Merantau (2009)

Director:

Gareth Evans

Writers:

Gareth Evans (written by)
Daiwanne Ralie (translation)

Release Date:

5 November 2009 (Singapore)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Tagline:

Every journey must begin with one small step.

Plot:

In Minangkabau, West Sumatera, Yuda a skilled practitioner of Silat Harimau is in the final preparations...

Plot Keywords:

Human Trafficking | Protector | Drugs | Pentak Silat | Martial Arts

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Iko Uwais	...	Yuda
Sisca Jessica	...	Astri
Christine Hakim	...	Wulan
Mads Koudal	...	Ratger
Yusuf Aulia	...	Adit
Alex Abbad	...	Johni
Yayan Ruhian	...	Eric
Laurent Buson	...	Luc
Donny Alamsyah	...	Yayan
Ratna Galih	...	Ayi
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Philip Hersh	...	Ratger (voice: English version)

Directed by
Gareth Evans

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Gareth Evans		written by
Daiwanne Ralie		translation

Produced by
Rangga Maya Barack-Evans	....	executive producer
Daiwanne Ralie	....	line producer
Ario Sagantoro	....	producer

Original Music by
Aria Prayogi
Fajar Yuskemal

Cinematography by
Matt Flannery		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Gareth Evans

Makeup Department
Eni Sulismi	....	makeup artist

Sound Department
Satrio Budiono	....	sound designer
Satrio Budiono	....	sound re-recording mixer
Ichsan Rachmaditta	....	foley artist
Suhadi	....	sound recordist

Visual Effects by
Didik Juwandi A.	....	roto team

Other crew
Robin De Lano	....	dubbing voice

Production Companies

• Pt. Merantau Films (presented by)

Distributors

• Golden Village Pictures (2009) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Scorpio East (2009) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• E1 Entertainment (2010) (UK) (DVD)
• Magnolia Pictures
• Pt. Merantau Films (2009) (Indonesia) (all media)
• Sunfilm Entertainment (2010) (Germany) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Merantau Warrior" - Singapore (English title), UK (DVD box title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong bloody violence, and language

Runtime:

Indonesia:134 min (director's cut) | (None):106 min (international cut version)

Country:

Indonesia

Language:

Indonesian | English

Color:

Color (HD)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #46354) | Australia:MA | South Korea:15 | Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Jakarta, Indonesia

Company:

Pt. Merantau Films

Trivia:

Gareth Evans met Iko Uwais when he was hired to make a documentary film on Silat produced by Christine Hakim production company. Impressed by the young man's screen presence, Evans casts him as the leading role for his first action movie.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The blood from Ratger's face becomes pink when it touches his shirt.

A new Martial Arts Star has emerged with a refreshing new Martial Arts Style!! God, I love Asian Cinema!!

I agree with Valen's Shadow completely. (See his review here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R28DSJSHY64RA2? _encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B004326EV0&cdPage=&nodeID =130&ref_=cm_cr_dp_cmt&cdERR=defaultCred& tag=&linkCode=#CustomerDiscussionsPost)

I'm a Martial artist myself (4th Dan in Tae Kwon Do and I practice both Wu-Shu and Aikido - recently into Muay Thai and Thai swordplay) and I know that Iko Uwais, if given a chance, will come through as a great new martial arts star and if nothing else, he will add to the Asian martial arts team than strip it. It's ridiculous to compare Uwais to Jaa like most do. The film Merentau with its plot was very much like Ong Baks, so if you review the movie in its whole - it's a bit downfall on the synopsis. However, the fighting was brilliantly realistic. The film did not portray Uwais's role as a ''master'' in Silat - it in fact portrayed him as a 'young', 'innocent' newbie exposed to the dangers outside his village, and because he was skilled in the arts of fighting and defending - he managed to save a young girls life. It was believable in the end. Those that regard this film a lame martial arts film - are not into martial arts at all, and last but not least they don't understand it. In real life, exercising martial arts in a real combat is far from appealing like depicted in the Hollywood pictures such as Kill Bill or whatever. This film was so realistic that it's hard for me to believe that they used any special effects or stunt-men at all in any of the fighting scenes. I give Merentau plot 5/10 - while the fighting scenes and especially the new star an 8/10. In other words - a great film for martial arts lovers (introduces a new style of fighting to the International audience which is always two thumbs up), while not so good for those into ''storylines'' and ''acting'' etc.

Watch it with a clean heart and mind and don't compare it to something else, and I will guarantee you that those almost two hours of your time will not be wasted.