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Gunpowder and unspoken tension set Mouly Surya's 'Perang Kota' ablaze
Director-writer Mouly Surya and actor Jerome Kurnia discuss their theatrical adaptation of the Mochtar Lubis classic and why complicated people make an "interesting" cinematic experience.
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Guerilla warfare: Perang Kota cast members Chicco Jerikho (left) and Jerome Kurnia (center) are directed by Mouly Surya (right). The latter's previous directorial credits include the 2017 neo-Western thriller Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts. Courtesy of Cinesurya, Starvision and Kaninga Pictures ( Cinesurya, Starvision and Kaninga Pictures/-)
A
fter watching the press screening of Mouly Surya's latest pic, Perang Kota, or This City Is a Battlefield its official English title, last week, it was clear that the Indonesian film industry needs her presence.
At a time when most Indonesian filmmakers seem to be more interested in how to move, and provoke, their audiences' hearts, the Citra-winning auteur, instead, dares to examine what makes Indonesian people so complex and, hence, fascinating to watch. Sometimes, the body language of Mouly's characters screams louder truth than their lines. Other times, they behave passive-aggressively or project emotions that we, as their audience, would not expect them to have.
"I understand what you mean," Mouly responded to that observation during a conversation after the screening. "Sometimes, the characters would bluff, and they would not mean what they said. But, for me, isn't that what makes a scene interesting?"
'Bow' and 'arrow'
Being a fan of Mochtar Lubis' writings, Mouly explained that even at her first reading, she was already able to visualize what the author's 1952 novel Jalan Tak Ada Ujung (Endless Road) would look like, cinematically. Unfortunately, Mouly didn't have the chance to ask any questions of the renowned literature figure, who had already passed away in 2004.
Out of curiosity, though: if only Mochtar were still with us today, what would Mouly have asked him?
"Are you mad?" she would ask him, hypothetically, "[and] who are you mad at?"
