Hits and misses of Indonesian films 2006

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sun, 12/24/2006 2:05 PM | Life

Nauval Yazid, Contributor, Jakarta

By the time this paper is in your hands, you may have heard who won what at this year's Indonesian Film Festival (FFI). The legendary event is supposedly the prestigious finale to the past 365 days of the Indonesian film scene. After all, the timing of the event could not be more right.

Sadly, long before it opened, the festival had drawn tremendously discouraging remarks from both critics and filmgoers alike over the exclusion of some universally praised films and filmmakers. Thus, the grand event had its pride toppled from its crown, and became one of this year's misses.

Downturns aside, let's take a look at what's been happening in the cinematic world of 2006. And for you celebrity gossipmongers, sorry, but this article isn't going to dish up any juicy dirt on divorce or custody cases.

January

The start to 2006 saw the nation's one and only censorship body, the Film Censorship Institute (LSF), showing its teeth as it tried to ban Rudy Soedjarwo's 9 Naga (Nine Dragons).

Apparently the board was not keen on the film's tagline, ""Manusia terbaik di Indonesia adalah seorang penjahat"" (The greatest man in Indonesia is a criminal), nor the movie poster that revealed nothing but lead actor Fauzi Baadila's shirtless, toned body. But the LSF's imagination delved (down) a lot further, claiming that the poster nearly revealed Fauzi's private parts. Rudy agreed reluctantly to cooperate with the LSF, with no way of knowing the turbulent times ahead with the same board.

Another film released this month was a debut feature by Agung Sentausa called Garasi. The film revolved around three buddies wanting to cut their own rock album. Whereas the soundtrack, and the band, went on to top music charts on radio stations and in magazines, the film only did humbly at the box office.

February

Four films hit cinemas this month. Two -- Jomblo (Singletons) and Gue Kapok Jatuh Cinta (I'm Done Falling in Love) -- could not have been more similar in their premises: a group of single guys try to score with the girls of their dreams.

The former was a clear champion in box-office takings, as it was an adaptation of a best-selling novel of the same name. It also launched the career of Ringgo Agus Rahman as a promising actor who could shift easily between the dramatic and the comic.

However, the two films paled in comparison to Rumah Pondok Indah (The House in Pondok Indah). Universally panned by critics, the film survived at the theaters for weeks, and long queues were a common sight at suburban cinemas.

The last film released this month, Realitas Cinta dan Rock `n Roll (Reality of Love and Rock 'n' Roll), bewildered many critics over at least two things. First, it captured the heart of rock `n' roll very well. Second, the film daringly stripped the ""macho"" from Barry Prima, known for his roles in '80s B-grade action films, and replaced it with the tenderness of a matriarch.

His is one of the most overlooked performances in recent years.

March

The diva finally stepped onto the big screen! The diva in question is none other than pop queen and Jakarta tourism icon Krisdayanti.

Sure, her concerts are always well-attended, her sinetron (TV soaps) always gets top ratings, but did people flock to cinemas to see her donning a power suit and buy the idea that she is cold-hearted when it comes to men?

Sadly, the answer is no. The film fizzled, prompting her to return to her roots and release an album with her husband, Anang. Luckily, this project paid off.

This month's winner was one of the most highly anticipated films of the year, Berbagi Suami (Love for Share).

Little did we know that the director, Nia DiNata, had swallowed the bitter pill of polygamy herself when she was in college and found out about her father's second wife. It took The New York Times for her to open up about this -- two months before the film's international premiere at the Big Apple's Tribeca International Film Festival.

Another film called Ruang (The Room) slipped quickly from the theaters, despite its breathtaking visuals that enhanced its simple story of unrequited love.

April

Apparently, the impact of Berbagi Suami was too great to face that most producers decided to delay their films' general release.

It was a wise decision, given that Berbagi Suami played well in cinemas, drawing in mature viewers -- as opposed to most Indonesian films, which cater to teenagers and 20-somethings.

In addition, the film won Best Picture at the Bandung Film Festival (FFB), held at the end of April.

The only exception was the release of D'Girlz Begins, a film sponsored by a brand of sanitary napkins. Seeing the brand logo on a poster filled with unknown names and newcomers who looked uncomfortable in their roles, need we wonder why the film bombed?

May

When Serambi was listed as one of the films selected in the Un Certain Regards category at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, many were left amazed: Had the film ever been screened before?

The answer was yes, actually -- although it only lasted a single day in a single cinema in the country.

But this was nothing compared to another one-word title released this month: Heart.

A throwback to '80s teen films, Heart relied heavily on its three lead actors -- so much so that most of its 122-minute running time was filled with images of the three sobbing, crying, and uttering sappy lines. This was matched by a melancholy soundtrack created by the queen of movie melodies, Melly Goeslaw.

Even so, approximately 1.5 million viewers were prompted to take out their Kleenexes and to use one of the film's songs as a personal ring-tone. Heart went on to become the most watched Indonesian film of the year.

The same month, a young director named Robin Moran released Maskot (The Mascot). The film is a refreshing comedy that seems reminiscent of the old, feel-good Indonesian comedies of the '70s and '80s, such as Inem Pelayan Sexy (Inem the Sexy Maid) or Bintang Kejora.

June

Hollywood may have been busy promoting their summer blockbusters, but most Indonesians and Asians, as well as Europeans, Africans and a few Americans preferred to stay at home to watch the World Cup 2006.

Still, the event did not deter one paranormal named Ki Kusuma from releasing his debut film, a time-travel action flick called Rantai Bumi (Chain of Earth).

Not even steamy sex scenes could save the film from being a flop, as had been predicted by many upon its premise, which would have been more appropriate for a late-night TV series.

July

Another quiet month, with only two films released: the failed horror Gotcha, and the horrifying adaptation of a TV series to the big screen, Dunia Lain: The Movie. The X-Files, it ain't.

The former made history by becoming the Indonesian film with the shortest screen-to-video window: It took only five weeks until we started finding the film on Video CD (VCD) racks in supermarkets.

While it tried to bridge comedy and horror a la Scream, yet the effort turned out to be laughable.

August

Despite the earthquake that hit at the end of May, Phillip Cheah of the Singapore International Film Festival, Garin Nugroho and other film enthusiasts prevailed in their plans to hold the first Yogya-NETPAC Asian Film Festival.

Opera Jawa (A Javanese Opera), Betina (Female), Foto, Kotak dan Jendela (Photographs, Boxes and Windows) and Koper (The Lost Briefcase) from Indonesia were among the feature films up for competition. The winner was Iran's Men At Work.

This month, Rudy Soedjarwo might have breathed a sigh of relief. His film Mendadak Dangdut (Suddenly Dangdut) set the trend for quick filmmaking. He had shot the film over only seven days, yet thanks to the right dose of dangdut music in the film, Mendadak Dangdut was a modest hit -- and the soundtrack even more popular.

One of the film's songs, Jablai, became a staple of dangdut concerts -- that is, before a newly established trio with their trademark tiger-stripe costumes started taking over.

September

Ramadhan is a perfect time to pray and not go to cinemas.

As such, only one film was released this month, I Love You, Om..,, a film that approached to a pedophilic theme, but managed to get away with its plain storyline of an underage girl falling in love with a mature man. But audiences seemed to turn away from this film during the holy month.

Instead, they tuned in to MTV to watch the 3rd MTV Indonesian Movie Awards (MIMA). Despite carrying the MTV name, the event decided to join the bandwagon and gave its Best Picture award to Berbagi Suami.

Upon receiving the award, even the director herself admitted, ""The film is so not MTV...""

However, Most Favorite Film went to Heart, and its soundtrack won the Most Favorite award as well.

October

Remember how we used to crowd cinemas during the Lebaran holidays to watch the comedies of Warkop DKI (Dono Kasino and Indro)?

A similar phenomenon took place this year, but this time for a genre at the other end of the spectrum.

Rizal Mantovani, who once woke up the film scene with his horror flick Jelangkung, reappeared in top form with Kuntilanak. Still using the same music-video style he pioneered, Rizal rose to prominence again after his earlier effort at romantic comedy with Jatuh Cinta Lagi failed to charm moviegoers.

However, the joys of horror were not to be had by Rudy Soedjarwo as his reportedly latest film, Pocong, was banned from release by -- who else? -- the censorship board. This time, the LSF reasoned that the film was unsuitable for its storyline involving the 1998 political riots in Jakarta.

Rudy decided to re-shoot the whole film.

At festivals, Berbagi Suami continued its winning streak by winning Best Picture from both the Jakarta Film Festival, held by private television station Jak-TV, and the Hawaii International Film Festival. The latter cleared the path for Berbagi Suami to be eligible to compete in the Foreign Language Film category at the 2007 Oscars.

A film about a Papuan boy on a quest for an education, Denias Senandung di Atas Awan (Denias Hums upon a Cloud), opened to positive reviews. The beauty of Papuan landscapes and a storyline that steered clear from the usual scare-fest helped the film to get noticed.

November

The long-awaited list of nominees for the Indonesian Film Festival (FFI) was finally released -- only this time, the festival committee was dealt tremendous criticism from many.

In particular, nominees for Best Picture failed to include Berbagi Suami while Heart made the cut.

Even the preliminary stage of the FFI's nominations had started to raise brows. The FFI committee selected only 10 of 30 films released in 2005/06, and the list excluded some better films such as Realitas Cinta dan Rock 'n' Roll and Maskot.

At around the same time the FFI nominees were announced, Maskot had been nominated for Best Picture and Best Screenplay at the Asian Festival of First Films in Singapore.

This month also saw three horror flicks released back-to-back: Hantu Bangku Kosong (Ghost of the Empty Chair), KM 14 and Hantu Jeruk Purut (The Ghost of Jeruk Purut). Yet, none of these matched the box-office success of the earlier Kuntilanak.

December

The 8th edition of the Jakarta International Film Festival (JiFFest) was held to greater success than before, attracting some 60,000 visitors over its 10 days, with all of Indonesia's film producers participating in the festival's first ever Indonesian Feature Film Competition.

Three film professionals from Belgium, Canada and Japan were invited as jurors, and they awarded Best Picture to Denias Senandung di Atas Awan. In an accompanying press release, it was stated that the film might have great potential for international release despite limited commercial prospects.

While accepting the award, director John De Rantau inadvertently summarized the trend in the local film scene over the past few years: ""The award is a testament that Indonesian films are not about two things, namely teenagers and ghosts.""

At the same time, the little-seen Bali International Film Festival awarded its Best Picture to Berbagi Suami.

But the festivities were marred by, yet again, the censorship board and its intrusion in banning five films on Aceh, Timor Leste and the Bali bombings. The LSF felt that screening these films would threaten the peace process in those areas.

Interestingly, however, the board passed A Hero's Journey, a documentary on Xanana Gusmao. The Timor Leste president himself also attended its premiere, and the film went on to win Movies that Matter, an award for films carrying the human rights theme.

Meanwhile, Rudy Soedjarwo proved his cinematic worth with the JiFFest's Best Director award for 9 Naga.

He will also finally release his delayed Pocong, although he has already decided on a sequel to his previously banned film. Pocong 2 has already received positive notes from critics and filmmakers alike over its press screening and premiere.

Yet, the same could not be said of Pesan dari Surga (Message from Heaven). The third film of Sekar Ayu Asmara relies heavily on a line-up of A-list stars that includes Luna Maya, Lukman Sardi, Rianti Cartwright, Vino G. Bastian, Catherine Wilson and many others -- apparently a necessary cover-up for the lack of proper storytelling.

Come 2007...

A little more than 30 Indonesian films were released in 2006, and the number might increase next year.

Apart from the usual horror fare that includes Roh (The Spirit), Terowongan Casablanca (The Casablanca Tunnel) and many of the same breed, next year's line-up offers some potentially interesting works as well.

Look out for the remake of the 1977 hit Badai Pasti Berlalu (The Storm will Pass) by Teddy Soeriaatmadja, fresh off his success of Ruang this year. Another remake of a hit, Nagabonar, will star Tora Sudiro in the title role, directed by Deddy Mizwar, the original star of the film.

Other films that may tickle filmgoers' fancy is The Long Road to Heaven, with Ennison Sinaro in the director's chair and Nia DiNata in the producer's. The film revolves around the aftermath of the Oct. 12, 2002 Bali bombing, with Surya Saputra donning a turban to play Hambali, one of the masterminds of the attack.

In the final analysis, there is always room in the local film scene for some reprieve and relief from being chased by ghosts and other supernatural creatures -- especially when there are so many real issues to tackle.

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