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Garin Nugroho keeps rediscovering film
Often stood at the center of controversies regarding his films, Garin Nugroho said his films reflected his restlessness over sociopolitical and economic issues in his surroundings.
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Curious mind: Prolific filmmaker Garin Nugroho made a name for himself through his works that many critics say are artsy and at the same time, edgy. (Courtesy of kapanlagi.com/-)
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fter the premiere of Rindu Kami Padamu (Of Love and Eggs) in 2004, filmmaker Garin Nugroho got a call from his mother asking whether the film was a tribute to her. He reluctantly affirmed.
“Don’t make a film for me, make it for yourself to calm your mind. If you are restful, then so I am,” said his mother as cited by Garin at Goethe-Institute Indonesien's Arthouse Cinema: Extra program in Jakarta on Aug. 27.
In the discussion with the audience between the screenings of his two latest films – Kucumbu Tubuh Indahku (Memories of My Body) and Nyai – the 58-year-old filmmaker acknowledged that all of his films reflected his restlessness over an issue or more at the corresponding time.
Rindu, for example, was created after the case surrounding teenage comedy Buruan Cium Gue (Hurry Up and Kiss Me), which was later banned from theaters because the title irked some Muslim clerics.
His first commercial feature film Cinta Dalam Sepotong Roti (Love in a Slice of Bread) was made during the authoritarian New Order regime in 1991 to show how apathetic the young generation was at that time.
Surat untuk Bidadari (Letter to an Angel) in 1994, the original story of which was later developed into Mouly Surya’s internationally acclaimed 2017 film Marlina si Pembunuh dalam Empat Babak (Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts), was Garin’s harsh comment on the government’s Javanese-centric policy that swept away local wisdom and cultures in other parts of the country.
