If there is a genre, or rather, a format, in cinema which has always proven itself to be risky, it is without doubt the omnibus film. Even with the best of intentions, these films bring together several creative talents with a theme, a location or a particular form of expression, but every time and everywhere, they have turned out to be disappointments. However, in Indonesia, two omnibus films have turned out to be good surprises in the recent years, both showing a satisfyingly complex ensemble: one is the horror movie Takut: Faces Of Fear, and the other is the drama Chants Of Lotus, which was the most controversial winner at the Indonesian Film Awards in 2008. Presented in the full original version as the closing movie at the Jakarta International Film Festival in 2007, Chants Of Lotus (Perempuan punya cerita, or “the women have stories”) met serious resistance from the from the Indonesian film censor board, who demanded heavy editing before authorizing the film’s release. The producer and one of the directors Nia Dinata launched a vigorous campaign to defend the artistic integrity of the film as a reaction to this, taking a request to the Constitutional Court for the MFI (Masyarakat Filem Indonesia or the Indonesian Film Society) to reform the censor system. A documentary was even made about this case, but unfortunately, a censured version of the film was released in Indonesia in the end, while the full version is only available of screening at festivals and international markets.
Financed by Kalyana Shira Foundation project and with the goal of giving Indonesian woman a right to voice their opinions, Chants Of Lotus is a film with four episodes, written by Vivian Idris and Melissa Karim and directed by Fatimah T. Rony, Upi, Nia Dinata and Lasja Susatyo. The intention is to tell stories from a feminine point of view in different geographical and social contexts in Indonesia. In “Chant From An Island”, Fatimah T.Rony chooses a small and isolated island in the Indonesian archipelago as location - a place where prejudices and conservatism are prevalent. The story is about a midwife suffering from cancer, who finds herself facing the ostracism of the whole village when she makes the difficult decision to supervise the pregnancy (result of a violent rape) of a mentally handicapped girl. Despite the indulgent postcard-style presentation of the island’s scenery, Rony presents her moral drama with much pathos and emotion, helped along emphatically by Rieke Dyah Pitaloka’s turn as the midwife.
The most surprising episode of the four is without doubt Upi’s “Chant From A Tourist City”. Based on a sociological study on the young people of Yogyakarta (also mentioned in the documentary made about the problems that this film had with censorship), this segment concentrates on the explicit and provocative manner on the sexual practices of the Indonesian internet generation. Without any morals or inhibitions, Upi tells the story of casual encounters which begin online, of groups whose raison d’être are sex and drugs, as well as the hypocritical way in which the media exploit this “moral deviance” - the most shocking aspect shown is probably seeing a veiled girl talk about sex without any qualms.
In “Chant From A Village”, Nia Dinata concentrates on a story about maternity, friendships between women of different generations and their deluded dreams and illusions. A single mother, who works as an attendant in a colorful nightclub tries to keep the daughter she has raised on her own away from the many risks that a small-town young women, naïve dreamers, come across. However, she has to deal with the terrible reality of the trafficking of women and children… Nia Dinata, together with her versatile leading actress Shanty, ably alternates between the lighter tone from the first half of the film to one that is more dramatic in the second.
Finally, in “Chant From The Capital City”, Lasja Susatyo confronts the prejudices that women, even in modern and relatively western cities like Jakarta, still have to go through. The protagonist fights to keep her beloved daughter with her against the wishes of her husband’s family (he recently died from AIDS). They accuse her of having passed on the disease to her husband, while in fact, the truth is that he was cheating on her and caught the virus himself. Told in the way, and with the sentimental music, of commercial melodramas, Susatyo’s episode, more than the others, aims to move its audience and rounds off Chants Of Lotus on a painful and unresolved note.
Paolo Bertolin