Kantata Takwa

An unusual Indonesian film, in which music has taken over the role of the story. The makers even regard it as an experimental project: experimental because of the form in which animation is used alongside ordinary film shots and experimental because three directors cooperated relatively autonomously on the same film. The film comprises material that was shot during a gala concert by the Kantata Takwa Orchestra in Senayan. Important roles in the film are played by the well-known poet and playwright W.S. Rendra and the famous Indonesian pop singer Iwan Fals. The film represents in its form a marriage between music, theatre and film; a trinity which is moulded into a new unity. The three art forms appear in the film as one work recorded on a continuous stream of celluloid.The film’s title Kantata Takwa, after the name of the orchestra, stands for the ‘kantata’ of love; the patience, dedication and sincerity. The concept represents an attitude to life which strives for dignity and humanism. Eros Djarot: ‘The central question is: what for? What do we life for in this bloody world? If we can’t answer this question, we’re finished.’Despite the independent status and the experimental nature of the film, it had a relatively large budget thanks to the support of the oil billionaire and maecenas Djodi Setiewan, who also has a walk-on part in the film.The three directors have different backgrounds, but what binds them is their attempt to provide Indonesian cinema with vitality and depth, for which they seek contact with the roots of Indonesian culture.