''Bengawan Solo'' (Indonesian for ''Solo River'') is a now-

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

1949 film from what is now Indonesia. Directed by Jo An Djan, it starred Sofia WD,

Rd Mochtar Hajji Raden Mochtar (born 1918), often credited as Rd Mochtar, was an Indonesian actor. Of noble descent, Mochtar was discovered by Albert Balink and first cast in the commercial failure ''Pareh'' (1936). Rising to popularity after the releas ...

, and

Mohamad Mochtar Mohamad Mochtar (1 July 1918 – 1 December 1981), usually credited as Moh Mochtar, was an Indonesian film actor active from 1939 until his death in 1981. Biography Mochtar was born in Cianjur, West Java, Dutch East Indies, on 1 July 1918. H ...

Plot

After falling for the false promises of the womanising nobleman Suprapto (

), Wenangish (Sofia WD) commits suicide by throwing herself into the

Solo River The Solo River (known in Indonesian as Bengawan Solo, with ''Bengawan'' being an Old Javanese word for ''river'', and ''Solo'' derived from the old name for Surakarta) is the longest river in the Indonesian island of Java, it is approximately 600 ...

, leaving only a letter for her two children, Sriwulan (Ratna Ruthinah) and Hindrawati (Churiani). The former is raised by the family of nobleman Widagdo (Rd Dadang Ismail), while the latter is raised by a poor man named Kromo ( S Waldy), eventually becoming a servant at Widagdo's home. When they are adults, Sriwulan is engaged by her adoptive father to Suprapto's son, despite loving another man. When her hitherto unknown uncle, Prawoto (

), returns from his job in

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

, he prevents the two from marrying, instead showing that they were both fathered by Suprapto. The marriage is cancelled, and Suprapto – seeing a vision of Wenangish, beckoning him – commits suicide by jumping into the river.

Production

''Bengawan Solo'' was directed by Jo An Djan for Tan & Wong Bros., a company established by the Tan brothers, Khoen Yauw and Khoen Hian, and

Wong brothers The Wong brothers were three ethnic Chinese film directors and cameramen active in the cinema of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). The sons of an Adventist preacher, the brothers – Nelson (1895–1945), Joshua (1906–1981), and Oth ...

, Joshua and Othniel, in 1948. Jo had been a director for Populer Films before the Japanese occupation essentially shut down film production. The story was written by

Tan Tjoei Hock Tan Tjoei Hock (15 April 1908 – 1984) was an Indonesian journalist and filmmaker. Born in Batavia, he was discovered by The Teng Chun in the late 1930s. Tan became one of the most productive film directors of the Dutch East Indies between 1 ...

and Fred Young. Indonesian 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 Minangkabau f ...

writes that the film was meant to draw as many tears as possible, using a formula reminiscent of most domestic productions since ''

Terang Boelan ''Terang Boelan'' (; Indonesian for "Full Moon", ''Terang Bulan'' in the Perfected Spelling System) is a 1937 film from the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Written by Saeroen, directed by Albert Balink, and starring Rd Mochtar, Roekiah and E ...

'' in 1937: action, love, music, and beautiful scenery. The

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

film starred Sofia WD, Rd Mochtar, Mohamad Mochtar, Dadang Ismail, S Waldy, Ratna Ruthinah, Churiani, Sukarsih, Sadijah, and Komariah. The film's theme song was the 1940 composition by

Gesang Martohartono Gesang Martohartono (1 October 1917 – 20 May 2010) was an Indonesian singer-songwriter from central Java. He is the composer of the "Bengawan Solo," famous song throughout Indonesia, Japan, part of Asia, and some other countries. The song is a ...

of the same name, "

Bengawan Solo Bengawan Solo may refer to: *Bengawan Solo River, the longest river on the Indonesian island of Java and site of paleoanthropology early hominid remains * "Bengawan Solo" (song), a 1940 Indonesian song about the Javanese river by Gesang Martoharton ...

Release

''Bengawan Solo'' was released by July 1949, one of eight domestic films produced that year. The film is likely

, as are all Indonesian films from before 1950 according to 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 ...

. 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 roughl ...

's archives, and film historian

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, the ...

. Two years later Young wrote another film regarding the Solo River, ''Ditepi Bengawan Solo''. This work had a different plot and different cast. ''Bengawan Solo'' was remade in 1971, with Sofia WD, Willy Wilianto (Joshua Wong's son), and Bay Isbahi directing. In this remake, Wenangish (played by

Rima Melati Marjolein Tambayong (August 22, 1937 – June 23, 2022), better known by her stage name Rima Melati or by her nickname Lientje, was an Indonesian actress, model, and singer. She appeared in close to one hundred feature films, including works b ...

) died after being hit by a train.

References

Works cited

* * * * * * * {{Portal bar, Film, Indonesia, Netherlands Indonesian black-and-white films Dutch East Indies films Lost Indonesian films 1949 films 1940s lost films