#1046: ISMAIL, Usmar: After The Curfew (1954)
ISMAIL, Usmar (Indonesia)
Commentary
After The Curfew [1954]
Spine #1046
Blu-ray
Blu-ray
Giving voice to the anguish of a nation fighting for its soul, Usmar Ismail's After the Curfew follows the descent into disillusionment of a former freedom fighter who is unable to readjust to civilian life following the revolution that gave Indonesia its independence from the Netherlands. Steeped in moody atmospherics and psychological tension, the film struck its national cinema like a bolt of lightning, illuminating on-screen, for the first time and with unflinching realism, the emotional toll of Indonesian society's postcolonial struggles.
102 minutes
Black & White
Black & White
Monaural
in Indonesian
1:37:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2020
Director/Writer
Screenplay by Asrul Sani.
Usmar Ismail was 33 when he directed After the Curfew.
The Film
The Film
Like most revolutionary movements, the Indonesian National Revolution (1945-1950) is a complex history of the clashes between the imperialist Dutch overseers and the native soldiers who fought against them. Throw in the long Japanese occupation, and the usual hostilities between the peasants and the bourgeoise, and you have the makings of raw material for a glance backwards from the recent past and the makings of this 1954 film.
**
Iskandar (A.N. Alcaff) has just returned from his time as a mid-level officer in the guerrilla army fighting the Dutch. He is living with his fiancée, Norma (Netty Herawaty), her free-wheeling brother, Adlin (Aedy Moward), and her father (Abdul Hadi).
Two characters were his superiors in the army: Gafar (Awaludin) and the corrupt Gunawan (R.D. Ismail); Puja (Bambang Hermanto) was his army buddy, who is now a pimp to Laila (Dhalia) — an interesting character whose life revolves around cutting out pictures of the symbols of the rich and consumerism, from Life Magazine and pasting them into scrapbooks or onto the walls of their hovel …
**
The film contains two interesting musical numbers, which do much to alleviate the depressing subject matter.
Film Rating (0-60):
The Booklet
54
The ExtrasThe Booklet
Essay by Adrian Jonathan Pasaribu: A Nation of Dead Ends.
“Ismail believed classical Hollywood narratives to be ‘the most convincing communicator’ due to their capacity to ‘touch hearts.’ Misbach Yusa Biran, a film historian and one of Ismail’s former crew members, claimed that the director was particular inspired by William Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). As a former revolutionary, Ismail empathized with the protagonists’ struggle to readapt to civilian life and wanted to retell the story from that point of view. He also noted that the romantic elements of Wyler’s film humanized the protagonists for audiences unfamiliar with the travails of war veterans. Norma serves a similar function in After the Curfew. Her character anchors Iskandar’s melancholy in the realm of popular fiction. Amid the postwar exhaustion, Iskandar wishes only to come home to his love.”
Commentary
None.
Introduction
Introduction
To the film by World Cinema Project founder Martin Scorsese.
Interview
Interview
With journalist J.B. Kristanto.
A good rundown on Indonesian film history in general, and Ismail’s work in particular …
Extras Rating (0-40):
Extras Rating (0-40):
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