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.