''Poetri Rimba'' (;

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 ...

''Putri Rimba''; Indonesian for ''Jungle Princess'') is a 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 ...

(present-day Indonesia) which was directed by Inoe Perbatasari and produced by

The Teng Chun The Teng Chun (; 18 June 1902 – 25 February 1977), also known by his Indonesian name Tahjar Ederis, was an Indonesian film producer. Born to a rich businessman, The became interested in film while still a youth. After a period as an expo ...

for Jacatra Film. A love story, it tells of a man who rescues a woman from a gang of thieves and escapes through the jungle.

Plot

Achmad and his group go hunting on an island. After they are separated, Achmad wanders through the island's dense jungles until he is ultimately captured by a gang of bandits under the warlord Kumis Panjang and his right-hand man Perbada. As Perbada prepares to burn Achmad alive, it is revealed that Achmad had once saved Kumis Panjang's daughter, Bidasari, from death; as a result, he is not executed. Although Bidasari is betrothed to Perbada, she and Achmad begin falling in love. In a rage, Perbada captures Kumis Panjang and Bidasari, who are eventually rescued by Achmad.

Production

''Poetri Rimba'' was produced by

for the Jacatra Film Company, a subsidiary of his Java Industrial Film. It was directed by former journalist Inoe Perbatasari, who had made his directorial debut earlier in 1941 with ''Elang Darat'' (''Land Hawk'').; Soeska handled screenwriting duties, basing his story on the popular

Tarzan films Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Cre ...

. The

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 Aisjah, Loedi, Ali Joego, Bissu, and Soetiati. Overall its formula was similar to other contemporary films: ''

kroncong 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'' ...

'' songs, action, and romance.

Release

''Poetri Rimba'' was released in 1941. It was Perbatasari's last film for Jacatra, although he later directed another three works for other companies. The film is likely lost. The 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 ...

writes 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 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 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 ...

References

Works cited

* * * * * {{Portal bar, Film, Indonesia, Netherlands 1941 films 1941 lost films Dutch East Indies films Films directed by Inoe Perbatasari Indonesian black-and-white films Lost Indonesian films