Mereka Bilang, Saya Monyet!

Mereka Bilang, Saya Monyet!
Mereka Bilang, Saya Monyet!

Poster
Directed by Djenar Maesa Ayu
Written by Djenar Maesa Ayu
Indra Herlambang
Based on "Lintah"
"Melukis Jendela"
Starring Titi Sjuman
Henidar Amroe
Ray Sahetapi
Distributed by Intimasi Production
Release date(s) 3 January 2008
Running time 70 minutes
Country Indonesia
Language Indonesian
Budget Rp 700 million[1]

Mereka Bilang, Saya Monyet! (They Say I'm a Monkey!) is a 2008 Indonesian film directed by Djenar Maesa Ayu. Starring Titi Sjuman, Henidar Amroe, and Ray Sahetapi, it tells the life story of Adjeng, who was sexually abused as a child by her mother's boyfriend. The film won three Citra Awards at the Indonesian Film Festival and one award at the Indonesian Movie Awards. The magazine Tempo selected it as the best Indonesian movie of 2008.

Contents

Plot

Adjeng (Titi Sjuman), a young writer, is a mistress to a rich businessman (Joko Anwar) and in a sexual relationship with the writer Asmoro (Ray Sahetapy). She is having sex with them so that they will support her, the businessman financially and Asmoro intellectually. One day at her apartment, she thinks back to her childhood. The young Adjeng (Banyu Bening) sees her mother (Henidar Amroe) having an affair, while her father (August Melasz) is constantly changing girlfriends. Adjeng remembers the numerous times she was raped by her mother's boyfriend, and how her mother once forced her to eat food which she had already vomited into a toilet. She eventually remembers how she lost her virginity, raped in the bathtub by her stepfather. In the present day, Adjeng is shown remembering the entirety of her life, flashing by quickly, and smiling.

Production

Mereka Bilang, Saya Monyet! was originally meant to be based on the titular short story from Djenar Maesa Ayu's 2002 debut collection of the same name.[2] However, this was later replaced by "Lintah" ("Leech") and "Melukis Jendela" ("Drawing the Window").[1] The screenplay was written over a period of two years by Ayu and Indra Herlambang.[1]

In order to direct the film, in 2004 Ayu began taking filmmaking classes to prepare herself.[2] She also reviewed films directed by her father, Sjuman Djaya, in preparation for production.[1] Production began in October 2006.[3] Christine Hakim was originally attached to produce, but the deal fell through.[3] Production cost Rp 700 million (US$ 80,000), collected from young investors interested in the plot, and shooting took place over 18 days.[1]

Titi Sjuman, a lecturer at the Daya Kemang Institute of Art, was cast in the starring role of Adjeng.[4] It was her first film role.[4] Model turned actress Henidar Amroe was chosen to play Adjeng's mother; Ayu later said that the role had been written with her in mind.[5] Although worried about the sexual content of the film, Amroe accepted the role, calling it a "crazy" plot that "read like a foreign movie".[5]

Style and themes

Like the short stories on which it is based, Mereka Bilang, Saya Monyet! is meant to be surrealist.[3] It deals with the aftereffects of child molestation, in a way that the Indonesian magazine Tempo describes as an "interesting time control experiment"[A], replete with flashbacks.[1] The film does not show Adjeng being raped, instead symbolizing it by showing a leech feeding; in one case, when Adjeng loses her virginity due to being raped in a bathtub, the scene is represented by blood-red boiling water and numerous leeches feeding.[1]

According to Tempo, the style of Mereka Bilang, Saya Monyet! has been called "anti-Sjuman" due to the differences in styles between father and daughter.[1] Sjuman's films tended to fall under social realism, while Ayu's debut had more of a personal touch.[1]

Release and reception

Mereka Bilang, Saya Monyet! received a wide release on 3 January 2008,[6] later winning several awards.[4] Titi Sjuman received Best Actress at the 2009 Indonesian Movie Awards, as well as the Citra Award for Best Actress at that year's Indonesian Film Festival.[4] Ayu and Herlambang received a Citra Award for Best Adaptation,[7] and Amroe won for Best Supporting Actress.[8]

Seno Joko Suyono, writing in a review for Tempo, stated that the cliched plot of family crisis became more interesting with the introduction of sex; he also called the climax "sweet yet disturbing".[B][9] Later in 2008 the magazine selected Mereka Bilang, Saya Monyet! as the best local movie of 2008, writing that Ayu had taken to directing like "a fish that had long floundered on the dry ground and was finally returned to the sea."[C][1]

Notes

  1. ^ Original: "... eksperimen permainan waktu ...."
  2. ^ Original: "... manis yang justru mengganggu."
  3. ^ Original: "... bak seekor ikan yang sudah lama menggelepar di daratan kering yang dicemplungkan ke dalam laut.."

References

Footnotes
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Tempo 2008, Di Layar Lebar.
  2. ^ a b Garcia 2004, More than just.
  3. ^ a b c KapanLagi.com 2006, Film Pertama Djenar.
  4. ^ a b c d KapanLagi.com 2009, Piala Citra Bikin.
  5. ^ a b Edmond 2009, Taking Things in Stride.
  6. ^ IMDB, Mereka Bilang Saya.
  7. ^ Edmond 2011, 'Religion is my anchor.
  8. ^ 21 Cineplex 2009, Festival Film Indonesia.
  9. ^ Suyono 2008, Pergulatan Ajeng, Pergulatan.
Bibliography

External links


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  • Djenar Maesa Ayu — Born January 14, 1973(1973 01 14) Jakarta Language Indonesian Genres Fiction Djenar Maesa Ayu (born in Jakarta, Indonesia on 14 January 1973), also known as Nay …   Wikipedia

  • Citra Award for Best Film — Awarded for Best Film of the Year Presented by Indonesian Film Festival Committee Country Indonesia First awarded 1955 First winner Lewat Djam Malam …   Wikipedia

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