Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts
Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (Indonesian: Marlina Si Pembunuh dalam Empat Babak) is a 2017 Indonesian drama film directed by Mouly Surya and written by Surya and Rama Adi, based on a story conceived by Garin Nugroho. The film has been described as a "Satay Western", combining aspects of the feminist Western genre with an Indonesian setting.[2] It was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.[3][4] The song "Lazuardi" from the soundtrack is composed and performed by Jakarta indie rock band Efek Rumah Kaca.[5] It was selected as the Indonesian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.[6][7]
Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts | |
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Directed by | Mouly Surya |
Produced by |
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Screenplay by |
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Story by | Garin Nugroho |
Starring |
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Music by |
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Cinematography | Yunus Pasolang |
Edited by | Kelvin Nugroho |
Production company | Cine Surya |
Distributed by | Icarus Films KimStim Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 93 minutes |
Country | Indonesia |
Language | Indonesian |
Box office | $23,564[1] |
Plot
In the first act, The Robbery, the film opens on the island of Sumba with Marlina grieving her late husband. A group of seven men, led by the aged Markus, arrive at her house intent on robbing Marlina of her livestock and raping her. They demand to be fed dinner, and she takes the opportunity to poison most of the robbers with chicken soup and decapitate Markus. She burns Markus' musical instrument, a jungga.
In the second act, The Journey, she hitches a ride on the local bus where she encounters the pregnant Novi, on the way to find her jealous husband Umbu before she delivers. They are joined by an old woman with a dowry payment of two horses on the way to her nephew's wedding. Along the way, two of the other robbers (including Franz) discover the deaths and chase after Marlina. They hijack the bus, but Marlina escapes with one of the horses. Along the way, Marlina is haunted by a headless apparition playing the jungga.
In the third act, The Confession, she arrives at the local police station and delivers a report of the robbery, rape, and her self-defense. The police accept the report but insist that they can't proceed for at least a month while they wait for funds to purchase rape test equipment. Marlina bonds with a young girl in a local warung.
In the fourth act, The Birth, Novi finally finds Umbu. He, believing that a breech baby is a sign of infidelity, hits her and leaves her to be found by Franz, who threatens her into luring Marlina back to the house. The three meet at the house, and Novi's water breaks. She considers killing Franz, but takes pity on him. Franz reunites the head of Markus with his corpse and places him beside Marlina's mummified husband. While Novi cooks chicken soup for him under duress, he rapes Marlina and Novi decapitates him. She then gives birth. Marlina and Novi leave the house in the morning together with the child.
Cast
- Marsha Timothy as Marlina
- Yoga Pratama as Franz
- Egy Fedly as Markus
- Dea Panendra as Novi
Reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 98% based on 42 reviews, and an average rating of 7.81/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Subversive, gorgeously shot, and suitably visceral, Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts injects timely feminist themes into a neo-western grindhouse framework."[8] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 76 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[9]
The Jakarta Post's reviewer Stanley Widianto called the film "one hell of a ride" arguing that its similarities to the "spaghetti western trope" film making style rightfully earns Surya's third feature film the distinction of being Indonesia's "first satay Western film".[10]
Awards
Award | Date of Ceremony | Category | Recipient(s)/Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
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Sitges Film Festival | 14 October 2017 | Best Actress | Marsha Timothy | Won | [11] |
AFI Fest | 17 November 2017 | World Cinema | Marlina the Murder in Four Acts | Nominated | [12] |
Asia Pacific Screen Awards | 23 November 2017 | Achievement in Directing | Mouly Surya | Nominated | [13] |
Tokyo FILMeX | 25 November 2017 | Grand Prize | Marlina the Murder in Four Acts | Won | [14] |
Maya Awards | 16 December 2017 | Best Cinema Film | Marlina Si Pembunuh dalam Empat Babak | Won | [15] |
Best Cinematography | Yunus Pasolang | Won | |||
Best Art Direction | Frans Paat | Won | |||
Best Film Score | Zeke Khaseli, Yudhi Arfani | Won | |||
Best Actress | Marsha Timothy | Won | |||
Göteborg Film Festival | 4 February 2018 | Dragon Award Best International Film | Marlina the Murder in Four Acts | Nominated | [16] |
Asian Film Awards | 17 March 2018 | Best Actress | Marsha Timothy | Nominated | [17] |
Best Cinematography | Yunus Pasolang | Won | |||
Best Production Design | Frans Paat | Nominated | |||
Best Sound | Khikmawan Santosa | Won | |||
Indonesian Film Festival | 9 December 2018 | Best Film | Rama Adi and Fauzan Zidni | Won | [18] |
Best Director | Mouly Surya | Won | |||
Best Leading Actress | Marsha Timothy | Won | |||
Best Supporting Actor | Egi Fedly | Nominated | |||
Yoga Pratama | Nominated | ||||
Best Supporting Actress | Dea Panendra | Won | |||
Best Original Screenplay | Mouly Surya and Rama Adi | Won | |||
Best Original Score | Zeke Khaseli and Yudhi Arfani | Won | |||
Best Sound Editing & Mixing | Khikmawan Santosa and Yusuf A. Patawari | Won | |||
Best Art Direction | Frans XR Paat | Won | |||
Best Cinematography | Yunus Pasolang | Won | |||
Best Makeup & Hairstyling | Didin Syamsudin | Nominated | |||
Best Costume Design | Meutia Pudjowarsito | Nominated | |||
Best Film Editing | Kelvin Nugroho | Won | |||
Best Visual Effects | Danny S. Kim and Teguh Raharjo | Nominated |
See also
- List of submissions to the 91st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Indonesian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
- "Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. 1 July 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
- Lee, Maggie (26 May 2017). "Film Review: 'Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts'". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
- "Fortnight 2017: The 49th Directors' Fortnight Selection". Directors' Fortnight. Archived from the original on 20 December 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
- Keslassy, Elsa (19 April 2016). "Cannes: Juliette Binoche-Gerard Depardieu Drama to Kick Off Directors Fortnight". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
- Wirastama, Purba (24 October 2017). "Vokalis Efek Rumah Kaca Ikut Garap Lagu Soundtrack Film Marlina". MetroTV News (in Indonesian). MetroTV. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
- "Film 'Marlina' Wakili Indonesia di Oscar 2019". CNN Indonesia. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
- Frater, Patrick (18 September 2018). "Oscars: Indonesia Selects 'Marlina The Murderer' in Foreign-Language Category". Variety. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
- "Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
- "Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
- Widianto, Stanley (18 November 2017). "Marlina Unnerving, and all around glorious". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
- "The Fantastic Fable Jupiter's Moon Wins Sitges 2017". Sitges Film Festival. 14 October 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
- Ramos, Dino-Ray (25 October 2017). "AFI Fest Announces Films In World Cinema, Midnight, Youth and Family Sections". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
- "Nominations Announced for 11th Asia Pacific Screen Awards". Asia Pacific Screen Awards. 13 October 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
- Schilling, Mark (25 November 2017). "Indonesia's 'The Seen and Unseen,' 'Marlina' Share Tokyo FILMeX Grand Prize". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
- News Desk (19 December 2017). "'Marlina,' 'Pengabdi Setan' dominate Piala Maya 2017". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
- "Dragon Award Best International Film". Göteborg Film Festival. 4 February 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
- "12th Asian Film Awards – Nominees 2018". Asian Film Awards. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
- "'Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts' wins big at 2018 FFI Awards". The Jakarta Post. 10 December 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2019.