| Asmara Moerni | |
|---|---|
 Cover of the novelisation | |
| Directed by | Rd Ariffien |
| Screenplay by | Saeroen |
| Produced by | Ang Hock Liem |
| Starring |
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Production company | |
Release date |
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| Country | Dutch East Indies |
| Language | Indonesian |
Asmara Moerni (Indonesian pronunciation:[asˌmaraˈmʊrni];Perfected Spelling:Asmara Murni;Indonesian forTrue Love) is a 1941 romance film from theDutch East Indies (nowIndonesia) directed byRd Ariffien and produced by Ang Hock Liem forUnion Films. Written bySaeroen, the film followed a doctor who falls in love with his maid, as well as her failed romance with a fellow villager. StarringAdnan Kapau Gani,Djoewariah, and S. Joesoef, theblack-and-white film was cast and advertised to cater to the growingnative intelligentsia. Despite mixed reviews, it was a commercial success. As with most films of the Indies,Asmara Moerni may belost.
After four years of doing his residency inSingkawang, Borneo, Dr. Pardi (Adnan Kapau Gani) returns toJava to open a practice. Before then, he goes to Cigading to visit his family and give them souvenirs. Upon arrival he is stunned to find that his family's maid Tati (Djoewariah), who had been his childhood playmate, is now a grown and beautiful woman. He secretly begins to fawn over Tati, although he does not tell her the reason. When Pardi's mother tells him he should marry quickly, he refuses all of her suggested brides. He says only that he already has someone in mind, aware that his mother would never approve an inter-class marriage with the maid.
Tati's fiancé, Amir (S. Joesoef), is jealous of all the attention that Tati is receiving, which leaves her no time for him. He plans to leave Cigading for the capital, Batavia (todayJakarta), where he will find work. Tati, upon learning this, joins him. She lives at her aunt's home in the city, making a living by washing clothes, while he finds lodging with a local man and learns to drive abecak (pedicab). Together they begin saving for their wedding. Unknown to them, Pardi has cut short his time in Cigading to move to Batavia, both to begin his new job and to find Tati.
Days before the wedding, Amir is playing his flute when he is approached by a singer known as Miss Omi, who asks him to join her troupe on an international tour. Amir refuses, even after Omi hires him to drive her around the city in an attempt to convince him. After dropping Omi off, Amir is approached by a man who asks him to deliver a package; however, before he can deliver the package Amir is arrested and charged with smugglingopium.
When Amir does not return, Tati and her aunt are worried: as Tati saw Amir with Omi, she fears that the two have run away together. Heartbroken, she intends to return to Cigading. When she and her aunt visit their boss, Abdul Sidik, they unknowingly pass Pardi – Abdul Sidik's doctor. Upon returning home, Pardi calls Abdul Sidik and asks him to take Tati in as if she were his daughter and educate her. Tati is a fast learner, and is soon comparable to any woman from a wealthy family.
After being held eighteen months without trial, Amir is released and returned to Batavia. He is unable to find Tati, leaving him to wander the streets. Omi spots him, and again she asks him to play with her troupe. Amir agrees, and soon newspapers are filled with advertisements touting his name. Spotting one, Tati and Abdul Sidik go to a performance, only to learn that Amir was the victim of a car accident. At the hospital, where Amir is being treated by Pardi, Tati learns the truth behind Amir's absence. On his deathbed, Amir asks Pardi to take care of Tati; the two are later married.[a]
Asmara Moerni was directed byRd Ariffien, a former journalist who had been active in thenationalist andlabour movements before turning to theatre.[1] He had joinedUnion Films – the company behindAsmara Moerni – in 1940, making his debut withHarta Berdarah (Bloody Treasure).[2] Union's head Ang Hock Liem produced,[3] while the story was written by journalistSaeroen,[4] who had joined Union after commercial success onAlbert Balink'sTerang Boelan (Full Moon, 1937) and with the production houseTan's Film.[5]
Theblack-and-white film starred Adnan Kapau Gani, Djoewariah, and S. Joesoef.[6] It was the feature film debut of Gani and Joesoef,[7] while Djoewariah had been on Union's payroll sinceBajar dengan Djiwa (Pay with Your Soul) the preceding year.[8]
At the time there was a growing movement to attract native intelligentsia, educated at schools run by theDutch colonial government, and convince them to view domestic films, which were generally considered to be of much lower quality than imported Hollywood productions.[9] This was blamed, in part, on the dominance of theatrically trained actors and crew.[b] As such, Ariffien invited Gani, at the time a medical doctor and a prominent member of the nationalist movement, to join the cast. Although some nationalists considered Gani's involvement inAsmara Moerni as besmirching the independence movement, Gani considered it necessary: he believed audiences needed to have higher opinions of domestic film productions.[10]
Asmara Moerni was premiered on 29 April 1941 at Orion Theatre in Batavia; the crowds were mostlynatives andethnic Chinese.[11] Rated for all ages, advertising for the film emphasised Gani's education and Joesoef's upper-class background.[12] It was also advertised as breaking away from the conventional standards of stage theatre, such as music, which were omnipresent in the contemporary film industry.[12] By August 1941 it was screened inSingapore, then part of theStraits Settlements, and billed as a "modern Malay drama".[13] A novelisation was published later in 1941 by theYogyakarta-based Kolff-Buning.[14]
The film was a commercial success,[10] though reviews were mixed. An anonymous review for theBataviaasch Nieuwsblad found the film "fascinating",[c] with good acting,[11] while another review for the same paper found that, though the film was better than contemporary works such asPantjawarna andSorga Ka Toedjoe, its claim to abandon stage standards was to be taken "with a pinch of salt".[d][15] A review from theSurabaya-basedSoerabaijasch Handelsblad found the film full of drama, describing it as "Westernmotifs, played in the native environment, with a specifically Sundanese situation".[e][4]
AfterAsmara Moerni, Union produced a further three films;[16] only one,Wanita dan Satria, was by Rd Ariffien, who left the company soon after,[17] as did Saeroen.[18] Gani did not act in any further films,[10] but instead returned to the nationalist movement. During theIndonesian National Revolution (1945–49) he became known as a smuggler, and after independence became a government minister.[19] In November 2007 Gani was made aNational Hero of Indonesia.[20] Djoewariah continued to act until the 1950s, when she migrated to theatre after receiving a series of increasingly minor roles.[8]
Asmara Moerni was screened as late as November 1945.[21] The film is likelylost. Contemporary films were shot on highly flammablenitrate film, and after a fire destroyed much ofProduksi Film Negara's warehouse in 1952, many works shot on nitrate were deliberately destroyed.[22] As such, American visual anthropologistKarl G. Heider suggests that all Indonesian films from before 1950 are lost.[23] However, JB Kristanto'sKatalog Film Indonesia (Indonesian Film Catalogue) records several as having survived atSinematek Indonesia's archives, and film historianMisbach Yusa Biran writes that several Japanese propaganda films have survived at theNetherlands Government Information Service.[24]
