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''Bajar dengan Djiwa'' (;
Perfected Spelling Indonesian orthography refers to the official spelling system used in the Indonesian language. The current system uses the Latin alphabet and is called (EYD), commonly translated as ''Enhanced Spelling'', ''Perfected Spelling'' or ''Improved Spel ...
: ''Bayar dengan Jiwa''; Indonesian for "Pay with ne'sSoul") is a believed lost 1941 film from the
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...
(modern day Indonesia). Directed by R Hu and produced by Ang Hock Liem, it starred A Bakar, Djoewariah, O Parma, Oedjang, RS Fatimah, Soelastri, and Zonder. The story centers on two families torn apart by finances and clashes of personality. The third film produced by Union Films, ''Bajar dengan Djiwa'' featured many actors who had previously appeared in the company's works. It was released by February 1941. Advertisements emphasised the realism of the story, and reviewers praised the film's acting, romance, and humour. Screenings continued until at least 1943, more than a year after Union was closed following the Japanese occupation.


Plot

''Bajar dengan Djiwa'' follows the interactions of several groups of people. Husband and wife Basuki (Zonder) and Suryati (Nji Soelastri) clash because of their different personalities: the former is a thinker concerned with the state of society, while the latter only thinks of herself. Meanwhile, Umar (Oedjang) and Supini (RS Fatimah) clash over Umar's wasteful nature; eventually, he sinks so far into debt that he must sell his daughter, Djuliah ( Djoewariah), to a loan shark named Asnan (O. Parma), a move which breaks the heart of Djuliah's boyfriend Ruhiyat (A Bakar). Other scenes include comic interactions between two servants, Icah (Ijem) and Djemblug (Komung).


Production

''Bajar dengan Djiwa'' was directed by R Hu for Union Films. It was Hu's second film for the company; he had already completed one film for the company, ''
Harta Berdarah ''Harta Berdarah'' (; Indonesian language, Indonesian for ''Bloody Treasure)'' is a 1940 action film from the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Set in the Middle Ages, the film stars R Sukran and Hadidjah as a pirate and a princess who fall in ...
'' (''Bloody Treasure''; 1941), in collaboration with Rd Ariffien. The film, Union's third, was produced by its head, Ang Hock Liem. The story was written by journalist
Saeroen Saeroen (EYD, Perfected Spelling: Saerun; fl. 1920s–1962) was an Indonesian journalist and screenwriter. Born in Yogyakarta, he became a journalist after a time working at a railway station. By the mid-1930s he had established the daily ''Pem ...
, who had joined Union with ''Harta Berdarah'' after previously finding success with
Tan's Film Tan's Film was a film production house in the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia). 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 ...
. This
black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...
film starred A Bakar, Djoewariah, O Parma, Oedjang, RS Fatimah, Soelastri, and Zonder. It also included Itjang Ali, Haroen, Oesman, Komoeng, Ijem, and Moesa. Many of these actors, including Soelastri and Fatimah, had been with Union since its first production, ''
Kedok Ketawa ''Kedok Ketawa'' (; Indonesian for 'The Laughing Mask', also known by the Dutch title ''Het Lachende Masker'') is a 1940 action film from the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Union Films' first production, it was directed by Jo An Djan. Star ...
'' (''The Laughing Mask''), in 1940. Others, including Moesa and Zonder, had made their debuts in ''Harta Berdarah''. Djoewariah, a stage actress and ''
keroncong Kroncong (pronounced "kronchong"; , ) is the name of a ukulele-like instrument and an Indonesian musical style that typically makes use of the kroncong (the sound ' comes from this instrument, so the music is called ''kroncong''). A ''kroncong'' ...
'' singer, was a new hire.


Release and reception

''Bajar dengan Djiwa'', produced in 1940, was released by February 1941. By July 1941 the film was being screened in
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, then part of
British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British Empire, British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. Unlike the ...
.; A novelisation of the film, written by Saeroen, was published by the
Yogyakarta Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...
-based Kolff-Buning. In the East Indies, children under age 17 were prohibited from viewing. Advertisements, some which referred to the film with the Dutch title ''Met den Dood Betaald'', emphasised the film's "realistic" depiction of a married life. A review in the ''Java Bode'' found that ''Bajar dengan Djiwa'' was one of the Best Malay films yet made, with "almost no stiffness and woodenness" in the acting. Another review, in the ''
Nieuws van den Dag voor Nederlandsch-Indië ''Het Nieuws van den Dag voor Nederlandsch-Indië'' ('The News of the Day for the Dutch East Indies') was a Dutch-language newspaper published on the island of Java in the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia). Originally called '' De Indische ...
'', described the film as "striking proof" of Saeroen's knowledge of indigenous society and praised the film's romance and humour.


Legacy

After ''Bajar Dengan Djiwa'', Union produced a further five films; all but one were directed by Hu or Ariffien. Saeroen wrote two of them, leaving for
Star Film The Manufacture de Films pour Cinématographes, often known as Star Film, was a French film production company run by the illusionist and film director Georges Méliès. History On 28 December 1895, Méliès attended the celebrated first publi ...
following '' Wanita dan Satria'' (1941). Much of the cast remained with Union for several productions. The company's subsequent production, '' Asmara Moerni'' (1941), for instance, had Djoewariah in the leading role, alongside a new hire (the doctor
Adnan Kapau Gani Major general TNI ( Tit.) Dr. Adnan Kapau Gani or commonly abbreviated as A.K. Gani (16 September 1905 – 23 December 1968) was an Indonesian doctor, politician, actor and military figure. He served as Deputy Prime Minister in the Cabinet o ...
). Union Films was ultimately dissolved following the
Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies The Empire of Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) during World War II from March 1942 until after the end of the war in September 1945. In May 1940, Germany German invasion of the Netherlands, occupied the Netherlands, and ma ...
in March 1942. In 2011 Ade Irwansyah of ''Tabloid Bintang'' listed the poster for ''Bajar Dengan Djiwa'' as one of the best Indonesian film posters of all time. ''Bajar Dengan Djiwa'' was screened as late as October 1943, but is now probably lost. In common with the rest of the world at the time, movies in the Indies were shot on highly flammable
nitrate film Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitration, nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitri ...
, and after a fire destroyed much of
Produksi Film Negara Produksi Film Negara (''State Film Productions'', abbreviated as PFN) is an Indonesian state-owned film funding company, previously a film production company. PFN is one of the pioneers in Indonesian film industry at the time when it is formed. ...
's warehouse in 1952, old Indies films shot on nitrate were deliberately destroyed. As such, American visual anthropologist
Karl G. Heider Karl Heider (born January 21, 1935) is an American visual anthropologist. Life and education Heider was born in Northampton, Massachusetts. Heider is the son of psychologists Fritz and Grace (née Moore) Heider. He had two brothers; John and S ...
suggests that all Indonesian films from before 1950 are lost. However, JB Kristanto's ''Katalog Film Indonesia'' (''Indonesian Film Catalogue'') records several as having survived at
Sinematek Indonesia Sinematek Indonesia, or Sinematek for short, is a film archive located in Jakarta. Established in 1975 by Misbach Yusa Biran and Asrul Sani, the archive was the first in Southeast Asia, and remains the only one in Indonesia. It is home to rough ...
's archives, and the film historian
Misbach Yusa Biran Misbach Yusa Biran (11 September 1933 – 11 April 2012) was an Indonesian writer, director and columnist who pioneered the Indonesian film archives. Personal life Biran was born in Rangkasbitung, in the Lebak Regency, to a Minangkaba ...
writes that some Japanese propaganda films can be found at the
Netherlands Government Information Service The Netherlands Government Information Service (''Dutch:'' Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst, abbrev.: RVD) is a Dutch government agency. The RVD is the official information service of the Dutch government and is the spokesbody for the prime minister, th ...
.


Explanatory notes


References


Works cited

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * (book acquired from the collection of Museum Tamansiswa Dewantara Kirti Griya, Yogyakarta) * *


External links

* {{good article Indonesian black-and-white films 1941 films Union Films films Lost Indonesian films Indonesian drama films 1941 drama films 1941 lost films Lost drama films