110 mins., b&w, silent – Dutch titles and intertitles.
Production : Soverdi
Source : EYE Dutch East Indies collection, viewable here
Ethnodrama, shot on island of Flores. On the film itself is dated to 1923, but this maybe the year on which the ‘true story’ on which this fiction is based took place. Year of production in EYE catalogue given as 1930
EYE catalogue entry :
“Christian mission propaganda film about a Christian girl’s arranged marriage to a Muslim .The parents of Christian girl Ria Rago have arranged for her to marry Dapo, a Muslim. She refuses and, after a beating, flees to the mission sisters who offer her a safe haven. Her father and his cronies aren’t long in finding her, however, and she is taken back into the kampong. After months of torture, Ria still won’t give in. She escapes again and manages to reach the mission post where she collapses. On the brink of death, she is administered the last rites. Ria’s father decides to call off the marriage and returns the dowry to Dapo. On her deathbed Rita forgives her parents.”
Text : Ray 2017