Film industry reduces life to romance: veteran

Seti Iwan ,  Contributor ,  Jakarta   |  Sun, 04/13/2008 5:26 PM  |  Entertainment

Having worked for more than two decades in Indonesia's film industry, Deddy Mizwar is in a good position to comment on it.

He believes that while more Indonesian films are being produced, their quality lags far behind India and South Korea -- the result of film producers underestimating the public's desire to see good films.

"In general, we're no better than ten or eleven years ago. Entertainment taxes, outdated film production technology, a small number of theaters, a lack of education institutions to train people in the industry -- they're all the same problems that film was struggling against years ago," Deddy, who recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the MTV Indonesian Movie Awards, said.

Deddy said he was one of the few people who still believed films were a mirror of a country's social and cultural condition, but he was saddened to see what was being shown in theaters.

"If we look at films produced at home, we'll see the problems faced by this country reduced to dramatic teen romances and ghost-busting mysteries. There are plenty of interesting aspects of life here that are waiting to be explored," he said.

His deep concern over the current state of the country's film industry spurred Deddy, who was born in Jakarta 53 years ago, to release Naga Bonar Jadi 2 (Naga Bonar Becomes 2), starring Tora Sudiro. The film is a sequel to Naga Bonar, which was directed by M.T Risyaf and released in 1987. The drama-comedy, also starring Nurul Arifin, brought him fame and the Best Actor award in the then-prestigious Indonesian Film Festival.

Naga Bonar, also the name of the main character in the film, takes Sumatra before the independence war as its setting. Naga is a petty criminal who pretends to be a general who takes up arms against Dutch soldiers to make his life easier.

However, a series of events-- a death of a sidekick and a crush on the daughter of a local figure -- bring Naga Bonar to his senses, and he eventually fights for the independence movement to rid Dutch soldiers from the island.

In the sequel, made twenty years later, Naga Bonar Jadi 2 has the now-older Naga Bonar visiting his son Bonaga, played by Tora Sudiro, who is a successful executive in Jakarta.

Father-and-son conflict over their generation gap is at the core of the film. But Deddy said he wants to show more than that.

"Naga Bonar Jadi 2 explores different perspectives on love. This country is made up of tens of thousands of sprawling islands, and God knows, with so many tribes and languages, if they are not tied together with love for this one Indonesia, we'll have to witness never-ending bloody conflicts here and there," he said.

Before its release Deddy said he realized his film would be at odds with most teen flicks and horror films at the theater. But he believes the success of a film also depends on other non-cinematographic aspects.

"There is no theory that says films that are not teen or horror films will not be watched, or vice versa. What I know is how to make good film. To sell the film, we need promotion and marketing. Teamwork is the key," Deddy, who owns Demi Gisela Citra Sinema production house, said.

Teamwork has obviously worked, with Deddy considering re-releasing Naga Bonar in May after a warm public reception to Naga Bonar Jadi 2.

The picture quality will be updated at its repeated release, and Deddy has invited singer Melly Goeslaw to compose a new soundtrack score.

"The re-release of this film will introduce a different kind of Indonesia to film lovers today. Although it was made 20 years ago, I believe the themes are still relevant to today's context," he said.

When the country's film industry was comatose, Deddy, like many other film stars, turned to television while it was booming in the 1990s with the arrival of new private televisions.

Yet he took the path not taken by most production houses that flooded television with teen or Cinderella-like sinetron soap operas. Deddy produced religious ones.

He made television versions of one of his film Kiamat Sudah Dekat, and several other religious titles including Para Pencari Tuhan (God Seekers), Lorong Waktu (Time Tunnel), Pengembara (Traveler), which reportedly received good ratings for their timely release during the fasting month.

He said he was happy to produced religious-themed soap operas because he thought people -- regardless of their religion -- strived to find a "creator" and he wanted to provide a window through his works in which they were able to.

"Two-or-three minute-long commercials for television can influence many people to buy stuff, why not influence people to do some good with our soap operas?" he said.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.