By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Kamila Andini
Starring: Arya Saloka | Christine Hakim | Hana Malsn | Hargi Sundari | Iswadi Pratama | Putri Marino
Original language title: Empat Musim Pertiwi
Year: 2026
Running time: 137
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt36459577/
Michael says: “Both bold, and retro, with a modern twist, writer/director Kamila Andini takes a classic western revenge tale and modernizes it from a feminist point of view and tosses in a dash of mysticism and otherworldliness. Led by a bravura performance reminiscent of Clint Eastwood Putri Marino, an Indonesian superstar stripped of her glamor to play Pertiwi, thrown in prison for murder at age 15, she returns to her village 20 years later a changed woman. She goes about setting up her life anew, despite worries from those around her, but holding on to the true story of her imprisonment closely as the four men responsible for it now run the village.
“The sweeping vistas of Indonesia give the movie its western feel, and the quiet revenge storyline adds even more. Pertiwi is a hard-drinkin’, tough talkin’ brawler, but she’s also smart and allows emotion through when appropriate. She starts to build her own small community around her just outside the village proper while trying to fight justice through the proper channels. In the end best laid plan go awry, and blood must be shed… but whose?
:This films clocks in at 150 minutes, has multiple storylines (that Andini does a great job at keeping distinct and memorable) and draws from a number of genres. It’s a bold film even as it feels eminently familiar. The finale doesn’t come completely out of nowhere, but it is jarring given the lighter touch of magical realism throughout the film. Still, it kept my attention, and told an important story. 3 1/2 cats
“Screened at Scotiabank Theatre, Sunday, 9/13, director and cast in attendance”
Val says: “I struggled with this one. I wanted to love it, and there were parts that really shone. There’s a scene at a scream-punk show that was absolutely amazing. Putri Marino is truly imposing as the main character, Pertiwi, and brings depth, strength, and vulnerability to the performance. But I felt an unease around the film’s balance. It’s a film that addresses sexual assault and violence, and one that chooses to describe the violence in detail as well as showing it onscreen. In the way that it centers the trauma that Pertiwi (and the women around her) experience, I felt like it bent too far towards the violence and away from the women themselves. I don’t feel like I got to know who Pertiwi is as a person (or any of the other women facing violence) outside the shadow of the men who brutalized her.
“There’s also a LOT going on in this film. The plot veers and misdirects and there’s a lot in it that I wish was explored more fully, and other parts that I wish were left out entirely. There were so many interesting ideas that were left unexplored. Pertiwi’s friend Kuntet seemed to serve only to show us that Pertiwi cares about outsiders, but I wanted moments that delved into his character and their relationship. I loved the scenes with Pertiwi in the city, where we get to meet the chosen family she formed around her while in prison. They are on-screen for mere minutes, but I found myself thinking that’s where the real magic in this story was hiding. I wanted more! Pertiwi’s power to build her chosen family deserved more screentime than the nefarious male power that dominated the story. And the ending will surely polarize! (I personally thought it was quite silly, and felt very out of place in this story)
“It was a powerful story, and it was shot well, with a great leading performance, but fell short in too many ways for me to really get into it. 2.5 cats”