Rajuan Alam

Rajuan Alam (Perfected Spelling: Rayuan Alam, released internationally as A House, a Wife, a Singing Bird) is a 1956 semi-documentary directed by Miriam Bucher and starring Bambang Hermanto and Lies Noor.

Plot

Amin (Bambang Hermanto), a village youth, attempts to earn a living in the city. However, he is unsuccessful, and thus he returns to the village to live with his wife, Marlina (Lies Noor).

Production

Rajuan Alam was written by Padma T Astradiningrat and directed by Miriam Bucher as a joint production of Produksi Film Negara (PFN) and the United States Information Service (USIS). The film was shot in Eastmancolor by cameramen Lie Gie San and Bert Sarodjo,^[1] making it the first PFN production to be shot in colour.^[2] Scenes for the film were shot in Surakarta and Salatiga,^[2] and dialogue was recorded in both Indonesian and English.^[1]

Rajuan Alam starred Bambang Hermanto and Lies Noor. It also featured Rd Ismail as Marlina's father, as well as Boes Boestami, Ali Yugo, Chaidar Djafar, Tb Sanusi, and Pranadjaja.^[3] Editing was handled by G Sarono and B Supardi, with artistic design provided by HB Angin. Sound was recorded by Dick Ninkeula and Sudjito, and the film was scored by Bernard Ijzerdraat and Sukiman.^[3] The twenty-six minute film was intended as a semi-documentary about efforts to combat malaria.^[2]

Release and reception

Rajuan Alam was released in Indonesia in 1956.^[1] It was screened at the 4th Asia-Pacific Film Festival in Tokyo, Japan, in 1957. Hermanto and Noor travelled to Japan to attend the screening, where the film was given the English-language title A House, a Wife, a Singing Bird. This title was a reference to a Javanese view that all a man needed for true happiness was a place to live, a woman by his side, and a bird to sing to him.^[2][4]

References

Works cited