Terang Boelan

Terang Boelan([təˈraŋbuˈlan];Indonesianfor "Full Moon",Terang Bulanin theEnhanced Spelling System) is a 1937film from theDutch East Indies(now Indonesia). Written bySaeroen, directed byAlbert Balink, and starringRd Mochtar,Roekiahand Eddie T. Effendi,Terang Boelanfollows two lovers who elope after one is almost forced to marry anopiumsmuggler. The film was shot in the Indies and Singapore, and was partially inspired by the 1936 Hollywood filmThe Jungle Princess. It was aimed atnativeaudiences and includedkeroncongmusic, which was popular at the time, and several actors from Balink's previous workPareh(1936).
Terang Boelanwas a commercial success in both the Indies and abroad, earning 200,000Straits dollarsinBritish Malaya. This success revived the faltering domestic film industry and inspired films aimed atMalayaudiences in Malaya, creating a formula of songs, beautiful scenery and romance that was followed for decades afterwards. The Indonesian film historianMisbach Yusa Birandescribed it as a turning point in the history of Indonesian cinema for its catalytic effect on the industry's growth. Like many Indonesian films of the era,Terang Boelanhas beenlostsince at least the 1970s.
Rohaya must separate from her lover, Kasim, so that she can marry her father's choice, the disreputable but rich Musa. The night before the wedding, Kasim plays the song "Terang Boelan" for Rohaya, and they agree toelope. The following day, Rohaya and Kasim escape from Sawoba Island toMalacca, where Kasim begins work at adrydockand Rohaya keeps busy as a housewife. They discover that Kasim's old friend Dullah has lived in Malacca for some time.
Their life together is interrupted when Musa, who is revealed to be an opium dealer, discovers them. While Kasim is away at work, Rohaya's father comes and takes her back to Sawoba. Kasim, having discovered Musa's deeds, also returns to Sawoba and rallies the villagers to his side by telling them of Musa's opium dealings. He and Musa begin fighting. When it appears Kasim may lose, he is saved by Dullah, who had followed him back to Sawoba. The villagers and Rohaya's father agree that Kasim and Rohaya should be together, as they are truly in love.
During 1934 and early 1935, all feature films released in theDutch East Indieshad been made by the American-educatedChinese-IndonesiandirectorThe Teng Chun.His low budget but popular films were mainly inspired byChinese mythologyor martial arts, and although aimed at ethnic Chinese proved popular amongnative audiencesbecause of their action sequences.The Teng Chun's dominance was an effect of theGreat Depressionand changing market trends. The Great Depression had led to the Dutch East Indies government collecting higher taxes and cinemas selling tickets at lower prices, ensuring that there was a very lowprofit marginfor local films. As a result, cinemas in the colony mainly showedHollywoodproductions, while the domestic industry decayed.The Teng Chun was able to continue his work only because his films often played to full theatres.
In an attempt to show that locally produced, well-made films could be profitable, the Dutch journalistAlbert Balink, who had no formal film experience,producedPareh(Rice) in 1935 in collaboration with the ethnic ChineseWong brothers(Othniel and Joshua), and the Dutch documentary filmmakerMannus Franken.The film cost 20 times as much as an average local production,in part because of Balink's perfectionism, and was ultimately a failure. The Indonesian writer and cultural criticArmijn Panewrote thatParehhad performed poorly with native audiences as it was seen as looking at them through European eyes.Parehbankrupted its producers,and enabled The Teng Chun to dominate the industry – although with less traditional stories – for a further two years.
By late 1936 Balink had obtained financial backing from several domestic and foreign companies with which he, the Wongs, and Franken opened the Dutch Indies Film Syndicate (Algemeen Nederlandsch Indisch Filmsyndicaat, or ANIF) inBatavia(now Jakarta). Although this new establishment focused mainly onnewsreelsand documentaries, on 1 January 1937 ANIF announced that it would produce severalfeature films, one of which wasTerang Boelan.
The story forTerang Boelanwas written bySaeroen, a reporter with the newspaperPemandanganwho had close connections to the theatrical community, shortly after the domestic release of the American-producedDorothy LamourvehicleThe Jungle Princess(1936), which served as an inspiration.The Indonesian film historianMisbach Yusa Biranwrote that this gaveTerang Boelanstylistic and thematic similarities to the earlier film.The Indonesian film critic Salim Said also recognised such similarities, describingTerang Boelanas reflecting the "jungle princess" works popular at the time.Saeroen named the fictional island on whichTerang Boelantakes place "Sawoba" after the crew: Saeroen, Wong, and Balink.
Production had begun by February 1937, under Balink's direction and with the Wongs as cinematographers, only to be interrupted by the relocation of ANIF's offices. Filming had begun by May of that year.Sources conflict as to whether Franken was involved: Biran wrote that Franken had been left in charge of the studio's documentaries,while the American film scholarKarl G. Heiderrecorded Franken as co-directing the film.As opposed to The Teng Chun, who aimed his films at lower-class audiences, Balink aimed his film at educated native Indonesians, attempting to show them not from a European perspective but as they viewed themselves.According to Said, this arose as a reaction toPareh'sfailure and resulted in a lessethnologicalapproach.Terang Boelanwas shot in black-and-white using highly flammablenitrate filmatCilincingin Batavia, Merak Beach inBanten, andTanjong Katongin Singapore.The use of nitrate film may have been a factor in the film's later loss.
The cast ofTerang Boelanmainly consisted of actors who had appeared inPareh. This included theleading actor, Rd Mochtar, and several minor players, including Eddie T. Effendi and Soekarsih. Other cast members, including theleading ladyRoekiah and her husband Kartolo, were drawn from traditionaltoneeltheatrical troupes; this may have been part of an effort to attract theatregoers. The film, which included the songs "Terang Boelan" and "Boenga Mawar" ("Rose"), required its cast to singkeroncongmusic (traditional music withPortugueseinfluences); because Mochtar's voice was ill-suited to the task, the musicianIsmail Marzuki– who also composed the film's score – sang while Mochtarlip synced.
Terang Boelanpremiered on 8 December 1937 at the Rex Theatre in Batavia, the capital of the Dutch East Indies; it played to a nearly full theatre.Also marketed under the Dutch titleHet Eilan der Droomen, the film was advertised as showing that the Indies were as beautiful asHawaii, a popular island paradise in Hollywood films. Posters also emphasised the use of Indonesian-language dialogue.William van der Heide, a lecturer on film studies at theUniversity of Newcastlein Australia, notes that the film continued a trend of "Indonesianisation", or the application of a national (Indonesian) understanding to borrowed concepts; forTerang Boelanthis indigenisation process involved the inclusion of "exotic local settings" andkeroncongmusic. Such adaptations of foreign films had arisen several years earlier and continued long afterTerang Boelan'srelease.
The film was a commercial success, both in the Indies and nearbyBritish Malaya. Native audiences filled the cinemas, most of them working-class people, including native fans oftoneelandkeroncongwho rarely watched films.After being licensed byRKO Radio Pictures, the film was screened in British Malaya, where it was advertised as "the first and best Malay musical" and earned 200,000Straits dollars(then equivalent toUS$114,470) in two months.Terang Boelanproved to be the most successful production in the area untilKrisis(Crisis) in 1953, released after the Netherlands recognised Indonesia's independence in 1949.
Despite the success, ANIF was displeased with the film and halted its other non-documentary productions; one of the studio's cameramen, anIndoman named J.J.W. Steffens,suggested that ANIF's management preferred works of non-fiction as a more intellectual medium. Disappointed by the company's reaction, Balink left the Indies and emigrated to the United States in March 1938.Terang Boelan'scast left ANIF not long afterwards and, after briefly touring Malaya, joinedTan's Film.They made their first film for Tan's,Fatima, in 1938. Mochtar, who soon married fellowTerang Boelanactress Soekarsih, continued to be cast as Roekiah's lover; the two were a popular screen couple until Mochtar left Tan's in 1940 over a wage dispute.
The success ofTerang Boelanled to an increase in film production in the colony, many of the films following the same formula, including songs, beautiful scenery and romance.BeforeTerang Boelan, local studios had generally been unsuccessful in finding a formula popular with audiences,but the triple successes ofTerang Boelan,Fatima, andAlang-Alang(Grass, 1939) revived the industry.Four newproduction houseswere established in 1940,and actors and actresses previously attached to theatrical troupes entered the film industry, which was reaching new audiences.Most locally producedfilms released in the Indieswere made between 1939 and theJapanese occupationin 1942.Meanwhile, in Malaya, the brothersRun RunandRunme Shaw, drawing inspiration fromTerang BoelanandAlang-Alang'ssuccess withMalay audiences, established Malay Film Productions in Singapore, where it became one of the more successful production houses.
Heider consideredTerang Boelanone of the two most important cinematic works from the Dutch East Indies during the 1930s; Balink's earlier filmParehwas the other. He notes thatTerang Boelan"set the tone for popular Indonesian cinema", a tone that remained dominant into the 1990s.Biran considered the film a turning point in the history ofIndonesian cinema, showing the possibilities of the medium and serving as a catalyst for further development.Said concurred, describing the film as a milestone in Indonesia's history because of the widespread formula it introduced.The repeated use ofTerang Boelan'sformula has been criticised. The directorTeguh Karya, for instance, denounced films that used it without building on it, leaving the formula "undeveloped and static".
Terang Boelanis consideredlost,as are most domestic productions from the era.The Filipino film historian and directorNick Deocamponoted that productions made with nitrate film – such asTerang Boelan– burned easily and were thus easily lost, but suggested that copies of the film may have survived until the 1970s.In a 1991 publication Said, Heider, and the American translatorJohn H. McGlynnexpressed hope that a copy of the film might be lying around in someone's attic or closet in Indonesia or the Netherlands.