Writer-director Lucky Kuswandi’s new movie examines the contrasting, confounding and captivating face of the capital.
Words Bruce Emond Photos Meutia Ananda
The term “tale of two cities” is frequently bandied about in describing the Jakarta experience: rich and poor, tradition and modernity, urbanistas and provincial newbies with big dreams all coming together in an uneasy coexistence.
Severely cliched as it may be, there is truth to it, including in depicting the transformation of the city from day to night, when the streets – not so much lined with gold as with potholes – miraculously clear of traffic, smog and attendant angst. Under the cover of darkness, a curious human drama unfolds amid the night food stalls, entertainment diversions (minus the recently shuttered Stadium) and assorted goings-on. The dawn patrol of morning joggers signals the gritty long night’s journey into day is complete and the next set of stress tests begin for Jakartans.
It was this other side of Jakarta that greeted Lucky Kuswandi in 2005 after his return from an extended residence in the United States. Suffering from jetlag and what he describes as a bout of reverse culture shock, he remembers trying to reconnect with his childhood home during nocturnal wanderings.
“It had changed so much that I didn’t recognize it, and I felt isolated,” Lucky, 33, says. “I also realized how disconnected people are in the city.”
His experiences and efforts to put his feelings of alienation in perspective led to him drafting a script that, for one reason, or another did not make it to the screen. That was fortunate, he reflects, because he was still regarding the city through the eyes of a stranger.
Revised and updated for the ever-changing Jakarta of today, the script is now seeing the light of day as Selamat Pagi, Malam (In the Absence of the Sun). In Indonesian with English subtitles, the film will have its official premiere on June 18 and general release a day later – a cinematic present for the capital’s anniversary this month.
“The bone structure of the script is basically the same, but this time there are more little details and I feel the current script is much more truthful in capturing how people really talk and behave. I could only capture that after being here six years,” says Lucky, who made the acclaimed Madame X in 2010.
Singer Dira Sugandi in the spotlight.
Question of Identity
Selamat Pagi, Malam details three stories of women going through a jarring transition in their lives (Lucky originally included male characters but found he kept seeing himself in them; having all women as protagonists gave the movie a more unifying theme and added greater dimension to the characters).
Based on people the director has known, the cast of characters are Anggia (Adinia Wirasti), a young woman who returns to Jakarta after living in New York with the hope of reconnecting with her former lover Naomi (Marissa Anita), who is instead back on the straight and narrow of conventional life.
Indri (Ina Panggabean) is a towel girl at a swank fitness center who is on the make for a better life. She believes a blind date on her birthday will gift her a prince charming.
Ci Surya (Dayu Wijanto) is a middle-aged woman whose sense of self has been erased in her marriage. When her husband dies suddenly, and his infidelity is revealed, her ordered understanding of the world is shattered.
“The big theme of the film is identity, and I feel the city is in an identity crisis. There is a lot of duality in the city, that’s why there is the title. People wear a lot of masks, because they are very concerned with social status,” Lucky says, adding that each character represents the composite of a woman at different stages in life.
“These women lose their identity, but they find it during the night, when it’s not as crazy and hectic as the daytime. Then there are more reflective moments when nobody is looking and you can take off your mask and be yourself.”
Ultimately, the sun also rises, and the women go on to live another day.
“I feel like in the end they survive because Jakarta is like a prostitute with an attitude. You have to move on regardless of what you have experienced. At the end of the film, the characters realize they cannot hold onto their baggage but they have to tough it out,” he says.
Produced by Kepompong Gendut and Soda Machine Films, the movie entailed an 11-day shoot. Lucky says he chose locations that were not too touristy but showed the “little universes” that residents create for themselves in their Jakarta experience.
The timing of the general release before Jakarta’s 487th anniversary on June 22 is also deliberate.
“This film is really for Jakarta and the people. I want people to watch it and reflect and realize that there is something in the film that is about them. I just want to share my experience,” the director says.
A love letter to the city then?
“Call it a love and hate letter,” Lucky corrects.
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Cast Notes
Ina Panggabean (Indri)
Although Indri has experience in musical theater, this is her first feature film.
Lucky on Ina: We wanted someone who has a ditzy quality, someone with an innocent face but who also has a naughty side to her. And there were several quite explicit sex scenes she had to do, and she was fine with them. Or at least I think she was fine with them!
Ina on Indri: From observing and envying her friends’ social lives, she wants to “upgrade” her own life. I’ve met people like her, in fact people who are very close to me. She goes online and chats with a guy who seems handsome and all that. Then she meets him and, woah, he is totally different from her expectations. She is looking for instant changes. She gets away from him, but during the journey she meets someone else on the street who invites her to have noodles at a sidewalk stall. He makes her laugh and he is the man she has been looking for.
Ina on Jakarta: It’s the place where I seek my living, and where I enjoy myself. I always end up comparing the places I visit to Jakarta, and Jakarta always wins. This is the city where I have been able to move forward, even with the traffic jams and all the problems.
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Dayu Wijanto (Ci Surya)
Employed in a major media enterprise for many years, Dayu was a member of Teguh Karya’s Teater Populer troupe and has also acted in small roles in movies and made for TV movies.
Lucky on Dayu: She has a very interesting and expressive face that always seems full of secrets.
Dayu on Ci Surya: I am very lucky because of all the stories, I think mine is very different and, yes, juicier. It was a great challenge for me, because the character is very depressed, she feels her life has been turned upside down after her husband’s death. I’ve observed many women like her, someone who not know who she is. I’m pretty much alone in this movie, in contrast to other characters who have supporting actors to work with. I have to become the character and make sure the story is not flat.
Dayu on Jakarta: The city means a lot to me. It’s not a perfect city, it presents many challenges but it’s a real metropolis. I feel like I am part of Jakarta.
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Adinia Wirasti (Gia)
One of the nation’s most respected young actresses.
Lucky on Adinia: I had her in mind from the very beginning of finishing the script. She is a real actress in that she carefully studies a script to fully understand her character.
Adinia on Gia: I had my own experience with reverse culture shock from living in the US for a year, so I understood that. I opened myself to be aware of things to understand what the character was feeling. I found her to be fascinating, to have lived in America and known what it was like to be independent and a lesbian in a foreign nation, she must have been very strong. But then she has to return and deal with her own society.
Adinia on Jakarta: I have love-hate relationship with the city. Yes, I am annoyed with all the bureaucracy and everything, but I would rather stay here than anywhere else – except Java – maybe because I was born and raised here. But then again it’s so draining to live here. We live in a society where everybody cares what people say and how they judge us, and for me that’s very dangerous because you are not allowing yourself to be who you truly are. It’s a dangerous city for people who are not complete in themselves.
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Marissa Anita (Naomi)
The TV anchor and talk-show host is also an accomplished theater actress who has branched out into movies.
Lucky on Marissa: As with Adistia, I wanted her from the outset. She is an impeccable actress and she speaks perfect English, which was required as she is supposed to be from New York.
Marissa on Naomi: It shows the reality of middle and upper class kids who go abroad but are still under their parents’ thumb. Naomi was free to be who she wanted to be in art school abroad, but then came back and fell back into becoming what her parents wanted her to be.
Marissa on Jakarta: Jakarta for me is like a beautiful woman with too much surgery. It’s so messy, but it’s still beautiful, especially when there is less traffic. And it’s certainly much cheaper to live here than Sinapore and other major cities in the world.