| Si Ronda | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Lie Tek Swie |
| Produced by | Tan Khoen Yauw |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | A Loepias |
Production company | |
Release date |
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| Country | Dutch East Indies |
Si Ronda is a 1930silent film from theDutch East Indies which was directed byLie Tek Swie and starredBachtiar Effendi. Based on contemporaryBetawi oral tradition, it follows the exploits of a bandit, skilled insilat (traditional Malay martial arts), known as Si Ronda. In thelenong stories from which the film was derived, Ronda was often depicted as aRobin Hood type of figure. The production, now thoughtlost, was one of a series of martial arts films released between 1929 and 1931.Si Ronda received little coverage in the media upon its release. A second adaptation of the tale,Si Ronda Macan Betawi, was made in 1978.
Si Ronda was adapted from alenong (aBetawi oral tradition similar to a stage play) popular withethnic Chinese andnative audiences of the time. The Ronda stories follow the Betawi bandit of the same name, who is skilled atsilat (traditional martial arts) and reputed to take from the rich to give to the poor.[1] The Indonesian film scholarMisbach Yusa Biran suggests that Ronda was selected for adaptation because of its potential action sequences. In the domestic cinema, such sequences had generally been inspired by American works and been well received by audiences.[2]
Similar stories to Si Ronda's include those of Si Jampang andSi Pitung;[3] these stage plays centred on extraordinary men (referred to asjago) who, though living outside the law, generally fought for the common populace.[4] Adaptations of the genre, manifested as bandit films, became popular in domestic cinema following the release ofSi Tjonat by Batavia Motion Picture in 1929. This release was followed by theWong brothers'Rampok Preanger (also 1929), and anadaptation of the Si Pitung stories in 1931.[5] Not all films in this genre, which consisted of a quarter of alldomestic releases for 1929–1931, maintained the heroic qualities of the central character: the Wongs' adaptation ofSi Pitung, for instance, portrayed him as a simple bandit and not theRobin Hood figure of stage.[6]
Si Ronda was directed byLie Tek Swie and produced by Tan Khoen Yauw ofTan's Film.[7] The two had previously worked together on the company's highly profitableNjai Dasima in 1929.[8]Cinematography was handled by A. Loepias. Shot in black-and-white,[7] thissilent film starredBachtiar Effendi, a set decorator with Tan's, in his on-screen debut playing the title role.[9] It also featured Momo, an actor who had appeared in the filmNjai Dasima.[10]
Si Ronda was released in 1930;[11] Effendi stated that it was released before Tan'sNancy Bikin Pembalesan (Nancy Takes Revenge), a sequel toNjai Dasima, began screening in May 1930.[12] Dutch newspapers indicate that it had screened inMedan,North Sumatra, by 1932.[13] Biran writes that the film received little coverage; he notes thatSinematek Indonesia has no news clippings related toSi Ronda.[12]
AfterSi Ronda, Lie and Tan collaborated on three further films.[14] Lie left Tan's in 1932, reportedly as his approach no longer matched Tan's low-class target audience and caused the works to go over budget.[15] Effendi continued to work with Tan's until 1932, when he left to head the cinema magazineDoenia Film.[9] Momo continued acting until 1941, first with Tan's and later with Standard Film.[10] The film is likelylost. The American visual anthropologistKarl G. Heider writes that all Indonesian films from before 1950 are lost.[16] However, JB Kristanto'sKatalog Film Indonesia (Indonesian Film Catalogue) records several as having survived at Sinematek Indonesia's archives.[17]
Another film based on the Ronda stories, titledSi Ronda Macan Betawi (Ronda the Betawi Tiger), was released in 1978.[11] Directed by Fritz G. Schadt, it starredDicky Zulkarnaen in the title role and Lenny Marlina as his lover. In this adaptation Ronda uses hissilat skills to fight corrupt land owners and colonial government workers.[18]
