There is no doubt that Indonesian movies can be compared with asia or even
international movies. For examples, “The Raid” (2011) that showed in Toronto
International Film Festival (TIFF) and received positive reviews from many
critics in the world. “No frills and all
thrills, The Raid : Redemption is an inventive action film expertly paced and
edited for maximum entertainment” posted on Rotten Tomatoes, one of known critics website. But there’s a fact,
that we can’t denied, that Indonesian market can’t break the rules of market
demand.
Indonesian market always look for the new trend and it is hard to break
through it. After ”Jelangkung” (2001), there was a trend of horror genre that
was followed by ”Pocong” (2006) and “Kuntilanak” (2006). The next trend was the
religious genre that was pioneered by “Ayat-ayat cinta” (2008). And now, we
back to the horror genre with a spin of comedic-porn in it. There was some good
movies that worth to watch in a year but it can be count with our finger.
I’m actually a big fan of Indonesian movies, like “Ada Apa Dengan Cinta?”(2002), “Arisan”(2003),
“Rumah Dara” (2009), “Modus Anomali”(2012), and many more. But I’m getting more and more
concerned of Indonesian movies’ industry that always demand to produce movie
with a “popular” genre, and sometimes not looking for the quality of the movie
itself.
I believe Indonesian movies will make a comeback that can wow-ed the
international market. But first we have to overcome what we called crisis of Indonesia genre and elevate the quality of the movies.
Hi Ivy! I am thrilled you wrote about this in your blog ☺ I like to watch movies too (though it is getting harder to compete with the tight mid-term exam schedule, hm) and your sayings of being a fan of Indonesian movies is really nice. You know, some people out there is that careless about our own movie industry. They think our movies are already that dull, going to cinema and wasting money on it would be lame. That’s sad, in my opinion. I’m sure we’re seeing the same thing here; those people missing huge things.
ReplyDeleteInteresting fact is that; there are so many talented people in our country but they need the stronger force to make a sound in local film industry rather than international. So instead, they take the foreign film festival, make fame for themselves, and sometimes after the local media spread it and make the name for the movie, the director will finally set the roll on our local theater. Yes, The Raid is one example of it. The movie had its world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival in Canada and proudly gained positive reviews from it. Afterwards, The Raid traveled to Texas for another screening at SXSW, an annual music, film, and interactive conference and festival there. Next thing we know, it sets on the list of ‘Now Playing’ in our cinema and after the good news, people couldn’t resist to make a line for it. Indeed, a good one.
Nonetheless, it is not that easy. Not every of our movie could travel miles abroad to receive good reviews, even if it is incredibly good. So they just throw it to the cinema, trying to fight with the common market taste (as you have mentioned, cheap horror slash semi-porn), and it is an honest truth, that they still cannot race with that.
I do believe, as well, that Indonesia’s movie industry will make its comeback. No, it is already making it as we speak now. With Laskar Pelangi or The Rainbow Troops getting its chance to Hollywood, Postcard from the Zoo at Berlin International Film Festival, Modus Anomali, and the list goes on, there is a good chance our movie industry will soon wake up. It just needs a lift from all the moviegoers in our country to open their eyes for it. That’s all I think, sorry for the long comment ☺