It
was the second screening of The Photograph by Nan
T. Achnas at the IFFK, and from the long queue of
audience and the full house, one could make out that
a lot of expectations were in the air.
This
Indonesian film is about a bar singer, Sita, who comes
to live with a photographer, Mr. Johan. In order to
support her sick grandmother and a daughter, Sita
is forced into prostitution. Mr. Johan is at the fag
end of his life and has three wishes to fulfill before
his death. Both help each other and the story proceeds
with their growing understanding of each other. This
relationship between two helpless people gives a new
dimension to Sita’s life and a fulfilling end
to that of Johan.
The
movie works its way through different shades of human
emotions in a poignant manner: the helplessness of
a mother who is forced into a profession not of her
choice, and the pain that she undergoes, both driven
by the love for her daughter. This split within her
– what she wants to be and what she is –
is embodied in her conversations with her mirror image
during moments of pain and inner turmoil.
Through
her relationship with the photographer she gradually
comes to learn what it is to live in reality, or in
other words, she realizes the difference between the
image and the real. While Mr. Johan’s last wishes
are fulfilled, she ends up learning his profession
and becoming his successor, as it were. The photographer
on his part holds a surprise that is revealed at the
end, which turns out to be a story of selfishness
and tragedy.
In
other words, The Photograph is about Sita’s
journey from the confusion of the mirror image to
the specificity of the photographic image. In the
end we find a blank wall with the photograph of her
and her teacher on it, a wall which will be filled
with the photographs she will take in the future.
Rohini
Kumar
© FIPRESCI 2008
