Marlina, omicida in quattro atti

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 !!

Four acts may sound like a lot and for some people the movie may feel very slow. It is indeed slow, so just don't expect any big bangs or a story that will have a Hollywood flair to it. Having said that and mixing into it that there is a certain degree of predictability. Still there is shocking moments and this may not be for the faint of hearted.

It's not like it is very explicit in its violence depiction, but you'll get the idea (no pun intended). Some may have issues with the movie being "feminist". I do not feel there being a negative energy with a strong female lead. Also there is still a lot of bad male characters. Which generally is something I don't like - one sided portrayl, but it does work for this movie. I don't agree with everything in here, but this is more than decent

When the Western genre comes out of Indonesia, attention to its similarities becomes a critic's part-time job. Critic Maggie Lee calls Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts a "Satay Western" the way other critics would call a Clint Eastwood western an "oater."

But Leone and Morricone are there with lens and music, landscapes hot and desolate and music just as forlorn. Marlina (Marsha Timothy) alone out there, widowed, and visited by bad guys who want not her money and livestock but also her body.

From that harrowing episode comes a vengeance story different from the usual Western tropes in so many ways. Mostly it is a Western with a female as lead and as tough with a machete as Eastwood with a gun, and just as vengeful.

Marlina together with another feisty female, Novi (Dea Panendra), who is pregnant, places the patriarchal men in vulnerable territory. In fact the customs of Indonesia, Malaysia, and elsewhere are so vigorously male-centered as to make any cultural Westerner cringe. However, that seems to be director Mouly Surya's goal.

Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts will remind you of Tarantino's Kill Bill but without some of his patented irony. In both cases, a violent feminism seems just right given the offenses women have suffered over the centuries.

As in the great spaghetti Westerns, the theme music is haunting and the landscape forbidding. But most of all, the characters are strong and righteous, just the way #MeToo should like it.

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.

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.