The Buru Tetralogy has had a profound influence on the Indonesian literary and cultural scene. Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s four novels Bumi Manusia, Anak Semua Bangsa, Jejak Langkah, and Rumah Kaca have opened an alternative space for knowledge about social facts in the colonial era. Through the character of Minke, a Javanese nobleman represented by Raden Mas Tirto Adhi Soerjo, Pram depicts the details of colonialism through people’s thoughts and encounters.
Responding to this monumental work, MILISIFILEM undertook a project to read Buru Tetralogy as an inspiration in producing films. This project resulted in the creation of 3 films, i.e. Sparrow in the Storm (Van Luber Parensen, 2023), Sugar Map (Ali Satria Effendi, 2023), and I Watch You Watch Them (Helmi Yusron, 2023). All three films were produced during the final study period of the 6th batch of MILISIFILEM class (Edelweiss batch).
The process of making this film was conducted in 5 months starting with the reading of the book that had to be finished. The interesting thing is that in the process of reading the book, the 10 people of the production team only read one book which was being read in shifts. Therefore, while one person was reading, the other nine were assigned to contemplate, envision, and open up a space of imagery. The result of this contemplation during listening became one of the foundations of the aesthetic style of storytelling in the film production of this project.
The three films from MILISIFILEM’s Minke Project were presented at Festival Film Dokumenter 2023 under the Lanskap program. The films were screened during the second screening slot at Bioskop Sonobudoyo on Friday (8/12/2023). After the screening, the audience participated in a Q&A session attended by directors Van Luber Parensen, Ali Satria Effendi, and Helmi Yusron as well as Otty Widasari as the program manager.
The first question tried to uncover the influence of the film Photocopier (Wregas Bhanuteja, 2021) in symbolizing the use of fogging in the films in the Minke Project, especially Pipit in the Storm (2023). In response, Van Luber explained that it was just a momentum and a reality that happened in Jakarta, so the form was a phenomenon captured and framed in the film, not something specifically associated with a particular work.
Following this, director Ali Satria Effendi took turns answering questions about his views on the closing cycle of sugar factories, particularly in the film Sugar Map (2023). Ali explained that when reading the second book of the tetralogy, Anak Semua Bangsa, he captured the scene of Minke’s psychogeographic journey around the sugar cane fields in an aimless manner. On this journey, Minke met with farmers–his own people–and understood the events of the forced confiscation of land from them. Upon seeing this, Ali was inspired to go on a similar journey and discovered that when rice fields are no longer fertile, they are immediately offered by the capital owners of sugarcane plantations. Although not as harsh as during the colonization era, there is a repetition of such events–losing to capital owners. During the colonial era, people had to give up their land to be turned into sugarcane industry, while today farmers must surrender to circumstances in the hands of capital owners.
When asked about works other than Pram’s book that became references in making his film, Helmi quickly answered La Jetée (Chris Marker, 1962). He referred to this work when planning his aesthetic, since all the pictures in I Watch You Watch Them (2023) were taken from photographs. He also used references from world photographers, such as Daidō Moriyama and Henri Cartier-Bresson as references in taking pictures on location. As for other film references, Helmi mentioned Salut les Cubains (Agnès Varda, 1963). Helmi’s decision to create a film from photographs is his attempt to relate the concepts in Rumah Kaca (the last novel of the Buru Tetralogy) to the present day. In his creative process, Helmi took the aesthetic form of photography and made a montage to create his film.
Otty added that what makes I Watch You Watch Them (2023) interesting is that in the last book of the Buru Tetralogy, Rumah Kaca, there is a shift in subject from Minke to Pangemanan. In this book, Pangemanan is told to be in charge of watching Minke’s movements which are considered dangerous. “What Helmi does is to observe Pangemanan who observes Minke. Therefore, the title I Watch You Watch Them was used,” she explained.
On this occasion, Van Luber, Helmi, and Ali also shared their contact with Pram’s work before working on the Minke Project. Van Luber said he had read the first book of the Buru Tetralogy, Bumi Manusia. Ali had also read Pram’s work, but outside the Buru Tetralogy, which is Mangir. Helmi was the only one who had read Pram’s work for the first time in this project. When asked about his impressions and the relevance of Pram’s works today after working on this project, Helmi said, “Pram is one of those writers whose writings are timeless, so reading them even now can still be relevant to the changing times”. He added that the progression of technology affects all aspects of human life, even photos are important in Rumah Kaca. Ali explains, “What makes Pram’s work still relevant today is the way he writes, which is very easy to follow technically”. This is what makes Pram’s work readable by all groups because it is coherent and easy to understand. Van Luber explained that Pram’s famous quote “being fair since it’s still on the mind” has been reflected through his works.
MILISIFILEM has completed the Minke Project by producing 3 films. However, the effort to put Pram’s thoughts into visual cinematic form did not stop here. Ali also gave a code by saying, “I actually don’t consider this finished. Because there are still things I haven’t recorded and presented.”
Covered by Ahmad Radhitya Alam on December 8, 2023.
