Bertjinta dalam Gelap

Sri Lestari and her fiancé, Joni are invited to an empty house. Instead, he is met by a policeman who asks him to the police station for questioning. Joni then calls his future mother in law, Rahayu, who later on, pays a visit. When Joni goes back to the police station, Rahayu had left behind a letter after taking poison. The letter tells her life story, about her husband, Yono, who had many wives and liked to sleep around. This prompted Rahayu to get a divorce and start an affair with her former lover, Jufri. But Yono is angry when he finds out about the affair. He fights with Jufri, but ends up being killed by Jufri. In panic, Jufri runs out of the house and is killed by an oncoming truck. Then Rahayu goes to her aunt’s house claiming that Yono has remarried. Frans, the maid begins to blackmail Rahayu but Rahayu later poisons her. All of this happens when Lestari was five years old.

Directed by Chitra Dewi, Bertjinta dalam Gelap leans on a strong ensemble — Reny Asmara, Tjetty Wulansari, Aminah Cendrakasih — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 1971.