Infused with respect and an under-current of regret, to the people of Indonesia from a Dutch female film-maker, this documentary by Sandra Beerends is a very valuable work, a gift. Ms Beerends (writer/director) and her collaborators talked with many women who had been nannies to Dutch families... called Babu by the families they worked for. They must have also spent a huge amount of time viewing archival footage and creating this artful concept for a beautiful documentary, which plays almost like a feature film. Ms Beerends has said that her own mother used to tell her stories of the babu Javanese women she remembered.
Ms Beerends has written the story of Alima, a fictitious young Javanese girl/ a Babu who was embedded in a Dutch family, living and working with them for several years until 1942. That's when the Japanese invaded Indonesia, causing upheaval for the Dutch, and promising the Indonesians "liberation"/merdeka, a promise they did not fulfil. Things got worse, not better. Alima suddenly found herself alone again when all of her Dutch family were suddenly taken to prison camps and their house seized by the Japanese.
Babu Alima had even returned to Holland with them during her time working for the family...On the journey she learned a lot about the world beyond Java, and marveled at how the Dutch family 'behaved the same everywhere, as if the world belonged to them.' She also learned that servants in Holland were entitled to one day off a week, something which was denied to her by the same family, when in Java - "Different rules apply here," she was told curtly upon their return.
They had arrived in the Netherlands in winter, and she wore a winter coat over her batik kain (sarong) as she walked Jantje in his pram around the snowy streets, and stared in wonder at ice skaters on the canals. When they all returned to Java, she saw her homeland with new eyes.
After the Japanese took control, Alima worked for a while with a wealthy Chinese family whom she found cheerful and kind, but difficult to get used to, as they had such different ways than the Dutch family. She loved little Jantje and always missed him. She left and went to Jakarta.
She meets and falls in love with a young man, Ribut ( meaning noisy) who has freedom on his mind and is a follower of Sukarno. Just to see the footage of the young Sukarno speaking to his people, rousing their desire for independence, and other historic moments, including his arrival in Bogor at the Palace, to take his place as first president of Indonesia, is inspiring and worth the price of the ticket to view this wonderful film at home as part of the "all online" Sydney Film Festival of 2020.
The young couple return to his (and her) hometown Yogyakarta in Central Java, when the War of Independence begins after the Japanese surrender and departure, which was followed soon after by the return of the Dutch. Just imagine the immense dismay in the hearts of the Indonesians. It's heartbreaking. Although the Dutch homeland had been occupied by the Nazis, they still hadn't understood that they were doing the same thing in Java....for 350 years. But this time the Indonesians were adamant and determined, and led by Sukarno, fought for and gained their independence in 1949, after having actually declared Indonesia a free nation on August 18th 1945.
This story told with compilation footage has a very moving ending and contains some magical moments of joy for Alima and Ribut, although they lived through so much turmoil.
Alima's fictious life is a blend of the lives of many young Javanese women who worked as a 'babu' but is true to the facts and rings very 'true'. The story of Alima, whose young life straddles the birth of a nation. It tells one woman's story, a part of the colonialism that was no doubt also happening in many other countries in the era of colonialism by European countries of lands in the south.
The archival film is beautifully edited to complement the story and the pace is gentle and quiet in spite of the enormous historical events. It has the same 'energy' of calm and softness that is typical of the Javanese culture, so refined and delicate. The voice of the narrator and the words that Ms Beerends has written are perfect and feel 'right' to me, as someone who for 25 years has been close to the Javanese in modern times. I very much hope that Indonesians will be offered the opportunity to see this beautiful film. I think they will appreciate the recognition of their story and the empathetic and respectful way in which it has been told.
