''Selamat Berdjuang, Masku!'' ( Perfected Spelling: ''Selamat Berjuang, Masku!'', Indonesian for "Fight Well, My Brother!") is a 1951 Indonesian film directed by R.H. Andjar Subyanto and starring Raden Sukarno and Marlia Hardi. It follows a former guerrilla leader who must pursue his love despite the interference of his former comrades.

Plot

During the

Indonesian National Revolution The Indonesian National Revolution (), also known as the Indonesian War of Independence (, ), was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during A ...

, Herman ( Raden Sukarno) is the leader of a group of

guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

s, including the womanizing artist Wurjanto ( A. Hamid Arief), the arrogant Abdul Rais (Chatir Harro), the trader Amin (A. Bakar), and the former office worker Katsina (

Darussalam Dar al-Salam (), also transliterated Dar el-Salam, Dar es-Salaam, or Darussalam, may refer to: Places * Dar es Salaam, a major city in Tanzania, or the administrative region around it * Dar El Salam, a town in Egypt * Dar os Salam, a village in Ira ...

). After the war, only Herman maintains his ideology and joins the

Indonesian Air Force The Indonesian Air Force (, sometimes shortened as IDAF / IdAF) is the Air force, aerial branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. The Indonesian Air Force is headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, and is headed by the Chief of Staff of th ...

, whereas his fellow guerrillas return to their respective fields. He also maintains a loving relationship with Parmi ( Marlia Hardi), and stays faithful to her despite intervention from Herman's former colleagues, including Wurjanto, who has stolen the heart of Surti ( Netty Herawaty), a young village woman.

Production

''Selamat Berdjuang, Masku!'' was written and directed by R.H. Andjar Subyanto (credited as H. Asby) for Djakarta Film, a subsidiary of Fred Young's Bintang Surabaja. It was his second film for the company, following ''Pelarian dari Pagar Besi'' (1951). 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 Raden Sukarno and Marlia Hardi in the lead roles, supported by A. Hamid Arief and Netty Herawaty. The film also featured Chatir Harro, A. Bakar, Darussalam, Musa, Wolly Sutinah, Pak Ali, and Rochani in various parts. ''Selamat Berdjuang, Masku!'' was produced at during a period when several companies were producing films about or touching on the Indonesian National Revolution, including

Perfini Perfini (''Perusahaan Film Nasional Indonesia'', ''Indonesia National Film Company'') was an Indonesian film production company, based in Jakarta. It was most productive in Indonesian cinema in the 1950s. Its most notable directors were Usmar Isma ...

(''

Darah dan Doa ''Darah dan Doa'' (; Indonesian for ''Blood and Prayer'', released internationally as ''The Long March'') is a 1950 Indonesian war film directed and produced by Usmar Ismail, telling the story of the Siliwangi Division and its leader Captain Su ...

'', 1950; '' Enam Djam di Jogja'', 1951), Persari (''Sepandjang Malioboro'', 1950; ''Hampir Malam di Djogja'', 1951), and Bintang Surabaja (''Djembatan Merah'', 1950). The 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 Minangkaba ...

writes that, aside from those films produced by Perfini, none of these productions dealt with the nationalistic ideals and struggle underlying the revolution. The film critic Salim Said, however, argues that the depiction of waylaid guerrillas in ''

Embun ''Embun'' (Indonesian for ''Dewdrop'') is a 1952 film directed by D. Djajakusuma for Perfini in his directorial debut. Plot After the conclusion of the Indonesian National Revolution, Leman ( AN Alcaff) and Barjo (Rd Ismail) go to the national c ...

'' (Perfini, 1952) and ''Selamat Berdjuang, Masku!'' led to a decline in the production of films about the revolution.

Release

''Selamat Berdjuang, Masku!'' was released in 1951, with its

Malang Malang (; , ), historically known as Tumapel, is an inland List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of East Java. It has a history dating back to the age of the Singhasari, Singhasari K ...

debut on 15 August of that year—two days before independence day celebrations. A novelisation, by Suma Indra, was published by Gapura in their ''Roman Layar Putih'' ('Silver Screen Novels') series.

References

Works cited

* * * * * * {{refend 1951 films Indonesian black-and-white films Films about the Indonesian National Revolution 1950s Indonesian-language films Films set in Indonesia