Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts

Remarkable, unique and beautiful.

Badly written and below average direction. The acting was good; the actors fit their roles; but poorly led. I speak some of the language, but the local accent was so thick that I expect many Indonesians would have trouble with it. The plot lacked continuity: two guys leave, but just one returns, no explanation of the other; a bus driver is killed without any logic or reason. Of the four of us watching, the two women in our group walked out, one after the first quarter, the other after the second. Some beautiful location shots, but they felt arty and not fully successful. Not a good effort.

One key reason I appreciate this film is how it has women being victimized, but they aren't utterly destroyed mentally; the act(s) against them (esp. Marlina) weren't completed or committed in the most heinous, violent, even deadly way. The extreme pain, the psychological weight of the worst violent beatings, the vilest rapes, are so hard to bear for a truly engaged empathetic audience. Marlina is an exceptional character in this context. Her actions, her vengeance of a sort, were nothing superhuman or too much of a stretch to accept. To see her go from such an abhorrent serious of events to carrying the head to the police only to stop when being called out by Topan shows such resolve but also an ethical base. The spirit of the headless attacker follows her, as it would any actual ethical being. The scenes with Topan are so warm, sweet, maternal. This is the Marlina we do not see at first, but we can feel this is her at her most natural, motherly essence. It's also good to see Novi go from the overly talkative, weak pest at the mercy of low men to a strong figure who takes extreme action when it's needed most. But, there are slow stretches. The movie could've done with a bit better pacing or one or two more scenes within its 95 min. or so that had some more interesting dialogue or some action. 3.3 stars

Average, slow. Not very interesting.

Marlina is a brilliant story. A big shout about Indonesian Culture and and its perspective. Salute to Mouly! She is brilliant!

Film adalah definisi dari betapa eksotis nya alur cerita & karakter yang ada. Marsha Timothy & Dea panendra membuktikan totalitas perannya yang baik. Set tanah Sumba berhasil di visualisasikan dengan indah. Adegan per adegan memiliki kesan yang mendalam. Good job Mouly Surya !!

like it!! ✧⁺⸜(●˙▾˙●)⸝⁺✧

A beautiful well-told story with feminist themes. This Indonesian film tackles some hard issues with grace and a subtle sense of humor. It feels like it could be an American Western, but it's just a story of a woman trying to take care of herself with a bigger picture approach. One of the better films I've seen in the past few months and totally worth checking out! Final Score: 8.7/10

it's terribly beautiful!

"Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts" is a very powerful film yet with dark humor. There are some scenes that touch how women are seen in the present. In other words, this is one of the films which dares to raise its sensitive theme but capable of presenting a amazing visual for the eye. Supported by all aspects available yet so powerful, "Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts" is a satay western. The theme of revenge but is able to bring its cultural and geopolitical roots, a so wide location but feels cramped. With the feminist aspect that's able to change a view, it's a stylistic movie with fascinating spectators to watch.