Marlina, omicida in quattro atti

This movie will serve you an "adventure" of a local widow in her struggle of survival and her attempt to have justice for her. The settings of the story is in Sumba which is shown as vast land of withered meadow where people are strongly bound to unique/unusual norms and cultures.

As an Indonesian myself I am surprised by the environment in the movie. They are really unusual and look really harsh yet they are still relatable in the daily life. I feel that I may had met people who have same characters and witnessed various situations like in the movie.

A indonesian rape/revenge movie in four parts. The males are mindless thugs, and early on you realize marlina is not a push over. The movie is pretty slow moving but as its set in rural indonesia, it reflects the isolation of how it is in those island areas. The policemen scene, pretty much sums up how you deal with indonesian bureauracy in real life. The cinematography is majestic and with accompanying music remind me of 70s spaghetti westerns, in some scenes even felt there were hints of tarantino. Overall, slow paced watchable movie.

This is not movie about forgiveness. The fusion between folk indonesia east and western is very brilliant. The moving picture, the story, the plot is so dark yet beautiful. In remote place in developing country there are so many women like marlina surviving and struggling. This movie is about women empowerment !!

The four acts go by pretty fast, which is good. It's like an uncooked Kill Bill as Marlina kills her rapist and the men who he was traveling with who wanted a chance to assault her as well. Then it's a strange slow burn as Marlina attempts a journey to inform the police of what happen, while avoiding another set of men looking for her attackers.

It's one of those flicks that has an interesting story line, that your expecting far more action and drama from, but the filmmakers chose to keep a quiet approach possibly to respect the real situation of sexual assault.

Plus it's done in a different culture other than my own. A contemporary place that co-exist with my place but in so many ways very different than what I know. That really does add to the interesting element of the film.

And I love the pacing of the film. It seems to go slowly but it does not feel like it at all. Perfect!

Absolute great watch!

Frontier home, arid landscape, livestock and a recently widowed woman, Marlina, left alone to face a group of bandits at her door. It is not the Wild West of the past, but the Wild East of the present. The bandits tell Marlina that they are doing her a favor by taking advantage of her. "You are lucky," they tell her "if men still find a use for you." Therein begins the robbery, journey, confession and birth. If Marlina can stay calm and keep her wits about her, there is life at the end of the tunnel.

The cultural tapestry of eastern Indonesia, resiliency and determination of local women, ugliness of traditional male privilege and mystery of life, are revealed in this humorous, witty, bold and unique film. While some of the supporting cast are a little shaky with their acting, a few scenes are far-fetched and disjointed, and the dialogue could use added depth, the film is a compelling cocktail of intriguing and unusual characters, pretty scenery and uncommon circumstances. There are occasional scenes of violence and intense action, yet generally the film is easy going and delightfully slow-moving. Seen at the Toronto International Film Festival.