| 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.
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]
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 talkie featured vocals by the actresses Annie Landouw and Titing, with the keroncong group Lief Java providing background music. [1] Several further cast members, including the stars Mochtar, Roekiah, and her husband Kartolo, had migrated to Tan's after the success of Albert Balink's Terang Boelan (1937); the earlier film's formula of scenery, music, and action, which Tan's had already utilised in 1938's Fatima , was present in Siti Akbari as well. [4]
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]
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]
Tan's Film was a film production house in the Dutch East Indies. Established by the brothers Tan Khoen Yauw and Tan Khoen Hian on September 1, 1929, its films were mostly targeted at native ethnic groups. Starting with Njai Dasima in 1929, the company released fifteen movies before ultimately being dissolved after the Japanese occupation. The Tans and the Wong brothers established Tan & Wong Bros in 1948 to continue this work.
Hajji Raden Mochtar, often credited as Rd Mochtar, was an Indonesian actor. Of noble descent, Mochtar was discovered by Albert Balink and first cast in the commercial failure Pareh (1936). Rising to popularity after the release of Terang Boelan the following year, he spent nearly sixty years in film, while also becoming a businessman and farmer.
Nancy Bikin Pembalesan is a 1930 film from the Dutch East Indies. It was released by Tan's Film Company and a sequel to the 1929 two-part film Njai Dasima; it follows Dasima's daughter Nancy on her quest for vengeance. Like its predecessor, it was a commercial and critical success.
Terang Boelan is a 1937 film from the Dutch East Indies. Written by Saeroen, directed by Albert Balink, and starring Rd Mochtar, Roekiah and Eddie T. Effendi, Terang Boelan follows two lovers who elope after one is almost forced to marry an opium smuggler. The film was shot in the Indies and Singapore, and was partially inspired by the 1936 Hollywood film The Jungle Princess. It was aimed at native audiences and included keroncong music, which was popular at the time, and several actors from Balink's previous work Pareh (1936).
Roekiah, often credited as Miss Roekiah, was an Indonesian kroncong singer and actress. The daughter of two stage performers, she began her career at the age of seven; by 1932 she had become well known in Batavia, Dutch East Indies, as a singer and stage actress. Around this time she met Kartolo, whom she married in 1934. The two acted in the 1937 hit film Terang Boelan, in which Roekiah and Rd Mochtar played young lovers.
The Wong brothers were three ethnic Chinese film directors and cameramen active in the cinema of the Dutch East Indies. The sons of an Adventist preacher, the brothers – Nelson (1895–1945), Joshua (1906–1981), and Othniel (1908–1986) – received much of their education in the United States before going to Shanghai and establishing The Great Wall Productions.
Roekihati is a 1940 film from the Dutch East Indies. Directed by the brothers Joshua and Othniel Wong and produced by Tan's Film, it follows a young village woman who goes to the city and encounters various difficulties. Targeted at lower-class audiences, it was shot in black-and-white and starred Roekiah and Raden Djoemala.
Raden Mas Kartolo was an Indonesian actor and songwriter. Born in Yogyakarta to a noble family, he entered the theatre and married the actress Roekiah around 1933. The two, living in Batavia acted in numerous movies together, starting with the 1938 hit Terang Boelan. However, Roekiah was always cast with other actors as her romantic interest. After Roekiah died in 1945, Kartolo brought the family to Yogyakarta and worked with Radio Republik Indonesia until his death. One of his sons, Rachmat Kartolo, went on to be an actor in the 1960s and 1970s.
Fatima is a 1938 film from the Dutch East Indies directed by Othniel and Joshua Wong. Written by Saeroen, it starred Roekiah, Rd Mochtar, and ET Effendi and followed two lovers who are disturbed by a rich youth. The film followed the same formula as the earlier hit Terang Boelan, and saw commercial success domestically. It is one of three films which Misbach Yusa Biran credits with reviving the domestic film industry, which had been faltering.
Gagak Item is a 1939 bandit film from the Dutch East Indies directed by Joshua and Othniel Wong for Tan's Film. Starring Rd Mochtar, Roekiah, and Eddy T. Effendi, it follows a masked man known only as "Gagak Item". The black-and-white film, which featured the cast and crew from the 1937 hit Terang Boelan, was a commercial success and received positive reviews upon release. It is likely lost.
Sorga Ka Toedjoe is a 1940 film from the Dutch East Indies directed by Joshua and Othniel Wong for Tan's Film. It follows an older couple who are reunited by another, younger couple after years of separation. The black-and-white film, the first production by Tan's Film after the departure of Rd Mochtar, featured kroncong music and was targeted at lower-class native audiences. It was a commercial and critical success. Roekiah and Djoemala took leading roles in three more films before Tan's closed in 1942. Sorga Ka Toedjoe is now thought lost.
Ismail Djoemala was an Indonesian actor active in the 1940s. He was often cast alongside Roekiah as her romantic interest.
Bengawan Solo is a now-lost 1949 film from what is now Indonesia. Directed by Jo An Djan, it starred Sofia WD, Rd Mochtar, and Mohamad Mochtar.
Moestika dari Djemar is a 1941 film from the Dutch East Indies. Multiple modern sources also use the incorrect spelling Moestika dari Djenar, but contemporary sources uses an "m".
Koeda Sembrani is a film from the Dutch East Indies which began filming in 1942 and was completed sometime before 1943. Released by Tan's Film and directed by Joshua and Othniel Wong, it was the last film featuring the romantic partnership of Roekiah and Djoemala.
Lief Java was an orchestra in the Dutch East Indies. It was one of the first keroncong groups in the colony.
Air Mata Mengalir di Tjitarum is a 1948 film from what is now Indonesia, written and directed by Roestam Sutan Palindih for the Tan & Wong Bros Film Company.
Pantjawarna is a 1941 film from the Dutch East Indies.
Oriental Film was a film production company in Batavia, Dutch East Indies. Established by ethnic Chinese businessman Tjo Seng Han in 1940, it completed four black-and-white films before it was closed in 1941. All the company's films were screened into the 1950s but may now be lost. They were directed by two men, Njoo Cheong Seng and Sutan Usman Karim, and launched the careers of actors such as Dhalia and Soerip.
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