Mereka Bilang, Saya Monyet!
Encyclopedia
Mereka Bilang, Saya Monyet! (They Say I'm a Monkey!) is a 2008 Indonesian film directed by Djenar Maesa Ayu
. Starring Titi Sjuman, Henidar Amroe, and Ray Sahetapi, it tells the life story of Adjeng, who was sexually abused as a child by her mother's boyfriend. The film won three Citra Awards at the Indonesian Film Festival
and one award at the Indonesian Movie Awards
. The magazine Tempo selected it as the best Indonesian movie of 2008.
) and in a sexual relationship with the writer Asmoro (Ray Sahetapy). She is having sex with them so that they will support her, the businessman financially and Asmoro intellectually. One day at her apartment, she thinks back to her childhood. The young Adjeng (Banyu Bening) sees her mother (Henidar Amroe) having an affair, while her father (August Melasz
) is constantly changing girlfriends. Adjeng remembers the numerous times she was raped by her mother's boyfriend, and how her mother once forced her to eat food which she had already vomited into a toilet. She eventually remembers how she lost her virginity, raped in the bathtub by her stepfather. In the present day, Adjeng is shown remembering the entirety of her life, flashing by quickly, and smiling.
's 2002 debut collection of the same name. However, this was later replaced by "Lintah" ("Leech") and "Melukis Jendela" ("Drawing the Window"). The screenplay was written over a period of two years by Ayu and Indra Herlambang.
In order to direct the film, in 2004 Ayu began taking filmmaking classes to prepare herself. She also reviewed films directed by her father, Sjuman Djaya, in preparation for production. Production began in October 2006. Christine Hakim
was originally attached to produce, but the deal fell through. Production cost Rp 700 million (US$ 80,000), collected from young investors interested in the plot, and shooting took place over 18 days.
Titi Sjuman, a lecturer at the Daya Kemang Institute of Art, was cast in the starring role of Adjeng. It was her first film role. Model turned actress Henidar Amroe was chosen to play Adjeng's mother; Ayu later said that the role had been written with her in mind. Although worried about the sexual content of the film, Amroe accepted the role, calling it a "crazy" plot that "read like a foreign movie".
. It deals with the aftereffects of child molestation, in a way that the Indonesian magazine Tempo describes as an "interesting time control experiment", replete with flashbacks. The film does not show Adjeng being raped, instead symbolizing it by showing a leech
feeding; in one case, when Adjeng loses her virginity due to being raped in a bathtub, the scene is represented by blood-red boiling water and numerous leeches feeding.
According to Tempo, the style of Mereka Bilang, Saya Monyet! has been called "anti-Sjuman" due to the differences in styles between father and daughter. Sjuman's films tended to fall under social realism
, while Ayu's debut had more of a personal touch.
, as well as the Citra Award for Best Actress at that year's Indonesian Film Festival
. Ayu and Herlambang received a Citra Award for Best Adaptation, and Amroe won for Best Supporting Actress.
Seno Joko Suyono, writing in a review for Tempo, stated that the cliched plot of family crisis became more interesting with the introduction of sex; he also called the climax "sweet yet disturbing". Later in 2008 the magazine selected Mereka Bilang, Saya Monyet! as the best local movie of 2008, writing that Ayu had taken to directing like "a fish that had long floundered on the dry ground and was finally returned to the sea."
Djenar Maesa Ayu
Djenar Maesa Ayu , also known as Nay, is an Indonesian novelist, short story writer, actress, screenwriter, and filmmaker. She is also a mother and grandmother...
. Starring Titi Sjuman, Henidar Amroe, and Ray Sahetapi, it tells the life story of Adjeng, who was sexually abused as a child by her mother's boyfriend. The film won three Citra Awards at the Indonesian Film Festival
Indonesian Film Festival
Festival Film Indonesia or known as FFI is an annual film festival organised by Indonesian Film Festival Committee...
and one award at the Indonesian Movie Awards
Indonesian Movie Awards
Indonesian Movie Awards is the appreciation for cinema person/production works that began in 2007. These awards are made because the result of FFI 2006 was quite disappointing for the Masyarakat Film Indonesia . But the IMA made not to compete with FFI...
. The magazine Tempo selected it as the best Indonesian movie of 2008.
Plot
Adjeng (Titi Sjuman), a young writer, is a mistress to a rich businessman (Joko AnwarJoko Anwar
-Early life:Joko Anwar was born in 3 January 1976 in a poor kampong in Medan, North Sumatera where he grew up watching kung fu movies and horror films. He had also written and directed plays as a student. He went to Institut Teknologi Bandung to study Aerospace Engineering because his family could...
) and in a sexual relationship with the writer Asmoro (Ray Sahetapy). She is having sex with them so that they will support her, the businessman financially and Asmoro intellectually. One day at her apartment, she thinks back to her childhood. The young Adjeng (Banyu Bening) sees her mother (Henidar Amroe) having an affair, while her father (August Melasz
August Melasz
August Melasz is an Indonesian film actor active in the Cinema of Indonesia since the mid 1970s.In 2007 he starred in Dead Time: Kala.-Filmography:*Pembalasan naga sakti...
) is constantly changing girlfriends. Adjeng remembers the numerous times she was raped by her mother's boyfriend, and how her mother once forced her to eat food which she had already vomited into a toilet. She eventually remembers how she lost her virginity, raped in the bathtub by her stepfather. In the present day, Adjeng is shown remembering the entirety of her life, flashing by quickly, and smiling.
Production
Mereka Bilang, Saya Monyet! was originally meant to be based on the titular short story from Djenar Maesa AyuDjenar Maesa Ayu
Djenar Maesa Ayu , also known as Nay, is an Indonesian novelist, short story writer, actress, screenwriter, and filmmaker. She is also a mother and grandmother...
's 2002 debut collection of the same name. However, this was later replaced by "Lintah" ("Leech") and "Melukis Jendela" ("Drawing the Window"). The screenplay was written over a period of two years by Ayu and Indra Herlambang.
In order to direct the film, in 2004 Ayu began taking filmmaking classes to prepare herself. She also reviewed films directed by her father, Sjuman Djaya, in preparation for production. Production began in October 2006. Christine Hakim
Christine Hakim
Herlina Christine Natalia Hakim , also known by the popular name Christine Hakim, is an Indonesian actress, film producer, and activist. Born to a devout Muslim family of a mixed-race background in Jambi, she grew up in Yogyakarta, aspiring to be an architect or psychologist...
was originally attached to produce, but the deal fell through. Production cost Rp 700 million (US$ 80,000), collected from young investors interested in the plot, and shooting took place over 18 days.
Titi Sjuman, a lecturer at the Daya Kemang Institute of Art, was cast in the starring role of Adjeng. It was her first film role. Model turned actress Henidar Amroe was chosen to play Adjeng's mother; Ayu later said that the role had been written with her in mind. Although worried about the sexual content of the film, Amroe accepted the role, calling it a "crazy" plot that "read like a foreign movie".
Style and themes
Like the short stories on which it is based, Mereka Bilang, Saya Monyet! is meant to be surrealistSurrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
. It deals with the aftereffects of child molestation, in a way that the Indonesian magazine Tempo describes as an "interesting time control experiment", replete with flashbacks. The film does not show Adjeng being raped, instead symbolizing it by showing a leech
Leech
Leeches are segmented worms that belong to the phylum Annelida and comprise the subclass Hirudinea. Like other oligochaetes such as earthworms, leeches share a clitellum and are hermaphrodites. Nevertheless, they differ from other oligochaetes in significant ways...
feeding; in one case, when Adjeng loses her virginity due to being raped in a bathtub, the scene is represented by blood-red boiling water and numerous leeches feeding.
According to Tempo, the style of Mereka Bilang, Saya Monyet! has been called "anti-Sjuman" due to the differences in styles between father and daughter. Sjuman's films tended to fall under social realism
Social realism
Social Realism, also known as Socio-Realism, is an artistic movement, expressed in the visual and other realist arts, which depicts social and racial injustice, economic hardship, through unvarnished pictures of life's struggles; often depicting working class activities as heroic...
, while Ayu's debut had more of a personal touch.
Release and reception
Mereka Bilang, Saya Monyet! received a wide release on 3 January 2008, later winning several awards. Titi Sjuman received Best Actress at the 2009 Indonesian Movie AwardsIndonesian Movie Awards
Indonesian Movie Awards is the appreciation for cinema person/production works that began in 2007. These awards are made because the result of FFI 2006 was quite disappointing for the Masyarakat Film Indonesia . But the IMA made not to compete with FFI...
, as well as the Citra Award for Best Actress at that year's Indonesian Film Festival
Indonesian Film Festival
Festival Film Indonesia or known as FFI is an annual film festival organised by Indonesian Film Festival Committee...
. Ayu and Herlambang received a Citra Award for Best Adaptation, and Amroe won for Best Supporting Actress.
Seno Joko Suyono, writing in a review for Tempo, stated that the cliched plot of family crisis became more interesting with the introduction of sex; he also called the climax "sweet yet disturbing". Later in 2008 the magazine selected Mereka Bilang, Saya Monyet! as the best local movie of 2008, writing that Ayu had taken to directing like "a fish that had long floundered on the dry ground and was finally returned to the sea."