After his son witnesses a brutal murder by a notorious crime boss, a deaf Indonesian gangster is thrust into the fight of his life when he takes on his dangerous former allies — including a sociopathic assassin — to protect his child.
It is undeniable that the hyperkinetic “Raid” films turned audience’s heads worldwide towards Indonesia with a fixed gaze. In those two films, the exceptionally talented cast gave us endless fights containing the country’s homegrown Pencak Silat, a bone-crunching martial art. After those films by Gareth Evans came out, other enjoyable outings like “Night Comes for Us” and “Headshot” kept the momentum going. Now comes “Preman: Silent Fury.” Aside from building on the country’s recently popular martial art, “Preman” is an homage to Westerns with its robust framing and mise en scène.
Interestingly, it also includes elements of French cinema; a few aesthetics plucked straight from the New Wave movement. The score by Elwan Hendrijanto is also rooted in those genres, led by a twangy guitar along with an occasional French accordion. “Preman,” written and directed by Randolph Zaini, does not try to emulate Gareth Evans’s wonderfully chaotic camerawork in “The Raid” movies but instead seems to be channeling Quentin Tarantino on psychedelics.
Sandi (Khiva Iskak) is a deaf gangster, part of a mob that began as a social justice collective known as The Perkasas before they became subsumed by corruption. At times, Zaini displays Sandi’s point of view with an absence of sound during tense or significant moments. Sandi’s son is bullied at school over his father’s disability because he’s a single parent. The pair have a typical father-son in “its complicated” in an action cliché way, but their interactions are primarily heartfelt and sweet.
The Perkasas head honcho is Mr. Teacher, dressed in a military outfit, and he takes orders from the big boss Mr. Hanoeng, resembling Kingpin with his bulbous head. Hanoeng orders Mr. Teacher to take The Perkasas and evict the last person holding out in his big land grab, Hajji, the founder of the Perkasas. Hajji was Sandi’s mentor; of course, he was killed, leaving his pupil out for blood.
Zaini makes bold creative choices throughout, but a standout is Sandi’s bizarre traumatic memories which manifest into life-sized stuffed animals guiding him through past experiences. It recalls the superhero Black Noir’s cartoonish view of the world in the appropriately nihilistic series “The Boys.” During “Preman,” cinematographer Xing-Mai Deng frames the action with wide angles keeping the Western homage in the saddle while gracefully moving into a handheld camera for hand-to-hand combat.
The film’s best character is Ramon, a scissor-wielding enforcer who keeps his sharp objects in a leather harness. Ramon is also a Sherlock Holmes tier Detective, shown reconstructing scenes in his mind’s eye while investigating Sandi’s previous fights. During the Holmes-like flashback, Ramon’s POV reveals Sandi pummeling foes with his unique weapon of choice. “Using centripetal force,” Sandi’s weapon is a long piece of fabric with a blunt tennis-sized ball fastened in the end that can put dents in plaster (and people). While interrogating or fighting people, Ramon displays his cosmopolitan sensibilities by speaking French and keeping his symmetrical hair in place. The best part happens to be a claustrophobic duel between Sandi and Ramon.
Of course, it would not be an action film without the typical grandiose showdown in the final act. But surprisingly, once again, Zaini goes all-in on a creative choice which is quite interesting. The finale mainly works, but a few overdramatized pieces dragged on for far too long. And although “Preman” never matches the jaw-dropping choreography of “The Raid,” it still has plenty of exhilarating moments.
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