Wanted: RI movies for adults

Wanted: RI movies for adults

Joko E.H. Anwar, Contributor, Jakarta

It is a time of celebration for local youngsters as they can
finally go to the multiplexes to see movies they can relate to,
which speak their own language and show pictures of the city they
live in.

While it is safe to say that the local film industry has come
to life once again after having been dormant for about a decade,
older Indonesians will have to wait a little longer before
celebrating since there are as yet no locally produced films that
are adult-oriented.

It all began two years ago when the children's musical titled
Petualangan Sherina (Sherina's Adventure) hit screens across the
country and quickly became a box office hit.

Adults came to see the film, some even more than once, but
this was mainly because their kids dragged them to the theater.

The film's huge commercial success triggered a recovery in the
film industry here. After several flops, such as the best-
forgotten Joshua Oh Joshua and Reinkarnasi, a movie aimed at
teenagers, Jelangkung, was another hit.

This success was then followed by the highly entertaining Ada
Apa dengan Cinta (What's Up with Cinta), which features a fresh
and irresistable young cast.

Despite the fact that this may well be the best Indonesian
film in years, it's undeniable that it is only aimed at young
audiences.

"Where the movie for me, then?" asked 35-year-old Andri
Dharma, an executive in an insurance company. "I feel a little
bit frustrated because all they make are movies for teenagers."

Ferry Suganda, another 35-year-old executive, this time
employed by a publishing company, said that adults had yet to
have any reason to be happy about the local film scene. "For me,
the film industry is still dead," Ferry said.

The local film industry collapsed in the early 1990s because
it failed to deliver movies that met the audience's demand for
quality films. Incompetently made films, with annoying zoom-ins
and zoom-outs plus poorly dubbed dialog, were no longer
acceptable to the more discerning tastes of urban audiences.

Private TV stations came on the scene, starting with RCTI,
which began general public broadcasts after running subscription
services in 1992.

Audiences then got the chance to see more programs, mainly
made in the U.S., which were of higher quality and more
entertaining than Indonesian films.

Since they could see quality TV programs in the convenience of
their own homes for free, why should they bother going to the
theaters and paying to see mediocre Indonesian films?

Local filmmakers tried to stay in business by making cheap,
raunchy flicks that appealed to the lowest common denominator for
more than six years, which only served to drive the final nail
into the coffin of the ailing local film industry.

It took Petualangan Sherina, produced by Miles Production, the
same company which made Ada Apa dengan Cinta, to breathe new life
into the film industry here.

But, local filmmakers are still stuck in a phase of "arrested
development", as they still seem incapable of producing films for
more mature audiences.

The filmmakers argue that the only reason they keep producing
movies for young audiences is strictly because of market demand.

Director Rizal Mantovani said he followed the example of the
first successful Indonesian movie in years to make sure his movie
would be a success.

"Petualangan Sherina is our only textbook," Rizal, who co-
directed Jelangkung, told The Jakarta Post.

Rizal also said that it was not impossible that in the near
future there would be local adult-oriented films produced.

He added that he was working on a project that he predicted
would be able to attract both younger and more mature audiences
titled Reaksi Kimia (Chemical Reaction), which he dubbed "a cross
between Fight Club and Reality Bites".

The only adult fare at the moment is to be found in sinetron,
the local term for TV soap operas, but they do not fill need for
quality entertainment for more demanding viewers.

Poorly written and horrendously acted, most sinetron also have
nothing to do with the reality of Indonesians' lives.

Recent attempts at producing films for adults have failed
miserably.

The art-house Pasir Berbisik (The Whispering Sands), which was
released last year, had a brief run in movie theaters as it
seemed to be aimed at nobody except the filmmakers themselves.

Another more mature film, Ca-Bau-Kan, which is currently in
limited release, is a sure flop as it fails to offer anything
except pretty sets and period costumes.

The awkwardly written film is full of caricatures who are
poorly defined.

The badly structured film, so bad that it is laughable at
times, actually plays like a local martial arts flick of the
1980s, Jaka Sembung, but without the eye-candy of fights and
flying limbs.

Yet this doesn't mean that all hope is lost.

There were actually many films that gained both critical and
commercial success before the local film industry finally
imploded.

We now find ourselves longing for films such as Kejarlah Daku
Kau Kutangkap (Chase Me I'll Catch You), which was released in
1986 and centers on marital problems, offering adult audiences
situations they can relate to.

This well-written film not only managed to appeal to mature
audiences, but also younger people because of its very
entertaining script.

The makers seemed to understand that adult issues did not
necessarily have to be presented in a complicated way that would
only leave the audiences feeling confused.

Let us hope that soon we will be able to go to movie theaters
to see locally produced, adult-oriented films which deal with
more "mature" issues.