Merantau

When i grew up as a kid, i was lucky to have friends that got their hands on VHS copies of uncut american action films. Everything from Chuck Norris classics, to Jean-Claude Van Damme films, including Jackie Chan of course. The VHS period was a fun nostalgic time, with so many B movies released. I remember when you found VHS shops, with so many great titles, with everything from ninjas, to mutated monsters, and of course the action films, mixed with nudity. Unfortunately some idiots decided that films should be cut down from violence, so many of the films released on VHS here in Sweden, was cut down with everything from 5 to 10 minutes. This was horrible, because you did not get to see anything of the action scenes, when the violence was supposed to be showing on screen. So, there was only one way to do. Try and get the uncut films from other countries, especially copies straight from England, or USA. But one channel called Filmnet, back in the early 90´s, decided to show all their action films, and horror films uncut, so we had to get that channel. My dad got a hold of a digital box, so i was guaranteed to see these films without the stupid censorship. Of course there was also adult films included, so at midnight you could " Stroke The Salami " and fire a shot at the carpet on the floor. Those were the good old days i tell you. Thankfully today we don´t censor films, everything is released uncut ( eventually ), depending on where you live in this world. So we get to see all the wonderful, brutal violence, that we want in action films, and especially martial art films. Speaking of martial arts, have anyone of you seen a film called The Raid ? Let me tell you, this film is so beautiful and wonderful, i can never stop watching it. With so much extreme violence, with enormous power, The Raid hits you harder than anything in your face, and will make you praised more than any holy book out there. Directed by Gareth Evans, on a budget less than 2 million dollars, he proved that you can make amazing action, with the right tools. The Raid might be the best martial arts film ever made, if you ask me. It is so well made, with amazing choreography , that you will sit there speechless, and just cheer with joy. Before The Raid came out, director Gareth Evans directed 2 films, where he got the most positive feedback from a film called Merantau. Since a man in Sweden called Victor Lindskog requested a review on this film, a long time ago, i promised him to write a review and see if i would enjoy it as much as he did. Since i really love The Raid films, is Merantau a worthy film that manage to deliver quality, or is this a film that feels like another straight to dvd release, soon to be forgotten ?

Yuda ( Iko Uwais ), a young Minangkabau who is an expert at silat, decide to follow the merantau tradition. This means he needs to leave his home, go out on a journey, to find his own path in life. Yuda have a plan, that he can teach children to learn silat. While going on his journey by bus, Yuda meets Eric ( Yayan Ruhian ), who also loves silat. When Yuda tell Eric about his plans in Jakarta, Eric warns him to be careful. Jakarta is a dangerous city, so Eric want Yuda to make sure to stay safe. As Yuda continue his journey, he have an adress written down, where he was planning to stay. It turns out that the house does not exist anymore, so Yuda have to sleep inside a construction building area. Next day, while Yuda is having some food, his wallet is stolen by a child named Adit ( Yusuf Aulia ). Yuda chase after his wallet, and locate Adit. As he approach, he suddenly see Adit´s sister Astri ( Sisca Jessica ) being abused by a pimp named Johni ( Alex Abbad ). Yuda stop Johni from abusing Astri, but Astri is upset because this will only cause her more trouble. Johni tells Astri that she will never get any more work from him, so she is now without any money. The next day, Yuda see Astri being beaten down again. He tries to help her again, but this time there are many of Johni´s men, and they beat down Yuda. Not for long though, Yuda gets up, follow Johni into the whore house and kick everyone´s ass, including Johni´s boss Ratger ( Mads Koudal ). When Yuda is done, and crashed the whole place, Rather is furious, and want Johni to locate Astri and her brother Adit. Yuda takes Astri and her little brother to the construction site, to keep them safe. Eventually Astri is kidnapped by Ratger´s men. Yuda promise Adit he will bring back his sister alive.

I might be the only one to say this, but i get the feeling that there is a Romeo & Juliet vibe in the film Merantau. This does not mean that this is a love story completely, because there are many things going on in this film. You have the traditional story of a poor boy, who wants to help people in need, you have gangsters, and you have prostitutes who are being used. But it is lead actor Iko Uwais who give this film the strength it needs, to keep us interested. His fighting choreography is amazing, and you would not want to meet him in an alley on a saturday night. When he gets the chance to shine, with his special kicks, and fist movements, the little child in you starts to applaude and jump in the sofa. Since the story is very traditional, and have been seen before, it is not hard to figure out where this is going. But director Gareth Evans manage to throw in some important details, to make the character of Iko Uwais more interesting, than just a martial arts fighter. You get to see his more emotional sides, as he tries to deal with different life situations, and care for a poor girl he helped from being abused. I would say that Merantau is a more of dramatic action film than The Raid, with more to say on an emotional level. You know sometimes when you are let down, because a film have a terrible villain, like in Jupiter Ascending ? Well, the good news is that danish actor Mads Koudal gives a great performance as the evil pimp, and gangster Ratger. So far so good. Do we have any problems ? As i said earlier, this is a very traditional story, and that does not have to be a problem, i suppose i would have liked to see some more surprises, instead of seeing the typical love story. The strength of Merantau is the action sequences, while the story feels a bit too light. Since this was the first film that director Gareth Evans and actor Iko Uwais worked together on, ( before they brought the action masterpiece The Raid to this world ), Merantau shows that they both knew how to make effective action films. It is a good mix of martial arts, and with a more dramatic side to the story that fits in the storyline. The Raid is of course a much better film, but i still suggest you see Merantau for the really well made fighting scenes. I better start practising some special kicks, you never know when Jehovas Witnesses are ringing my door bell again, if they do, they will taste my " Fist Of A Swedish Viking ".

Rating: DDD