[Our thanks to Guillem Rosset for the following review.]
I've always had a soft spot for martial arts films. It was thanks to the likes of Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Donnie Yen and others that my interest for Asian cinema begin to grow (and therefore for cinema on the whole). The golden age for this genre ended quite some time ago, but every once in a while new directors and actors emerge willing to prove martial arts flicks are still alive and kicking (no pun intended). Ong Bak already proved this six years ago, succeeding both in Sitges Festival and worldwide, and now Merantau comes to follow suit.
The "merantau" is an ancient rite of passage (still in practice in modern days) native from Sumatra, where young boys must abandon their towns and families to start a life on their own in the big city. Merantau is also the journey of its director, G.H. Evans, a British director who after completing the job of shooting a documentary about Indonesian martial arts (Pencat Silat: The Martial Arts of Indonesia) started giving form to this film, impressed by the experience.
Merantau is the story of Yuda, who leaves his small rural town to Jakarta where he intends to establish himself as a silat master for children. But once in the big city he suddenly realizes things won't go as planned when he gets in a fight against local gang members when he tries to help a beautiful dancer and her little brother, unwilling to give up his sense of justice. So Yuda becomes entangled in a spiral of violence which will lead him to an inevitable final showdown against gang's boss.
It's quite obvious the everyone that Merantau shares some similarities to Ong Bak. The plot is pretty much the same (one naive young man coming from a rural town has to survive in the big city's underworld), and the impressive physical skills of the newcomer Iko Uwais (who plays Yuda's role) will bring to mind those of Tony Jaa's debut. The film's pace is also similar, starting with a slow pace as we're presented the domestic drama of Yuda's life both in his hometown and in Jakarta. We get a brief glimpse as what's to come in two scenes showing Yuda's training, both by himself and with the help of his silat's master. But once the local gang comes into play, things start to move smoothly, delivering spectacular fight set pieces. Those pieces, expertly directed by Evans, showcase mix the raw power of Tony Jaa's style with a more intensive use of the surroundings which reminds me of Jackie Chan's choreography. Every scene present us with different elements of silat, a martial art based on dodging and counterattacking instead of a more direct approach.
But regardless of my references to Ong Bak, I'd like to make it clear that Merantau is a great martial arts film by its own merits. Not only Uwais's physical skills are remarkable but he's also a very capable and charismatic actor. I'm really hoping that Merantau is only the first step of a successful career, so the fans of martial arts movies don't have to worry by the future of the genre.
I've always had a soft spot for martial arts films. It was thanks to the likes of Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Donnie Yen and others that my interest for Asian cinema begin to grow (and therefore for cinema on the whole). The golden age for this genre ended quite some time ago, but every once in a while new directors and actors emerge willing to prove martial arts flicks are still alive and kicking (no pun intended). Ong Bak already proved this six years ago, succeeding both in Sitges Festival and worldwide, and now Merantau comes to follow suit.
The "merantau" is an ancient rite of passage (still in practice in modern days) native from Sumatra, where young boys must abandon their towns and families to start a life on their own in the big city. Merantau is also the journey of its director, G.H. Evans, a British director who after completing the job of shooting a documentary about Indonesian martial arts (Pencat Silat: The Martial Arts of Indonesia) started giving form to this film, impressed by the experience.
Merantau is the story of Yuda, who leaves his small rural town to Jakarta where he intends to establish himself as a silat master for children. But once in the big city he suddenly realizes things won't go as planned when he gets in a fight against local gang members when he tries to help a beautiful dancer and her little brother, unwilling to give up his sense of justice. So Yuda becomes entangled in a spiral of violence which will lead him to an inevitable final showdown against gang's boss.
It's quite obvious the everyone that Merantau shares some similarities to Ong Bak. The plot is pretty much the same (one naive young man coming from a rural town has to survive in the big city's underworld), and the impressive physical skills of the newcomer Iko Uwais (who plays Yuda's role) will bring to mind those of Tony Jaa's debut. The film's pace is also similar, starting with a slow pace as we're presented the domestic drama of Yuda's life both in his hometown and in Jakarta. We get a brief glimpse as what's to come in two scenes showing Yuda's training, both by himself and with the help of his silat's master. But once the local gang comes into play, things start to move smoothly, delivering spectacular fight set pieces. Those pieces, expertly directed by Evans, showcase mix the raw power of Tony Jaa's style with a more intensive use of the surroundings which reminds me of Jackie Chan's choreography. Every scene present us with different elements of silat, a martial art based on dodging and counterattacking instead of a more direct approach.
But regardless of my references to Ong Bak, I'd like to make it clear that Merantau is a great martial arts film by its own merits. Not only Uwais's physical skills are remarkable but he's also a very capable and charismatic actor. I'm really hoping that Merantau is only the first step of a successful career, so the fans of martial arts movies don't have to worry by the future of the genre.
More from Merantau
- News: Prepare Yourself For THE RAID With This Extended Clip From MERANTAU
- Reviews: NYAFF 2010: MERANTAU Review
- Reviews: Action Fest 2010: MERANTAU Review
- News: MERANTAU Gets A UK Trailer. The Music Makes It Dramatic!
- News: Magnet Bringing Indonesian Fight Film MERANTAU To North America!
- Reviews: Fantastic Fest 09: MERANTAU Review
- News: Nearly Three Minutes Of Extreme Ass-Whuppery! The Trailer For MERANTAU Arrives!
it's good that you weren't disappointed, I'm looking forward to this movie!
The problem is, people wouldn't like him and call him Tony Jaa wanna be:/
If only he came out early.
I'm looking forward to this movie, and what is all this festival stuff!??? what the hell are they seriously?