Tamu Agung

Plot

The village of Sukaslamet is scheduled to receive an honoured guest from afar. Midi, a villager, is sent to the city to escort him. Distracted and confused by the lively city, Midi comes across a salesman offering a "potent" hair-growing tonic, which – unknown to Midi – is actually ineffective. To speed the onset of the tonic's effects, Midi arranges for a car to take him and the salesman back to Sukaslamet. There, the salesman is welcomed as the honored guest, and he takes advantage of the warm welcome. However, his fun is cut short when the actual guest arrives in the village, and the salesman is driven out of the village.

Production

Tamu Agung was directed by Usmar Ismail for his company Perfini; Misbach Yusa Biran served as assistant director. Cinematography of this black-and-white film was completed by Max Tera, with R Husein as a second cameraman. Artistic direction was handled by R Hibnu DJ, Ardi Ahmad, and Djajeng Winoto, with make-up by Hanida Arifin. Music was provided by Sjaiful Bachri. Soemardjono served as editor, with Janis Badar as his assistant.

The film starred Cassin Abbas, Nina Amora, M. Pandji Anom, Chitra Dewi, Kuntjung, Tina Melinda, Hassan Sanusi, Sulastri, and Udjang.

Reception

Tamu Agung was a commercial failure upon release on 21 May 1955, making only Rp. 147,301 during its run, the lowest of any Perfini production to that point. However, it received considerable acclaim from critics, and although it was frowned upon by Sukarno's government, they did not ban it. The film was screened at the 1956 Asia Film Festival in Hong Kong, winning Best Comedy.

Monash University writes that the film "brilliantly interweaves modern political discourse (including a militant feminism that appears to have emerged with the Indonesian revolution) with archaic Javanese rhetoric, taken from the narratives of the Wayang (traditional Javanese shadow play)." Author William Van der Heide considers the film to have an ideological view of development, and notes that the film delivers a scathing critique of government corruption and party politics and that the "exalted guest" is in fact a "little-disguised caricature of President Sukarno".