Suparman

Rhoma and Rika have a steady relationship. But it is hard for Rika to refuse her father’s request for her to study abroad. Rika and her best friend, Ani, both hide each other’s respective boyfriends as Ani had a bad relationship experience in the past. On Ani’s birthday party, something unexpected happens when both, Rike and Ani, discover that they have the same boyfriend. Rika then concedes that Ani is the one for Rhoma so she fulfils her parent’s expectation to continue her studies abroad.

Ateng has felt how difficult it is to live with his stepmother. He is often being shouted at and even gets slapped. His father never stands by him. The village people are impressed to see the appearance of Iskak, Ateng’s old friend, who has just returned from Jakarta. This causes Ateng to yearn to leave for the capital city. And so Ateng joins Iskak. Once they arrive in Jakarta, their bags are stolen. Apparently Iskak has been talking big, as it is difficult for him to find a job. Ateng feels miserable in the capital city. He has been beaten up, starved and tricked. Ateng feels the capital city is crueler than his stepmother.

Hetty searches for her father, Syachrin Mulyadi, who left a long time ago to find fortune. She takes with her a necklace that was given by Syachrin to her late mother. Syachrin has become a producer and is making a film titled “Assoy”. During a birthday party of Mrs. Lies, Hetty sings a song that was composed specially by Syachrin for his wife, and this helps them to meet. The film uses songs, top singers, and a touching story, to repeat the successful formula that started with the film Terang Boelan. The singers Elvy Sukaesih, Lies Saodah, and Mansjur are popular Dangdut singers of the time, while Hetty Koes Endang was a rising pop singer. The appearance of the comedy Surya Group was designed as an added attraction, though it becomes more of a distraction.

Three bachelors establish a service center for women, initially intended for sex, but instead it becomes a multi-purpose service agency. There is a grandmother who asks them to read comic books to her; there is also a woman who wants them to wash her carpets. But one of them always gets the most enjoyable part, which is the sex service for lonely women, or even to torture them by request. He also gets a girlfriend, who lives in Singapore, and accepts his profession.

Beginning with a flashback, Richard goes for a vacation at the hometown of his friend, Roni. There, he dates Roni’s sister, Katyana, and makes her pregnant. But Katyana chooses another young man who lives in the town, as she sees Richard falling for Nina, who has always been jealous of her. Richard leaves, leaving a necklace and swearing a furious oath that he will destroy all women. The flashback ends and we see Rizal, who is left by his mother, Katyana. Rizal is Richard’s son. He becomes a vagabond and is found in a weak condition by Roni and his daughter, Riana. He is taken care of until he is grown up. Then Roni is disabled after an accident and his wife, Nina, becomes a prostitute and joins a crime syndicate. When Rizal and Riana start to have an intimate relationship, Nina throws Rizal out of the house, and then he starts a job as a police informant.

Director Teguh Karya intended to make a “real” comedy amidst the many slapstick comedies at the time, and in fact calls this film a bitter comedy. In the film, Ms. Sumirah, a widow who used to be a favourite pretty girl in Padalarang, worries about her daughter Anna, who is shy and self-conscious. She keeps pushing Anna’s brother, Willy, to invite home a co-worker from the clothing factory he works in. Then a change occurs after Anna meets Jaka, an English teacher living near her house. When their relationship starts to bloom, it is found out that Jaka is the son of Saodah, a woman who once had an affair with Sumirah’s husband, Van Nijs. Sumirah changes her mind and opposes their relationship. Finally Anna and Jaka elope.

Mbok Puspo’s cafe, at the edge of Kalimas, under Jembatan Merah or “Red Bridge”, is a meeting place for many. Mbok Puspo also sells rags for additional income while her adopted daughter, Sudiasih, runs the cafe and is the shining beauty of the place. The regulars are Ngawang, a small time thief who fails to make his wife happy; Kenanga, who becomes a prostitute to spite her husband; Siswanto, a student who does not have the courage to confess his love to Sudiasih; Pungguk the painter; a civil servant, and a postman. The love stories between Siswanto and Sudiasih; and Ngawang and Kenang are the central plots. Seeing Siswanto and Sudiasih’s love, Ngawang and Kenanga also find each other. Meanwhile, Mbok Puspo is in a dilemma when she receives a letter from her child, Sri Bidari, who was adopted by a rich family.

Drawing from the novel, lenong (play) and the previous film (Njai Dasima I), this new film version has heightened erotic scenes considered the boldest for its time. But as mentioned by the director, the eroticism is meant to reveal the psychological aspects of the characters. Unlike the previous version, that mainly highlights conflict between love and witchcraft, this one features social and psychological conflicts. For example, how Dasima feels like an outsider with Edward Williams’s friends, or how she prefers leaving their house to live with her maid in the village. It also shows more background of the Samiun and Hayati characters - Samiun is a black market trader with a lot of debts and Hayati is a woman obsessed with gambling to get rich. When his debts are due and he is unable to pay, Samiun asks his friend, Puasa, to “rob” him while he is returning to their village with Dasima.