Si Ronda is a 1930
silent film from the
Dutch East Indies, directed by
Lie Tek Swie and starring
Bachtiar Effendi (pictured). It was adapted from a
lenong (a
Betawi oral tradition similar to a stage play) that was popular with
ethnic Chinese and
nativeaudiences of the time. Adaptations of the genre, manifested as bandit films, appeared in domestic cinema following the release of
Si Tjonat by Batavia Motion Picture in 1929. The Ronda stories follow the Betawi bandit of the same name, who is skilled at
silat (traditional martial arts) and reputed to take from the rich to give to the poor. The Indonesian film scholar
Misbach Yusa Biran suggests that Ronda was
selected for adaptation because of its action sequences. In the domestic cinema, such sequences had generally been inspired by American works and been well received by audiences. The production, now thought
lost, was one of a series of martial arts films released between 1929 and 1931.
Si Ronda received little coverage in the media upon its release. A second adaptation of the tale,
Si Ronda Macan Betawi, was made in 1978.
