''Poetri Rimba'' (; Perfected Spelling ''Putri Rimba''; Indonesian for ''Jungle Princess'') is a 1941 film from the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) which was directed by

Inoe Perbatasari Priyayi, Raden Inoe Perbatasari (1899 – 18 October 1954) was an Indonesian politician turned film director and actor. Perbatasari, who had a background in journalism and had previously led the dailies ''Oetoesan Indonesia'' and ''Bintang Timoe ...

and produced by

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

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

, 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 II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal 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 adv ...

. 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 Aisjah, Loedi,

Ali Joego Ali Joego ( Soewandi Spelling Ali Jugo; Perfected Spelling: Ali Yugo; 17 March 1907 – 18 February 1970) was a stage and film actor and director active in the Dutch East Indies and Indonesia. During his twenty-year career he appeared in t ...

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

kroncong Kroncong (pronounced "kronchong"; id, Keroncong, nl, Krontjong) 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 ' ...

'' 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 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 ...

. The American visual anthropologist Karl G. Heider 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 Minangkabau ...

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 ...

References

Works cited

* * * * * {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2013 Indonesian black-and-white films Dutch East Indies films Lost Indonesian films Films directed by Inoe Perbatasari