The late Arifin C. Noer: His life and works
JAKARTA (JP): How appropriate it was for the theater/movie director Arifin C. Noer, who died a week ago today, to describe Indonesia as a country with the most dense "jungle of statements" in the world.
"Indonesians talk too much but never do anything," he reasoned.
"Everybody is engrossed in their own voices, like a baby who has just discovered his ability to produce sounds," Arifin explained.
He was talking at the time about his film, Bibir Mer (Mer's Lips), a commentary on the situation in the country. The storyline of the 1992 film does not focus on Indonesia as a jungle of statements, but on a girl with a murky background who is fed up with "big words" and "idealism".
No one knew, not even Arifin, the actual meaning of Mer. It was something that seemed to just pop into his consciousness.
"It could mean merekah, merah or merangsang. If only I knew," Arifin told Kompas daily.
For Arifin, bibir was a serious issue. According to Arifin, Indonesians talk too much because they suddenly became aware of the importance of voicing their views after being subjected to enslavement for hundreds of years by colonial powers.
In Arifin's eyes, slogans have become a part of our culture, or so it seems.
Remember the government's much-publicized intention of maintaining a clean and respectable image? And look what is happening. State Minister of Administrative Reforms T.B. Silalahi disclosed during a hearing with Commission II of the House of Representatives last September that his office received up to 100 letters of complaint every month about "moral crimes" allegedly committed by civil servants. Silalahi said the cases included corruption, sex scandals and polygamous marriages without the permission of civil service supervisors.
Arifin's blunt statement about his fellow countrymen was typical of him.
Born on March 10, 1941 in Cirebon, West Java, this second son from among eight siblings born to a satay vendor and was often described by his wife as a man with a strong commitment to the poor.
"The social realist as ironist: this is one way to define Arifin," poet Goenawan Mohamad wrote in the introduction to The Bottomless Well, the 1992 English translation of Arifin's 1964 play Sumur Tanpa Dasar.
"The plays of Arifin are an inexhaustible commentary on Indonesians and Indonesian society. The Bottomless Well is no exception," writes Goenawan further. "The emotional coloring and to some extent the basic design of The Bottomless Well stem from Arifin's peculiar feeling for social realism. His characters may seem odd or eccentric, as though cut from some strange cloth, but they are never mere caricatures. The beggars, priests and devious foremen, and the destitute man who attempts to improve his lot by playing the lottery, can be found in almost every small town in Indonesia."
Arifin himself argued that it was critics who gave him the pro-common-people label, particularly for his plays Kapai-Kapai (Moths) and Orkes Madun. He also refused to link such social criticism pieces with his financial situation.
"My financial condition was good when I wrote Orkes Madun, especially so when I wrote Umang-Umang," he stressed.
"I often write about them because I know their problems. Besides, I am one of them. I continued to dwell in the theme (the problems of poor people) up to Sandek Pemuda Pekerja (1979), Interogasi No. 1, Interogasi No. 2 (1976) and Bulan Dalam Baskom," he once told Matra monthly magazine.
Traditional theater
Together with W.S. Rendra with his Bengkel Teater and Teguh Karya with his Teater Populer, Arifin was a pioneer in modern Indonesian theater.
"Arifin was a pioneer in the writing of modern Indonesian drama and until today remains unrivaled," N. Riantiarno, the director of Teater Koma, told The Jakarta Post.
Arifin began his career in Indonesian theater in 1963 when he produced Bulan Pada Suatu Malam. His play Lampu Neon, or Nenek Tercinta, won a contest held by Teater Muslim in 1967. He later joined that theater group. But actually his interest in theater dated back to 1957, when, as a junior high school student, he wrote and directed the play Dunia Jang Retak. Prior to his move to Jakarta in 1968, he joined Lingkaran Drama Jogya led by W.S. Rendra.
Arifin was also a strong believer in "primitive theater", a term he borrowed from Ionesco. He believed that theater needed to return to its simpler origins, that the dramatic imagination had to be liberated from a "tyranny of messages".
Arifin's Kapai-Kapai and Tengul (1973) show the influence of the new freedom introduced here by W.S. Rendra after his return from his five-year stay in New York in the United States. Yet they also maintain a connection to traditional theater, especially in their tendency to draw on an assortment of colorful regional figures. This "middle way" was certainly the result of deliberate choice by Arifin, who understood that the road to a purer, more vital Indonesian theater, one not unduly subject to the illusion of words, led back to a popular theater whose roots are in a "culture of gestures" and not in a "culture of words".
Arifin's belief in gestures instead of words is strongly represented in the plays he created for performance by his theater group, Teater Kecil. The group, founded 27 years ago, makes use of traditional elements such as lenong, stambul, boneka, leather puppets, wayang golek and the melodies of the pesisir (coastal areas).
Indisputable
His ability as a theater director was indisputable. Movie director Chairul Umam, actors Ikranagara, Amak Baljun, Cok Simbara, Amaroso Katamsi and Ratna Riantiarno and Arifin's wife Jajang Pamontjak -- all former members of Teater Kecil -- owe Arifin a great deal for their success and fame.
"He encouraged us to dig deep into ourselves, to find ourselves, instead of stopping with the characters we play," Ratna Riantiarno told the Post.
Ratna, Arifin's favorite "student", remembered times when "he told me to reread a certain part, up to 10 times. It used to frustrate me until I became aware of his good intention."
"He was a master in acting," recalled Didi Petet, an actor who had the chance to play under Arifin in one of his latest sinetron, or made for TV dramas, Keris.
Didi shared Ratna's experience of being encouraged "to dig deep into myself to portray my character".
"He was also a good and accurate source. He could give thorough and correct explanations on important events in a language that was easy to understand," added N. Riantiarno.
A former member of Teater Populer, Riantiarno considered Arifin his "teacher" aside from Teguh Karya.
"Teguh taught me to work well, Arifin to think," he said.
Restless
Not content with theater, Arifin joined the film world in 1972 as a screenwriter and produced Pemberang, which won him the best screenwriter award in the 1972 Asian Film Festival.
Throughout his film career, Arifin produced less than 20 films. In all, he was involved in the production of 44 movies, mostly as screenwriter.
"He made new breakthroughs which stemmed from his restlessness," commented Riantiarno.
But then, Arifin had always been restless, noted film critic Salim Said, "and his restlessness compelled him to attain better and better work".
Film director Slamet Rahardjo said one of Arifin's greatest contributions to the Indonesian film world was his mastery of literature which was well translated into his movies.
As Didi Petet put it, "He told me this (keris) is Javanese Shakespeare, don't leave out the Shakespeare."
Film, for Arifin, was more a medium for soul-searching rather than just entertainment. It was a medium for expression for him, said Putu Wijaya, director of Teater Mandiri, in his obituary for Arifin in Kompas daily.
"Together with Teguh Karya, Slamet Rahardjo, Eros Djarot and Garin Nugroho, to mention a few, he belonged to the new corps in the Indonesian film world which is working in the tradition built by Usmar Ismail, that is to make films a subject of public discussion," Putu wrote.
Putu was not exaggerating in his observation. Arifin's films -- Yuyun, Pasien Rumah Sakit Jiwa, Matahari-Matahari, Serangan Fajar and Taksi, -- are examples of works that did not just stop on the screen but which became a source of discussion, even debate.
Arifin won several Citra, the national film award, both as screenwriter and director. One of his Citra-winning films, Serangan Fajar, caused controversy, as did his best-selling film Pengkhianatan G-30-S/PKI, both funded by the state-owned film company PFN. Both controversial films put Arifin under a different light and even caused some disappointment among people both inside and outside film circles. The disappointment was partly due to rumors that Arifin was paid a huge sum for the films and enjoyed other facilities, which many saw as a weakening of his idealism.
His private life was also controversial, although he always refused to talk about it. He divorced his first wife, Nurul Aini, who gave birth to his children Vita Ariavita, now 23, and Veda Amrita, now 18, in 1979 to marry Jajang Pamontjak, from whom he also had two children, Nita Nazyra, 16, and Marah Laut, 15.
Arifin was 54 when he died on May 28.
"He left too early. We were planning a reunion with members of Teater Kecil to make a sinetron," sighed Ratna Riantiarno. "But we have decided to go on with the plan as a tribute to Mas Arifin."
Aside from an unfinished television drama, Bukan Perempuan Biasa, Arifin also left the unfulfilled dream of writing a book on modern Indonesian theater.
"It was all ready, in his mind. His death reminds us to encourage people like Putu (Wijaya) and (W.S.) Rendra to write down their thoughts on modern Indonesian theater to serve as a reference. It's sad to see how they (theater people) go one by one without having written their thoughts," said Riantiarno.