INDONESIAN martial arts movie MERANTAU, the first in over a decade, recently began making the festival rounds by screening at Fantastic Fest where it is largely measuring up to the hype that Twitch Film’s Todd Brown has been generating on his site for some time now.

In his usual salty manner, Harry Knowles of Ain’t it Cool News says, “I fucking loved this movie.” He caps his review by saying that from about 45 minutes in, after the dramatic buildup, “it is non-stop AWESOME.”

Cinematical’s William Goss isn’t quite so impressed, at least with the drama. He compares MERANTAU to CHOCOLATE, “in its ungainly balance of the sentimental with the kick-ass,” but adds, “Our hero flies across rooftops, fights within elevators and dispatches pursuing motorcycles with applause-worthy ease, with everything grounded within the realm of plausibility and [is] that much more fun for it.”

Writing for Film School Rejects, Cole Abaius has a problem I understand, that of having to explain why his perfect score for MERANTAU is not equal to his previous perfect score for ONG BAK. (Scores are arbitrary and my personal bane as a critic since it is virtually impossible to balance them as you go.) Abaius writes, “…my very first review here on FSR was for ONG BAK and I gave it an ‘A.’ After all, it deserves it. It’s a fantastic movie that’s fun and displays some incredible martial arts. But considering that MERANTAU is much, much better than ONG BAK, I find myself searching for a grade above ‘A.’” Abaius sums up his thoughts by describing MERANTAU the following way. “Brilliant fighting sequences, tight writing, great characters, strong acting, a moment that should become iconic, and a final fight scene that pays off massive dividends.”

MERANTAU is written and directed by Gareth Evans and stars Iko Uwais as a Silat practitioner on a right-of-passage trek from a rural farming village to the bustling city of Jakarta who ends up at odds with a dangerous human trafficking ring and must fight back to survive.

The film is a showcase for Indonesia’s own martial art of Pencat Silat and features authentic screen fighting and stunts in the tradition of Jackie Chan and Tony Jaa.

The international version shown at Fantastic Fest is reportedly close to 30 minutes shorter than the original Indonesian cut. Todd Brown, who is involved with the film’s promotion and marketing in North America, has stated that an uncut release in the States is likely. “We’ve already talked to potential U.S. distributors about the full version being included on the DVD release and it should be happening,” says Brown. “We want people to see this version, too. It just won’t go theatrical.”

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