I am an old softie at heart and this Indonesian
romantic comedy with songs spilling out of the rafters found all my soft
spots and hugged them. This was made in 1956 when the innocence felt real
and the music was lyrical and sweet. I love coming across a film like this
because I had no idea that Indonesia was making movies like this. It was
the same with Malaysian and Egyptian films from that same period - wonderful
music and a sense of gentle sophisticated modernity that went crashing out
in religious orthodoxy. This was a huge hit and is still well-loved. It is
about family, tradition and the love that holds a family together. Very old-fashioned
like a parasol. Or a bicycle rickshaw. It is also slyly very amusing and
the songs are lovely.
It is directed by Usmar Ismail who was more
of an experimental filmmaker and like most experimental filmmakers his company
was going broke. So he thought he better try and make something more commercial
and came up with this. He hated it. Everyone else loved it. The film was
restored and the picture quality is terrific. So many Indonesian films have
been lost. A reference I came across said it was highly influenced by the
Deanna Durbin vehicle Three Smart Girls and there is a definite resemblance.
Interestingly, there is also a resemblance to a Hong Kong Cathay film that
came out the year after - Our Sister Hedy.
Sukander (Hassan Sanusi) is a middle class
father to three daughters. The mother died years ago but the grandmother
(Fifi Young) has been living with them ever since. The three daughters
- Nunung (Chitra Dewi), Nana (Mieke Wijaya) and Nenny (Indriati Iskak) all
have distinct personalities that bind them together but also causes problems.
Grandmother is the trouble maker though who uses guilt like a shiv into your
heart when you least expect it. She goes into the I want a grandchild before
I die routine and guilts Sukander into trying to find a husband for the oldest
daughter, Nunung. Nunung is as much mother as sister to the other two and
isn't interested. But Nana sure is. She looks at men like they are chocolate
sundaes with a cherry on top. And Nenny is like a skittish long-legged colt
finding her legs. She is also the smartest - the Deanna Durbin of the film.
When finally a man shows up who is interested
in Nunung, Nana swoops in like a Panzer tank crossing the Maginot Line and
grabs him. It is up to the clever Nenny to save the day and bring the family
back together again. Yes, corny for today but very effective because this
is a family that has gained your affection - even the damn grandmother. This
made stars of all three girls and they all went on to good careers. The songs
are basically ballads and only Mieke sings her own - the other two are dubbed.
There were nine songs in the near two-hour film. In a way this is frustrating
because I want to see more like this but I think very few exist in decent
condition.
