Film: Red & White
Showing posts with label Country: Indonesia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Country: Indonesia. Show all posts
NEWS: Cinema Release: Red & White
In 1947, the war was over for the rest of the world. In Indonesia, it was just beginning.
Set against the historically authentic backdrop of Indonesia’s fight for Independence, Red & White is the story of a fictional band of revolutionary cadets facing a massive Dutch onslaught. When their classmates are massacred, the four survivors overcome deep differences in religion, class and personality to band together as guerrilla fighters.
Defeated, leaderless and on the run, the cadets rise above petty rivalries to strike a blow for the Red and White (the Indonesian flag). To become free, they become one.
From the production teams behind Saving Private Ryan, Blackhawk Down, Batman Dark Knight, The Matrix and The Thin Red Line comes this stirring tale of heroism, survival and brotherhood.
Film: Red & White
Release date: 5th November 2010
Certificate: TBC
Running time: 108 mins
Director: Yadi Sugandi
Starring: Lukman Sardi, Donny Alamsyah, Darius Sinathrya, T.Rifnu Wikana, Zumi Zola
Genre: Drama/War
Studio: Kaleidescope
Format: Cinema
Country: Indonesia
REVIEW: DVD Release: Merantau Warrior
Film: Merantau Warrior
Release date: 26th April 2010
Certificate: 18
Running time: 106 mins
Director: Gareth Evans
Starring: Iko Uwais, Sisca Jessica, Christine Hakim, Mads Koudal
Genre: Martial Arts
Studio: E1
Format: DVD
Country: Indonesia
In the Sumatran region of Indonesia, there comes a time in a young man’s life when he must undertake “Merantau”, a rites-of-passage journey whereby he leaves his village to try and find his place in the world. Writer/director Gareth Evans has taken that premise and spun it into a dangerous adventure.
Yuda’s Merantau starts with a number of setbacks which would have most people running back to their village – the house he’s meant to be staying in has been demolished, there’s no work for a Silat instructor and just now he’s been robbed by a street urchin called Adit. Chasing him through the increasingly narrow alleyways brings Yuda to the point where the momentum of the plot starts to change gears.
Adit’s sister, Astri (Sisca Jessica), is a dancer in a nightclub run by Johnni, and Adit has inadvertently led Yuda (Iko Uwais) there. As Yuda confronts the little thief, Astri and Johnni come out of a side-door, arguing. Turns out, Johnni wants a portion of Astri’s tips. Things get violent, and Yuda steps in. Astri isn’t particularly pleased with her unsolicited knight-in-shining-armour, believing his interference is only going to make things worse. Johnni isn’t too happy either.
Johnni, it turns out, is providing girls to a pair of Eurotrash sex-traffickers called Ratger and Luc, who are in town to pick up their latest shipment of girls. When Ratger points out to him that he’s a girl short, Johnni immediately thinks of Astri as a perfect replacement...
Merantau starts with a deliberate slow pace, grounding the story in context as we are introduced to Yuda, his family and his village life. Evans captures the rolling hills, the grass terraces and the air of tranquillity. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, but Yuda is going to sorely miss this lifestyle.
Ratger and Luc get an excellently shot introduction, as they survey the latest consignment for their brothels. Whilst Ratger reclines in a sumptuous looking leather armchair, the girls are given a rather crude medical examination. The treatment of the girls is likely to make your skin crawl. Of the two, Ratger is the hot-headed dominant one, while Luc is the cool-headed voice of reason. When Yuda bursts in and rescues Astri, Ratger demands revenge, but Luc councils a more reasonable course of action – they need to get the girls shipped and don’t have time for vendettas. Of course, Ratger wins out and hires more guys to take on Yuda and get the girl back.
The second half of the film is basically “chase–fight-chase” as Yuda tackles increasingly skilled fighters in his quest to help Astri and Adit. This leads to a scene which could be described as a microcosm of 90s Hong Kong action cinema, when Yuda re-encounter’s Eric. Sparks really fly between these two. Having met and bonded at the beginning of the film, they suddenly find themselves on opposite sides. The ensuing fight, inside the constricted space of an elevator is of epic proportions. As good as the fight itself is, the following unspoken act of honour and brotherhood is even better.
Director Gareth Evan’s approach to the martial arts genre is exactly what fans have been crying out for. Firstly, the fights are choreographed rather than edited together. Secondly, the actors are all proficient martial artists (the exception being Mads Koudal, who has put the time and effort in to ensure he isn’t embarrassed onscreen). And thirdly, the fights are filmed in a straight fashion, rather than the du jour in-your-face shaky-cam. In fact, the length of shots seems to increase as the film progresses, to the point that an attack on Johnni’s bar is a one-take shot which lasts over a minute of screen-time (although the DVD extras point out that that scene in particular took over fifty attempts to complete!).
The acting is very impressive. Iko Uwais was discovered by Gareth Evans when he was making a martial arts documentary and was taken with the young man’s screen presence. It’s certainly not apparent that this is his first film role. Although he doesn’t have a lot of dialogue, he carries it off very well. Sisca Jessica manages to bring some life to a “damsel in distress” role, and delivers a heart-rending monologue about why she and her brother are in the predicament they are in. Yayan Ruhian is another newcomer. He only has a couple of scenes but proves to be very memorable in them.
Best of all, though, is Mads Koudal as Ratger, You can really imagine there are people like him roaming around Jakarta and Bangkok preying on young women with no better futures. It would have been so easy to over-play the part, but Koudal gets it just right, allowing flashes of temper to get the better of him now and again, then reigning back in.
Gareth Evans has studied the competition and delivered a martial arts movie which delivers the drama and acting as much as it does the amazing fights and stunt-work. Fans of the genre owe it to themselves to check this film out, and remember the name of Iko Uwais for the future. MOW
REVIEW: DVD Release: Opera Jawa
Film: Opera Jawa
Release date: 28th January 2008
Release date: 28th January 2008
Certificate: 12
Running time: 119 mins
Director: Garin NugrohoStarring: Eko Supriyanto, Martinus Miroto, Artika Sari Devi
Genre: Musical
Studio: Yume
Format: DVDCountry: Indonesia/Austria
Opera Jawa draws on the many centuries old heritage of Indonesian theatre, dance, song and storytelling to create a tragic tale of love, lust and betrayal that is dripping in symbolism.
Taking as its inspiration the Hindu tale of Rama and Sita (here known as Sinta), director and scriptwriter Garin Nugroho transcribes the action to modern day Java, where three people, who formerly danced the story of Rama and Sinta, seem doomed to repeat the story in their own lives.
In the story of Rama and Sinta, the two are a happily married couple until the jealous ten-headed Demon King Ravana kidnaps Sinta for himself. Rama enlists Hanuman, the Monkey King, and a fierce battle ensues between the monkey and demon armies. Ravana is killed by a shot from Rama's bow, and Rama and Sinta return home in a festival of lights (Diwali). The Javanese version of the Ramayana differs greatly, but not in terms of the basic story.
The film is told through traditional Javanese opera and dance. Setio (Rama) and Siti (Sinta), former dancers of the Ramayana, are married and now run a business selling earthenware. But the market in earthen pots crashes and they are left poor. Setyo, despite loving Siti deeply, feels a terrible strain and turns his back on her. Meanwhile Ludiro (Ravana), a powerful businessman who used to dance with Setyo and Siti, begins to tempt Siti to him through gifts and charisma.
Heartbroken and destitute, Setyo organises an army of the poor to attack the rich of the village, whose own army is led by Ludiro. In the fighting, Ludiro is killed. Siti returns to Setyo, but can he take her back?
Opera Jawa is a unique film. Nugroho chooses to use Symbolism to such an extent that it becomes the story. Creating a world which isn't the world, where fantasy and reality are both obvious creations and so the same illusion, where the stepping stone between our world and the interior thoughts of a character is the simple act of putting on a mask. Occasionally, it's difficult to follow the story due to the abstractions, but the symbolism is never less than crystal clear. Mannequins ubiquitously dot the scenery, replacing, mainly, dead bodies. One scene has red wax heads, decapitated from white plaster bodies. The heads burning as candles and the wax dripping down onto the bodies. It's an unforgettable image following up the, equally symbolic, battle towards the end of the film that is played out through puppetry. News reports are played over a stone TV.
Masks play an important part in this film, and in Indonesian Art as a whole. In the west we have become rather immune to the affect great mask work can play on our understanding of art. In the mainstream, we now only see masked superheroes where the mask usually goes to accentuate features. In Opera Jawa, the masks are often blank: a wicker hat, some leaves, a half carved piece of wood - in one instance, a t-shirt. The effect is mesmerising as, through the mask and the skill of the dancers, characters are transformed into monsters, or their inner thoughts laid bare.
The skill of the performers cannot be overstated. This is movement that talks not just of years of training or innate ability, but thousands of years of tradition, of dances honed over centuries. It is really quite humbling to watch. The music side of things, however, is a slight problem, at least when it comes to the western ear. We have been spoiled by our exposure to chromatic octaves, Puccini Operas and the classical tradition. Trying to listen to an orchestra where staying on the right note isn't as important as creating an overall effect is fine in itself but, especially when you're also following subtitled lyrics, the music fades into the background. Fortunately, the incredible visuals more than make up for not being able to hum the arias afterwards.
Opera Jawa, despite filling a kind of fantasy halfway world, does so entirely naturally. There are no special effects in the film, no artificial lighting, at least nothing obviously so. The fantasy is as real as our world, with monsters created out of people and masks, and when an obvious surrealism ends, it does so simply with the removal of masks or the monsters simply walking off screen. This is pure theatre, and truly more successful than any of the special effects tricks employed by cinema if you can buy into the surrealism - although not everyone will.
Only once is there a misstep by the director. In the midst of Ludiro's final seduction of Siti, a remarkable scene involving an exceptionally long red cloth, Nugroho cuts to an out and out comedy, where the very fat occasional narrator strums a ukulele and Ludiro does a very, very silly dance proclaiming all the nice things he has bought for Siti. It is very funny, but this is the same Ludiro who at the start of the film proclaims that he will bloodily destroy any who oppose him while dancing over a severed ox head in an abattoir. This little self-deprecatory scene, instead of bringing humour to the story, just serves to point up how seriously the rest of the film takes itself. For a misstep however, it is still enjoyable.
Supriyanto, Miroto and Sari Devi all deserve praise for their performances. Miroto as Setyo has a wonderful vulnerability as Siti slips away from him, but it is Supriyanto as Ludiro and Sari Devi as Siti who steal the film, both individually and together, where their dancing takes on a primitive eroticism. Also worthy of praise is the Hanuman character (unnamed on screen) for which the actor crafts a truly simian movement that puts any western actor that has had the misfortune to have to pull on a gorilla suit to shame.
A truly stunning piece of cinema that exudes craftsmanship, beauty and traditional techniques to transcribe new life into an old story. It won't satisfy those looking for action, but if you want to watch a film that will fill you with awe and wonder, then this should be high on your list. PE
Taking as its inspiration the Hindu tale of Rama and Sita (here known as Sinta), director and scriptwriter Garin Nugroho transcribes the action to modern day Java, where three people, who formerly danced the story of Rama and Sinta, seem doomed to repeat the story in their own lives.
In the story of Rama and Sinta, the two are a happily married couple until the jealous ten-headed Demon King Ravana kidnaps Sinta for himself. Rama enlists Hanuman, the Monkey King, and a fierce battle ensues between the monkey and demon armies. Ravana is killed by a shot from Rama's bow, and Rama and Sinta return home in a festival of lights (Diwali). The Javanese version of the Ramayana differs greatly, but not in terms of the basic story.
The film is told through traditional Javanese opera and dance. Setio (Rama) and Siti (Sinta), former dancers of the Ramayana, are married and now run a business selling earthenware. But the market in earthen pots crashes and they are left poor. Setyo, despite loving Siti deeply, feels a terrible strain and turns his back on her. Meanwhile Ludiro (Ravana), a powerful businessman who used to dance with Setyo and Siti, begins to tempt Siti to him through gifts and charisma.
Heartbroken and destitute, Setyo organises an army of the poor to attack the rich of the village, whose own army is led by Ludiro. In the fighting, Ludiro is killed. Siti returns to Setyo, but can he take her back?
Opera Jawa is a unique film. Nugroho chooses to use Symbolism to such an extent that it becomes the story. Creating a world which isn't the world, where fantasy and reality are both obvious creations and so the same illusion, where the stepping stone between our world and the interior thoughts of a character is the simple act of putting on a mask. Occasionally, it's difficult to follow the story due to the abstractions, but the symbolism is never less than crystal clear. Mannequins ubiquitously dot the scenery, replacing, mainly, dead bodies. One scene has red wax heads, decapitated from white plaster bodies. The heads burning as candles and the wax dripping down onto the bodies. It's an unforgettable image following up the, equally symbolic, battle towards the end of the film that is played out through puppetry. News reports are played over a stone TV.
Masks play an important part in this film, and in Indonesian Art as a whole. In the west we have become rather immune to the affect great mask work can play on our understanding of art. In the mainstream, we now only see masked superheroes where the mask usually goes to accentuate features. In Opera Jawa, the masks are often blank: a wicker hat, some leaves, a half carved piece of wood - in one instance, a t-shirt. The effect is mesmerising as, through the mask and the skill of the dancers, characters are transformed into monsters, or their inner thoughts laid bare.
The skill of the performers cannot be overstated. This is movement that talks not just of years of training or innate ability, but thousands of years of tradition, of dances honed over centuries. It is really quite humbling to watch. The music side of things, however, is a slight problem, at least when it comes to the western ear. We have been spoiled by our exposure to chromatic octaves, Puccini Operas and the classical tradition. Trying to listen to an orchestra where staying on the right note isn't as important as creating an overall effect is fine in itself but, especially when you're also following subtitled lyrics, the music fades into the background. Fortunately, the incredible visuals more than make up for not being able to hum the arias afterwards.
Opera Jawa, despite filling a kind of fantasy halfway world, does so entirely naturally. There are no special effects in the film, no artificial lighting, at least nothing obviously so. The fantasy is as real as our world, with monsters created out of people and masks, and when an obvious surrealism ends, it does so simply with the removal of masks or the monsters simply walking off screen. This is pure theatre, and truly more successful than any of the special effects tricks employed by cinema if you can buy into the surrealism - although not everyone will.
Only once is there a misstep by the director. In the midst of Ludiro's final seduction of Siti, a remarkable scene involving an exceptionally long red cloth, Nugroho cuts to an out and out comedy, where the very fat occasional narrator strums a ukulele and Ludiro does a very, very silly dance proclaiming all the nice things he has bought for Siti. It is very funny, but this is the same Ludiro who at the start of the film proclaims that he will bloodily destroy any who oppose him while dancing over a severed ox head in an abattoir. This little self-deprecatory scene, instead of bringing humour to the story, just serves to point up how seriously the rest of the film takes itself. For a misstep however, it is still enjoyable.
Supriyanto, Miroto and Sari Devi all deserve praise for their performances. Miroto as Setyo has a wonderful vulnerability as Siti slips away from him, but it is Supriyanto as Ludiro and Sari Devi as Siti who steal the film, both individually and together, where their dancing takes on a primitive eroticism. Also worthy of praise is the Hanuman character (unnamed on screen) for which the actor crafts a truly simian movement that puts any western actor that has had the misfortune to have to pull on a gorilla suit to shame.
A truly stunning piece of cinema that exudes craftsmanship, beauty and traditional techniques to transcribe new life into an old story. It won't satisfy those looking for action, but if you want to watch a film that will fill you with awe and wonder, then this should be high on your list. PE
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