editing
By Gotot Prakosa
JAKARTA (JP): Amid the crisis and uncertainty, Indonesia is presenting three feature-length films at international forums this year.
The Christine Hakim and Garin Nugroho production, Daun Di Atas Bantal (A Leaf On A Pillow), was shown last week at the Cannes Film Festival. Marselli Sumarno's Sri, the scriptwriter's directorial debut, is now in the editing stage.
And Slamet Rahardjo's Telegram has been edited and the director will take it to France for post-production, including voice mixing and film printing.
Telegram is a joint production of the Indonesian film company PT Ekapraya Tata Cipta Film and France's Artcam International. The Indonesian side pays 70 percent of the production cost of 3 million francs. The Indonesian National Film Assessment Board (BP2N) has provided a loan of Rp 250 million (about US$22,000) for the film production.
The cooperation provides a wider scope of international marketing for Indonesian films.
Telegram is based on a Putu Wijaya novel published by Pustaka Jaya in 1973. It won first prize as a manuscript in a competition for novel writing organized by the Indonesian Book Year Committee in Jakarta the previous year. It has been translated into English and French; Putu Wijaya himself wrote the script for the film version.
Slamet was assisted by director of photography Jacques Bouquin, whose experience includes working with famous directors such as Susan Sontag and Jean-Luc Godard. The soundman and the editor are also French: Bernard Aubouy and Catherine D'hoir. The Indonesian crew also included Judy Subroto, the artistic director.
Sujiwo Tejo, a journalist and wayang puppeteer, plays Daku, the protagonist. Popular actresses Ayu Azhari and Desi Ratnasari also appear.
Telegram tells the story of a Balinese journalist who works in Jakarta. Telegrams have a special meaning for him; his relatives back home always send bad news via them. He always feels terror every time he receives a telegram from his family.
A telegram means that he must return to the village to face life's realities as a young man who is the hope of his parents. He must be responsible for all matters of disharmony in the family and all the requirements of custom which he is not ready to bear.
This unnerving condition is harder to deal with as he experiences a lot of conflicts. Professionally, he may object to particular things, but conditions require him to make compromises bearing in mind his responsibility as a journalist in a developing country.
Conflicts about the ways to overcome the problems are the essential problems in this story. As an individual who wants to be free, he clashes with the bonds of family and custom. As a journalist he knows many things but he must show restraint in expressing them.
In facing the realities, he sometimes gets away from them. He is trapped in his imagination if he wants to be honest about all fears, worries and doubts. Beautiful Rosa, played by Ayu, is always present as an ideal woman in his imagination. She is a friend and a foe in the process of finding his own identity.
Sujiwo Tejo makes his acting debut in the film, but he does his utmost to perform up to par with the rest of the cast. His exotic face and appearance contributed a lot to his performance.
Telegram is Slamet Rahardjo's first feature film since the 1991 production of Langitku Rumahku (My Sky My Home) which was successful at international fora. It won the Unesco prize for best film on children at the Berlin Film Festival, the Jacques Demy cup at the Nantes Film Festival in France, awards at the Hawaii and Sydney film festivals and recognition from Japan and Cairo, Egypt.
It was a flop in the domestic market. The 21 Group of movie theaters showed his film for one day only. The 21 Group is owned by the Subentra Group, which controls the distribution of imported films here. The 21 Group said they withdrew the film for purely business reasons because it did not sell tickets, but Slamet believed they did not show it due to what he and many others consider the monopolistic practices of the company.
Slamet sued PT Perfin, the company in charge of managing the domestic circulation of films, for its failure to support the development of local films. He lost in court.
It is hoped Telegram will be proof of Slamet Rahardjo's achievements after an absence of eight years when he was mostly involved in the making of short films or TV movies.
The writer is involved in filmmaking and is a lecturer at the School of Films and Television, Jakarta Arts Institute.