Indonesia’s “Marlina” Debuts at Cannes

Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (Marlina Si Pembunuh dalam Empat Babak), the only Indonesian movie at Cannes Film Festival this year, received a ravishing review when it was screened during the Directors’ Fortnight. The drama, directed by Mouly Surya, is only the fourth Indonesian feature film to make it to Cannes in history. The previous three are Tjoet Nja’ Dien (Eros Djarot, 1998), Daun di Atas Bantal (Garin Nugroho, 1998), and Serambi (Garin Nugroho, 2006).

The film tells of a widow named Marlina (Marsha Timothy) in Sumba, who faces gang violence and rape amid the dessert-like environment she lives in. Not giving up to the hardness she is faced with, Marlina seeks vengeance and justice. In the bigger picture, the movie that resembles classic Western flicks in style, portrays Indonesia’s gender and cultural issues.

Variety praises the director of the movie for her empowering portrayal of a female protagonist:”By referencing the Western from a female perspective, she subverts this most masculine of genres, while offering Indonesian cinema an alternative to the macho action of fanboy hits like ‘The Raid’.” Mouly, who previously directed Fiksi and What They Don’t Talk About When They Talk About Love, has been known for her strong female characters. 

The movie Marlina came to fruition when seasoned filmmaker Garin Nugroho was looking for a female director to turn his five-page critique, titled “Perempuan”, into a feature film. “It took me a year to fall in love with Marlina, because I was trying to find ways to make it my film, not Garin’s film,” Mouly says. In the process, she went to Sumba to learn about the local women’s way of life.

Behind the scenes, Marlina‘s production started when Surya became one of the 15 directors selected to pitch at Cinefondation L’Atelier, which is Cannes’ networking event for filmmakers to find partners to produce their films. Besides, the film is supported by Indonesian Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf), Cinemas du Monde (France) and the National Center of Moving Image (CNC, France).  The film has also found international partners to produce. The support allowed the production team to shoot in Sumba and Jakarta, complete visual effects in South Korea and grade in France.

Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts opens in Indonesian cinemas in December.