The late Arifin C. Noer: His life and works

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.