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Immigrants drawn by magnetic Bali
Indonesia's premiere film maker, Garin Nugroho, revels in the archipelago's cultural diversity: it's stories that span hundreds of different lifetimes, which despite those differences beat with the same human heart
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Indonesia's premiere film maker, Garin Nugroho, revels in the archipelago's cultural diversity: it's stories that span hundreds of different lifetimes, which despite those differences beat with the same human heart.
Nugroho is currently finishing his most recent film, Under the Tree, which is being shot in Bali and due for release later this year. He says the film examines Bali's emerging immigrant culture through the eyes of three women.
Through the film he weaves Jakartan and Balinese culture, touching on dilemmas, heartbreak, love and hope, emotions that affect every life, regardless of cultural background.
"The film is set in Bali because it is one of the most important places in Indonesia. A place everyone dreams of. Also, I always make films in local areas, such Papua, Sumba, NTT, because I think the beauty of Indonesia is in its multiculturalism.
"As a film maker, every time I make a film here it is like a new journey -- a new discovery. It is always a quantum leap from one culture to the next," says Nugroho of his untiring fascination with Indonesia.
Under the Tree sees life through the eyes of women, says Nugroho, because the director believes women hold the key to another "perspective in the real society".
"I think many of the country's problems can be solved by women," he says.
He adds that Bali is like a magnet for many women seeking to create a new life, a cultural melting pot that allows for self discovery and revelation. The magnetic quality of Bali can be seen in its growing immigrant population, says Nugroho.
"Bali is becoming multicultural like Europe or America. Immigrating there can offer a good life, education ... so there is this migrant society in Bali."
He explains that the stories of Bali's migrant society can also be made up of tragedy and loss, such as a pregnant woman from Java who moves to the island and sells her baby, or the daughter of a Jakartan family who discovers her real mother is a Balinese dancer.
The film is about love and loss expressed in the simplicity and majesty of a Balinese sunrise.
"One of the women is Ayu. She is 40 years old and pregnant, but there is something wrong with her baby. It will die within hours of birth and she has to decide whether to continue the pregnancy or have an abortion," says Nugroho of the dilemmas faced in life, the contradiction of one woman selling her baby and another losing hers -- the twisting knife of love's trade-offs.
"The film is about the struggle within emotions that in Bali become like sunrise or sunset. Sunrise in Bali is short, but so beautiful," says Nugroho of one element of the film that expresses the endless cycle of life and rebirth at the heart of Balinese beliefs.
Dancer Bulantrisna Djelantik performs a “healing dance” in a scene from Under the Tree. (JP/J. B. Djwan)He adds the film has shadows of the tales of the Mahabharata, pointing up the infinite perspectives in life; stories that hold true to the human condition 2,000 years after they were written.
The film's title, Under the Tree, refers to the Balinese reverence for trees, says Nugroho.
"The title is because in Balinese culture, trees are so important -- everything is related to trees," says Nugroho of the "tree of life" metaphor pointing to flowers and leaves used daily in Hindu ceremonies, trees as places to sit in the shade and rest, and the banyan tree with its spiritual connection to the Gods.
Much of the film was shot in the homes of the films' actresses, including Bulantrisna and Rina, says Nugroho.
"We shot in Bali at the homes of the dancers. Bulantrisna's house is like a library, an intellectual house. The home of the Kecak dancer, Rina, is the home of an every day life. These homes are a library of Bali," explains Nugroho of the way homes can be read to tell of the lives of their inhabitants.
His next project is a schizophrenic leap from the culture of the soul to the culture of rock and roll: He is currently working on a film about Indonesia's rock band, Slank.
Under the Tree is set for an October release.
"I hope it can be launched in Bali," says Nugroho.
