Marlina, omicida in quattro atti

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 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.

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!

Marlina (Marsha Timothy) is a young woman living on a farm in rural Indonesia. As news spreads that she is recently widowed, a gang of seven bandits arrive at her home with the intention of robbing and raping her. Her predicament and its aftermath lead her to meet other interesting characters including Novi (Dea Penendra) who is in a late stage of pregnancy and experiencing marital problems.

Director Mouly Surya (who wrote the film with Rama Adi) seems to be influenced by Quentin Tarantino though, thankfully, with much less violence and darkness. This film has a bizarre mix of humour with conflict and tragedy. Like Tarantino, Surya succeeds in creating a film that is unique, thrilling, and eccentric. Timothy is good as unlikely hero; her sarcastic glances are hilarious. And the stunning photography of beautiful landscapes was truly a treat. - dbamateurcritic.