Stars among the stars: (from left to right) The director, Leonard Retel Helmrich and four of the leading protagonists: Rumidjah Sjamsuddin, Theresia Untari, Sri and Bachtiar “Bakti” Becker. JP/Ricky Yudhistira
Making two good films about Indonesia wasn’t enough for Dutch documentary filmmaker Leonard Retel Helmrich. He had to make three at least.
After securing so many prestigious cinema awards from his two documentary series about the life of an Indonesian middle class family, Helmrich has made a comeback with his latest film Position Among The Stars which serves as the last episode of his trilogy about Indonesia.
And he nailed it again this time.
The director kept his audiences riveted to their seats with a captivating storyline punctuated by breathtaking views and picturesque shots, telling a witty story about the daily struggles of a middle
class family living in the big capital of Jakarta.
The 115-minute film has so far won two awards at the 2010 prestigious International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, including the Best Feature-Length Documentary.
Helmrich told The Jakarta Post at the movie screening in Jakarta recently that the film would be featured in the upcoming Cannes Film Festival in January and was set to snatch another award in the most
celebrated film festival this coming year.
Helmrich is no stranger to the international film festival community.
He has already won many awards from his previous documentary portraying the daily life of a Jakarta-based family.
Position Among The Stars is the latest in his trilogy recounting the life of Rumidjah Sjamsuddin and her middle-class family.
The previous film Shape of The Moon (2004) grabbed international attention by receiving series of awards in prominent film festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival in 2005.
His documentaries are known for their natural and dynamic yet rich in detail shots.
It is as if the camera didn’t exist during the shooting, because the expressions captured throughout the entire film are so natural, free and intimate.
Thanks to the Single Shot Cinema technique, an approach he has developed and mastered over many years, Helmrich is able to capture all the events in the family without the protagonists feeling monitored.
The technique involves using a small camera that also moves following the subject’s movements.
“I was there as a person not as a camera,” Helmrich said when asked how he could capture all his characters’ natural expressions.
The protagonists in the movie all confirmed they never felt like they were being filmed.
“I just sat and I didn’t realize they were filming me,” said Rumidjah, who was also present at the screening night.
The intimacy Helmrich succeeded in creating in his documentary is also the result of his 12-year relationship with the family, which he has been following since the fall of president Soeharto in 1998.
The family’s reaction toward the drastic political changes was captured in Eye of The Day (2001), the first part of the trilogy which also won several awards and special mentions in international
festivals.
In the second part, Helmrich broaches religious issues as Rumidjah, a Christian, deals with her son Bakti’s plans to convert to Islam to marry his girlfriend Sri.
But Position Among the Stars tackles much richer subjects, ranging from religion, personal conflicts to financial difficulties. As Tari, Rumidjah’s granddaughter, needs a handsome sum of money to pay her
college tuition fees, her family goes through a series of motions to finance her higher education.
Overall, the film successfully captures the financial difficulties suffered by Jakarta’s middle class. The distribution of direct cash aids and the gas canister brouhaha mark the entire movie, which Helmrich colors with funny and unexpected moments.
These include Bakti, who has become the neighboring unit chief, helping his brother obtain direct cash aid by writing a recommendation letter to the local authority portraying his relative as poor. Or
Rumidjah being forced to ride a motorcycle taxi mounted on a platform on the rail track for the last leg of her trip home, as she can no longer afford to stop off at the closest station to her house.
Director’s notes: The director of Position Among The Stars, Leonard Retel Helmrich, explains the film after a screening in Jakarta. JP/Ricky Yudhistira Overall, the film is lauded for successfully grasping the core issues affecting middle-class Jakartans and recording their angst and fury toward the government for failing to do its job properly.
But apart from the strong focus on the social and economic aspects of middle-class life, the film still offers audiences magnificent views of the surrounding environment of the city and village.
The most touching scene is when Rumidjah spends the night out with her friend Tumisah, enjoying the spectacular starry skies in her hometown while singing traditional songs about diamonds in the sky.
When asked whether this would be his last documentary project on the family, Helmrich said he wasn’t sure. He would be interested in making another sequel if he found another interesting issue to raise about the family.
With his trilogy, Helmrich has gained a reputation as one of the most knowledgeable directors about Indonesia.
Born in the Netherland 51 years ago from an Indonesian mother, Helmrich feels very close to Indonesia. In fact, he said he needed to be back in Indonesia to finish the last episode of his series.
“I had been editing for months in Harvard, but I was stuck. Then I remembered my promise to climb Mount Sumbing [Central Java] so I did, and I was able to finish it [the documentary].”
