MERANTAU (Indonesia, 2009)
Directed by: Gareth Evans
Starring: Iko Uwais, Sisca Jessica, Mads Koudal, Laurent Buson

In rural Indonesia, "merantau" refers to a sacred rite of passage all young men of the Minangkabau people must undergo, leaving home to explore the outside world to gain knowledge and wisdom.   For the purposes of the New York Asian Film Festival and the new film from Gareth H. Evans, however, "merantau" means administering a series of bone-crunching ass-whuppings to any cheap trick foolish enough to get in your way. 

MERANTAU: Try it as a verb (example: "If Jay Leno were here, I'd merantau the crap out of him!") - it just sounds badass.  It's a coming of age ceremony, it's a trip to the city, it's a spinal realignment operation, it's an all-purpose euphemism for pure, uncut win.  MERANTAU is fun for the whole family, and deadly for your enemies.



The story is simple, yet high impact: Baby-faced Yuda leaves the family farm in tranquil Sumatra and journeys to seamy Jakarta, eager to start his own merantau and teach his native martial art, Silat Harimau or "Tiger Silat."  When he gets to the bright lights and big city, however, he runs afoul of a nasty human trafficking operation run by two sadomasochistic Eurotrash siblings.  Displeased with this tomfoolery, Yuda becomes a one-man traction dealer, protector of strippers and urchins, ready to teach the urban sprawl who its down-home, doe-eyed daddy really is.  MERANTAU - it's just like F.W. Murnau's SUNRISE, but with several more lead pipe beatings.



The brainchild of Welsh documentarian and martial arts uberfan Gareth H. Evans, MERANTAU has a studied rhythm to its storytelling, creating a genuine emotional core amidst the action. Yuda, played by truck driver-turned-future-star Iko Uwais, is a furious silat fighting machine, yet he remains true to his cultural beliefs, the calm eye of a kickboxing hurricane.  Likewise, Sisca Jessica is a revelation as hardened exotic dancer Astri, a casualty of a failed system who refuses to be a victim, and Indonesian megastar Christine Hakim, doubling as producer, is the film's bleeding heart as Yuda's serene mother. 

Lush, lurid and loose-limbed, the film features blazing action choreography, an elevator cage match, and a guy who picks glass shards out of his face and cuts people with them.  Indonesia's first martial arts foray in fifteen years, MERANTAU has come to New York to elevate your consciousness and kick your ass.  Should you resist one, it will accept the other