The darling buds of Bali
Bali is so unlike the rest of Indonesia it seems unmoored from the
archipelago.
Before the island was scarred by terrorism and corrupted by commerce
it lured foreign adventurers enchanted by the rich spirituality, creating a
mystic aura and a pestilence of clichés.
Paradise, abode of peace, island of the gods …
Dutch colonial era artist pioneers included Hollander Rudolf
Bonnet (1895-1978) and German Walter Spies (1895 - 1942). Later came
Australians like Donald Friend (1950-89) who spent the last two decades of his
life painting on the island.
The work of these creators has been recognised in biographies and
art collections.
Now comes John Darling, an Australian filmmaker in Bali (Monash
University Publishing).
This tribute to Bali’s auteur and poet is a 21-essay festschrift
edited by Australasian academics, Graeme MacRae and Anton Lucas. An Indonesian translation is expected
next year. It’s enhanced with photos and poems:
the eyes
create the paths
before us
we travel slowly
taking by-ways
pursuing images …
evening visions of red-eyed infinity
return reversed in dawn’s embrace.
Darling was born in Melbourne in 1946, the only son of an
establishment family. His father, later Sir James Darling and ABC chair, was
head of Geelong Grammar School.
The lad’s road seemed set as a historian, but after graduating his
compass failed. It was suggested he try
Indonesia, a land few Australians knew and fewer understood. Darling wandered
across Java to Bali. On a dawn stroll he met I Gusti Nyoman Lempad.
One was a respected and prolific Balinese sculptor and artist,
then aged 108. The other a 24-year old drifter from faraway, “seeking a place
in which to develop my obscure talents.” They couldn’t share language, yet they
connected.
The lost and disgruntled still head to Bali for something they
can’t identify, but the Darling days are gone.
Expectations are no longer coloured by ethnographic research but by
fantasy romance in Eat, Pray, Love.
So this book is about a place that was, and a time when nomads were
curiosities, not ATMs. Although focusing
on one man, it also tells of Bali’s transition from a hippie hideout to a
luxury location fit for the G20 suits.
In and around the 60s and early 70s Bali drew surfers to the
beaches, intellectuals to the hills and both to magic mushrooms. Ubud became a
‘crossroads of culture’.
At that intersection stood a searcher with no clear plan or
purpose, recalls writer Bruce Carpenter, author of a most insightful
chapter. Both men were “refugees of the international youth movement that
had filled our generation with naive dreams of blazing new paths and
paradigms.”
When
Lempad died in 1978 Darling, now fluent in Balinese and close to the family, produced
and co-directed with the late British filmmaker Lorne Blair the old man’s
spectacular cremation.
Lempad of Bali won the Documentary
Award at the Asian Film Festival. It remains a masterpiece and founded
Darling’s reputation. Watch on YouTube.
For
the next 17, years he was known as a filmmaker, poet and lecturer. But a
hereditary blood disease forced him to Australia for treatment; he died in
2014, aged 68.
At the funeral Ubud royal Tjokorda Gde Mahatma Putra Kerthyasa
said the only outsiders who could live locally were those who loved the island
for what it was – not for what they could get out of it.
“John was a man who lived his truth and spoke it. He didn’t
choose an easy life in Bali, he chose a Balinese life. He is remembered … as
one of the few foreign custodians of Balinese culture who didn’t take – but
shared.”
Darling’s films include Bali Hash, Slow Boat from Surabaya,
Master of the Shadow and Bali Triptych.
Veteran Australian broadcaster Phillip Adams (not in the book, but
should have been) described Triptych as “one of the most elegant,
scholarly and beautifully made documentary series … when you see Darling's
loving, luscious, literate films, you'll understand why.”
Darling’s
first wife Diana writes: “His films made his poetry visible.”
Despite
applause and acceptance, Darling said that at times he felt like “a bit of a
maverick … isolated and an outsider.’ One friend remembers a ‘somewhat
other-worldly fellow.”
The
late Made Wijaya writes about a “giant ego” and narcissist “in a nice, not a
nasty way”, whatever that means. This chapter adds little.
We
all see others differently; individuals are complex and facts morph into myths,
but disparate recalls confuse. They should have been clarified or cut.
Similarly,
pointless anecdotes and lists of names like a club register. These
tarnish finer offerings, such as a pensive analysis by anthropologist E Douglas
Lewis.
Fortunately,
editor MacRae’s clear writing steers readers back on the road to ponder his subject’s
physical and cerebral journey.
Darling was sick and in Canberra in 2002 when Jemaah Islamiyah fundamentalists bombed a Bali night club killing 202
including 88 Australians and 38 Indonesians.
Despite his illness, within ten days he was back on the island
with his wife Sara as co-producer. Crews from mainstream TV channels focused on
the terrorists. The couple’s self-funded Healing of Bali lets victims
tell their stories alongside reflections of faith leaders.
Sara addresses her late husband as “an amazing dreamer and
wonderful storyteller … through your films, poetry, art, and love of life.”
His
accessible interpretations of our northern neighbour’s values make them clearer, hopefully helping those Australians who
think differences are threats. This book
should help keep Darling’s legacy alive, help outsiders better appreciate
Indonesia and marvel at the work of its creative citizens.
Disclosure:
The author is one of the contributors.
First published in Antara 15 December 2022: https://en.antaranews.com/news/265675/the-darling-buds-of-bali
No comments:
Post a Comment