The need for actors who can act

By Agni Amorita

JAKARTA (JP): Oliver Stone reportedly wants to direct an Indonesian script based on one of Pramudya Ananta Toer's books, a project many local actors would no doubt want to take part in.

Finding the right people to fill roles, however, is a difficult job as there are relatively few professionals here who can handle the task.

And our film industry itself is to blame for being unable to create a healthy and conducive system to grow our own Willem Dafoe, Robert De Niro or gray-haired Sean Connery. The biggest parts in our local wide-screen and television films are given to beautiful and young faces, without the least consideration for their abilities. Exceptions -- of course --do exist, but the number of good actors who get the opportunity to star in films is very small.

When Joanne Brough, the executive producer of Dallas and Falcon Crest, was invited to Indonesia a few years ago, she saw Dynasty copies dominating the local soap operas, or sinetron, on almost all the TV stations. The theme of wealthy families with continuous adulterous problems was adapted in various ways. The plot of wars among the bold and beautiful was localized with hyperbolic conflicts in the more than 25 episodes of those serialized TV dramas. But what Brough could not find here was a local Joan Collins or any other stunning character who had more than a beautiful face.

Joanne Brough, who taught serialized drama scriptwriting for some local writers in 1996, reminded her class to create at least one strong character who could steal the show not because of breathtaking physical appearance but by the character itself.

"This stunning character can be a wheelchair-bound grandmother who talks with a deep regional dialect on every occasion, but her character is strongly shown on the screen so even by her cough she can draw the viewers' attention," explained one of Brough's former students, Winny Rosalina, who now works as a staff writer for RCTI's Ketoprak Humor.

"By having this character, not only will we enrich the story but also give our own very special identity to the show," she said.

With such a strong character, a show is more likely to appeal to the audience.

"I can't leave home on Saturday night before finding out what Pak Misdi's going to say," said 32-year-old Yenny Subrata, a bank manager from Bandung.

Pak Misdi is a retired tea plantation worker played by 55-year-old actor Bambang Suryo on Aku Ingin Pulang (I Want to Go Home), aired on SCTV every Saturday night.

"The way Pak Misdi reacts is very unpredictable, but he always comforts me with his Sundanese philosophy of life. And I find his West Java dialect quite entertaining, even though he is not Sundanese," she said about the actor, who is from Central Java.

Aku Ingin Pulang is now entering its 70th episode and is quite popular.

Unfortunately, not many television shows have such stunning characters as soap producers do not think that viewers can see "real people" as their heroes. Which explains why TV series always feature A-list actors such as Ayu Azhari, Paramitha Rusady and Bella Saphira.

Miscasting is a common occurrence. Famous actress Bella Saphira, for example, dons a gray wig to play a middle-aged woman on SCTV's Dewi Fortuna.

"I think it's realistic because I am portraying an established big city woman. I wear chic outfits and different makeup, just the way those mature woman in Jakarta do," the 27-year-old actress said in an interview.

Harry Capri, the producer of Aku Ingin Pulang, emphasized that his show is not a Dynasty copy.

"Of course we still need the portrayal of a jet-set family in the serialized drama to match the viewers' dreams, but considering that the audience is not dominated by middle-upper income people, I prefer to have a common person as the hero in my productions," Harry said.

Another director, Dedi Setiadi, said there was no need to cast young and beautiful faces, even though this meant it was more difficult to sell the show.

"We must start this hard work anyway," Dedi stated. "The system is still against us but I just go on and on."

Dedi, whose Cermin (Mirror) was named Best Dramatic Show at last year's Indonesian Sinetron Festival, knows well the challenges. He is still trying to sell Cermin, but there have been no takers. The film, made in 1997 and 1998, is about people living in a slum area.

A perfect mirror to reflect our poor film industry.