''Loetoeng Kasaroeng'' is a 1926 fantasy 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) which was directed and produced by L. Heuveldorp. An adaptation of the
Sundanese folktale ''
Lutung Kasarung'' (''The Lost Lutung''), the film tells of a young girl who falls in love with a magical
lutung and stars the children of
noblemen
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. Th ...
. Details on its performance are unavailable, although it is known to have been of poor technical quality and thought to have performed poorly. It was the first film produced in the country and the first to feature a
native-Indonesian cast. It is likely a
lost film
A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...
.
Plot
Purbasari and Purbararang are sisters and in competition. Purbararang, the elder sister, teases Purbasari about the latter's lover, a
lutung named Guru Minang; Purbarang's boyfriend, Indrajaya, is a handsome human. However, the girls discover that Guru Minang is a god who is more handsome than Indrajaya.
Production

The first showing of films in 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 ...
was in 1900, and over the next twenty years foreign productions – generally from the United States – were imported and shown throughout the country. Domestic production of
documentaries
A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill ...
had begun in 1911 but were unable to compete with imported works. By 1923 a local
feature film
A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...
production spearheaded by the Middle East Film Co. was announced, but the work was not completed.
Under pressure from imported works, in 1926
N.V. Java Film, a production house based in Batavia (modern-day
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
) which had previously produced a single documentary, ''Inlanders op de Krokodillenjacht'' (''Native Crocodile Hunters''), chose to make a feature film based on the
Sundanese folktale ''
Lutung Kasarung''. The company's owner, L. Heuveldorp served as director and producer, while its laboratory head
George Krugers
Georgio Eduardo Alberto Krugers (24 November 1890 – 10 August 1964; also written as Kruger) was a cameraman and film director active in the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia) during the early 20th century. He is recorded as having worked in ...
handled cinematography and processing. Little biographical information is available regarding the background of both men, although it was reported that Heuveldorp had previous experience working in the United States.
The cast was drawn entirely from the ''
priyayi
''Priyayi'' (also spelled ''Priayi''; Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, former spelling: ''Prijaji'') was the Dutch East Indies, Dutch-era class of the nobles of the robe, as opposed to royal nobility or ''List of Surakarta and Yogyakarta nobility ...
'' (noble) class, under the coordination of school headmaster Raden Kartabrata. Among the cast were children of
Wiranatakusumah V, the regent of
Bandung
Bandung is the capital city of the West Java province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, the city is the List of Indonesian cities by population, fourth-most populous city and fourth largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabay ...
; he had agreed to help fund the film to promote Sundanese culture, and had previously brought the story to the stage. Further subsidies had come from the Ministry of Defence, which donated trucks to ease filming.
Filming had begun by August 1926, when several scenes were shot in a cave that had been excavated for the production on Karang Hill. Heuveldorp, unable to force the actors to play their roles seriously, shot several scenes with them acting as they wished before showing them the results; upon realising that their acting had been disappointing, the cast began to listen to stage directions. Afterward, they began rehearsing each scene at least twice, with Kartabrata standing behind the cinematographer and giving directions.
Release and reception
The film was screened on 31 December 1926 at the Oriental and Elita Theatres in
Bandung
Bandung is the capital city of the West Java province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, the city is the List of Indonesian cities by population, fourth-most populous city and fourth largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabay ...
, making it the first domestically-produced feature film and the first with a
native cast. The advertisements were in both Dutch- and
Malay-language publications. The film was screened for only a week, with live Sundanese ''
gamelan
Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...
'' performances providing music, after which ''Loetoeng Kasaroeng'' was replaced with Hollywood films. From 14 to 17 February 1927, the film was screened in the Mignon cinema in
Cheribon. Although its box office performance is not recorded, it is thought to have been poor.
A review by "Bandoenger" in ''Panorama'' magazine considered the film of poor technical quality compared to imported films, suggesting that the production was underfunded; the review states that some actors were not paid for their work. Reporting on a private screening of the film for the
governor-general
Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...
, the
Buitenzorg correspondent of the ''
Java-Bode'' wrote: "The shots were out of focus and the entire film made a murky and dark impression. The directing was clumsy, and the sets and costumes paltry. Of the many participants, not one drew attention by acting well."
The Indonesian film historian
Misbach Yusa Biran wrote that ''Loetoeng Kasaroeng'' would have been poorly received outside of
West Java
West Java (, ) is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten and the country's capital region of Jakarta to t ...
, owing to Sundanese culture and dance not being considered interesting to other ethnic groups, particularly the
Javanese. William van der Heide, a lecturer on film studies at the
University of Newcastle in Australia, notes that the tendency of European filmmakers to depict natives as primitives may also have influenced the poor ticket sales.
Legacy
Although Heuveldorp is not recorded as being involved in any more
fiction film productions, Krugers went on to direct several films, including the area's first
talkie
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed befo ...
, ''
Karnadi Anemer Bangkong'' (1931), before leaving the country in 1936. At least one of the cast members, Oemar, is recorded as continuing to act. ''Lutung Kasarung'' was adapted to film twice further, in 1952 and 1983.
After ''Loetoeng Kasaroeng'' was released, numerous domestic films were made. The second domestic production, ''
Eulis Atjih'' (1927), was directed by Krugers and received a wider release. With the release of ''
Lily van Java'' (''Lily of Java'') in 1928,
ethnic Chinese became involved in the industry; by 1940 native directors had become common. However, the first truly Indonesian film is considered to be
Usmar Ismail's ''
Darah dan Doa'' (''The Long March'') in 1950, released after the Dutch recognised Indonesia's independence in 1949.
''Loetoeng Kasaroeng'' is likely a
lost film
A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...
. The American visual anthropologist
Karl G. Heider wrote 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's archives, and Biran writes that several Japanese propaganda films have survived 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 ...
.
See also
*
List of films of the Dutch East Indies
*
List of lost films
For this list of lost films, a lost film is defined as one of which no part of a print is known to have survived. For films in which any portion of the footage remains (including trailers), see List of incomplete or partially lost films.
Reas ...
References
Footnotes
Bibliography
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External links
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{{Use British English, date=August 2012
1926 films
Dutch black-and-white films
Indonesian black-and-white films
Dutch East Indies films
Films shot in Indonesia
Dutch silent feature films
Lost Indonesian films
Films based on Indonesian myths and legends
Dutch fantasy films
1920s fantasy films
1926 lost films
Lost fantasy films