'Telegram' fails to get message across

Joko E.H. Anwar, Contributor, Jakarta

Some filmmakers would blame the audiences if their art-house movies failed to get enough attention. They would say that public was not ready to appreciate their movies which require more brains to digest than pop films.

Others would say they were aware that their films would not perform well at the box office since the genre only attracted small audiences.

Sometimes they are right to say either way. That is when the films they produce really reach the quality of a good movie, regardless of genre.

Local filmmakers have only managed to produce a few excellent art-house style movies. They include the haunting Revolusi Harapan (Revolution of Hope) which was directed by Nanang Istiabudi, who has not been heard from since.

Despite high praise for all of his films, art-film director Garin Nugroho, arguably, has only made one film which is really satisfying. The movie is the hypnotic Surat Untuk Bidadari (A Letter to an Angel) which will take you to a place never before imagined.

Watching these films is really a rewarding experience despite the fact that you have to make your brain do extra work to digest what the movies try to say.

Unfortunately, we cannot say the same about the latest release by prominent director Slamet Rahardjo Djarot.

Telegram is one of those movies which you will hate for having been funded by some generous international art organization but ended up only satisfying the filmmakers themselves.

It is only the kind of movies which will win some award in some less prestigious film festival for having pictures which now have been recognized by film audiences abroad as trademarks for Indonesian films: slums or sands.

The film is bleak and completely unrewarding.

Reporter/singer Sujiwo Tejo stars as a journalist named Daku who, like many of us, thinks that life stinks.

His only sanctuary is a woman named Rosa (Ayu Azhari) whom he made love to about 3,000 times(!), and his 11 year-old adopted daughter named Sinta.

Oh, he is also a regular customer of a prostitute named Norma who works at a red-light district near his office.

Once in a while, the Daku character will receive a telegram from his family in Bali informing him that his mother is sick.

The film is fatally slow-paced which does not only lull but also makes the audience lose their interest for the movie.

You will have to try hard not to laugh out loud when actors say supposedly poetic, deeply meaningful words which only come across as corny dialog.

The film supposedly tells the story about the clash between traditional cultures and modern practical beliefs.

Daku is worried that the next telegram will contain the news of his mother's death. This would mean he must to return to Bali to arrange a traditional Hindu ritual which is very expensive.

However, this information is only given in the film's press kit but nowhere in the film!

What we got in the movie is only co-star Sujiwo mumbling words about his disappointment of traditional culture, in his underwear. Sujiwo revealed the film initially contained a scene where he masturbated but it did not make the final cut. Thank God.

Unlike Slamet's Marsinah which is suspended from release due to its content which does not seem to please the authorities, the acting department does not help Telegram.

The actors give broad performances. You will even try to figure out why actress Ayu Azhari won Best Actress at the Asia Pasific Film Festival this year.

The story from prominent author Putu Wijaya who co-scripted the film is hopelessly dated as it asks the audience to try hard to suspend their disbelief that Daku's family would not use the telephone instead of telegram.

However, it is only a small portion of the film's many flaws. The biggest one would be its failure to deliver its message due mostly to the film's poor structure.

The filmmakers and co-star Sujiwo Tejo seem wanting to challenge the pretentiousness of the society and tear it to pieces. Let's hope that they will be aware that they are about to be backed up by their own nemesis.

Telegram, ** out of four stars; Starring Sujiwo Tejo, Ayu Azhari; Directed by Slamet Rahardjo Djarot; An Ekpraya Tata Cipta Film/ Artcam International Production