Siti Akbari
| Siti Akbari | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Joshua and Othniel Wong |
| Produced by | Tan Khoen Yauw |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Joshua and Othniel Wong |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
| Country | Dutch East Indies |
| Language | Malay |
Siti Akbari is a 1940 film from the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) directed by Joshua and Othniel Wong and produced by Tan Khoen Yauw. Starring Roekiah and Rd Mochtar, it follows a couple while the husband commits adultery.
Plot
Siti Akbari (Roekiah) is living happily with her husband. When he begins to wander she stays faithful and he eventually comes back to her.[1]
Production
Siti Akbari was directed by Joshua and Othniel Wong,[1] ethnic Chinese brothers who had received film training in the United States and been active in the film industry of the Dutch East Indies since 1929's Lily van Java.[2] The film's producer, Tan Khoen Yauw, was co-owner of the production studio that made the work, Tan's Film.[3]
The black-and-white
The title Siti Akbari is reminiscent of a syair, or traditional Malay poem, written by Lie Kim Hok in 1884;[1][5] his Sair Tjerita Siti Akbari had previously been adapted for the stage.[6] However, the influence Lim's work exerted on the film is unknown: it may have simply lent the title, or it may have been adapted in its entirety.[1]
Release
Siti Akbari premiered at the Cinema Palace Theatre on 29 April 1940.[7] For promotion, Tan's Film release a novelisation of the film shortly afterwards on Kolf Publishers; the writing team was headed by Andjar Asmara.[8] The film proved to be the last starring Roekiah and Mochtar as lovers; he left Tan's soon after over a wage dispute,[9] being replaced by the tailor Rd Djoemala for Roekihati in 1940.[10]
The production is likely a lost film. The American visual anthropologist Karl G. Heider writes that all Indonesian films from before 1950 are lost.[11] However, JB Kristanto's Katalog Film Indonesia (Indonesian Film Catalogue) records several as having survived at Sinematek Indonesia's archives, and Biran writes that several Japanese propaganda films have survived at the Netherlands Government Information Service.[12]
References
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e Filmindonesia.or.id, Siti Akbari.
- ^ Filmindonesia.or.id, Othniel Wong.
- ^ Biran 2009, p. 174.
- ^ Biran 2009, p. 176.
- ^ JCG, Siti Akbari.
- ^ Biran 2009, p. 2.
- ^ Bataviaasch Nieuwsblad 1940, Cinema: Siti Akbari.
- ^ Biran 2009, p. 212.
- ^ Biran 2009, p. 227.
- ^ Biran 2009, p. 224.
- ^ Heider 1991, p. 14.
- ^ Biran 2009, p. 351.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-979-3731-58-2.
- "Cinema: Siti Akbari". Bataviaasch Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). Batavia: Kolff & Co. 1 May 1940.
- Heider, Karl G (1991). Indonesian Cinema: National Culture on Screen. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-1367-3.
- "Othniel Wong". filmindonesia.or.id. Jakarta: Konfidan Foundation. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
- "Siti Akbari". filmindonesia.or.id (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Konfidan Foundation. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
- "Siti Akbari, Sair Cerita". Encyclopedia of Jakarta (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Jakarta City Government. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
External links
- Siti Akbari at IMDb
