The phenomenon of Garin

The phenomenon of Garin

Lei Hua, Contributor, Jakarta

Membaca Film Garin (Reading Garin's Films); Team of Editors:
Philip Cheah, Taufik Rahzen, Ong Hari Wahyu and Tonny Trimansanto;
Pustaka Pelajar, March 2002; 208 pp

Garin Nugroho is an extraordinary phenomenon in Indonesia's film
world. He emerged with his first full-length feature film, Cinta
dalam Sepotong Roti (Love on a Piece of Bread) in 1991, when
Indonesia's film world was already at its ebb.

He made this film against all the conventions of the period.
He was not a member of the government-sanctioned Association of
Film and TV Workers (KFT), an organization that was authorized to
baptize a new film maker. Against all the long bureaucratic
requirements set by the then ministry of information, Garin
established his name with his first full-length feature film.
This first film was named the best film in 1991/1992 Indonesian
Film Festival.

Then, quite regularly, he made more films and earned more
awards, both at home and abroad. Yet, there are frequent
complaints that his films are not easy to understand. It is to
help people understand Garin's films better that this book has
been published.

It is a collection of essays by two Indonesians and six
foreigners, all well-versed in films as a means of communications
in a modern world, viewed from a modernist or sometimes post-
modernist perspective.

Seno Gumira Adjidarma, one of the contributors to this
collection and also a critical observer of Indonesian films,
believes that Garin has its own narrative style which is strange
to most Indonesian viewers. This means that Garin has his own way
of telling a story in his film. A good film is one that can win a
prize in a film festival, an indication that it is understood by
film critics, and at the same time make the cinemas at home
packed with viewers, a sure sign that it is well accepted by the
domestic audience.

In the case of Garin, his films have won prizes in various
festivals but have also made people knit their brows. It means
that his way of telling a story in his films is not popular among
lay viewers. Then there must be a regular communication between
Garin's films and his audience. In any event, a film presents the
film maker's interpretation of life.

Garin's style of narration may be an uncommon one but over
time, if the audience is exposed to more of his films and more
explanations are made about the films, the audience will not find
these films strange anymore because they have tried to view life
as Garin the film maker does.

The book also traces Garin's early life and how he got exposed
to art in general. He went to an Islamic elementary school but
continued his studies in Catholic secondary schools. His father
published books in Javanese but had a library lending books by
various writers from Sukarno to William Saroyan. Garin,
therefore, was exposed to both Javanese and non-Javanese
literature.

In his childhood, Indonesia's film world was at its heyday but
when he made his first full-length feature film, local film world
was its ebb. Contrasting situations, therefore, have shaped
Garin's life and his view of life. His films, therefore, show
these paradoxes when compared with the time setting of their
creation.

When Soeharto emphasized uniformity in thought, Garin went
forward with his films that in a way champion individual values.
When other films makers needed the blessings of certain
government officials to get into international film festivals,
Garin went ahead by himself and won prizes from international
festivals. In short, Garin offers an alternative to what is
considered the mainstream.

Reading the articles in this collection will open up our
horizons so that we can see Garin's film not in the light of
prevailing conventions but in the perspective of Garin himself as
a film maker. When you get more insight and more interpretation
about an object, you will understand it better. When you can
understand it better, you can enjoy it better. This is the role
played by this book. It enlightens the readers about the presence
of alternative films and prepares them to understand these
alternative films.

A film is to be seen, not to be read. However much you read
about a film, you will never understand it until you see it. If
you complain that Garin's films are difficult to understand, read
this book first. It will tell you virtually all aspects of his
films. Then see the films. You will find that the better you
understand the person -- through your reading -- the better the
films will communicate with you. So, Garin's films, like any
other films on earth, are a matter of interpretation.

Your interpretation will hit home if you have a good
understanding of the films. To get this understanding, you must
read what critics say about the film. You may agree or disagree,
but you know your position and are ready to make your own
interpretation. In short, understand Garin better and you will
understand his films better too. The book is indeed published for
this purpose.