Nowadays, when one wants to find non-PC, unapologetically fun, ultra violent movies, Indonesia is definitely the place to look. More specifically, Timo Tjahjanto is the one to look for, with films like “The Night Comes For Us” (2018) still echoing quite loud to fans of the category. “The Shadow Strays” is a more than worthy continuation of the aforementioned and definitely bigger in scope.
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The story revolves around a group called Shadow, Bayangan, Schatter and Shi no Kage, as the terrified yakuza that first find themselves under their attack call them. They are a group of killers for hire, who are tasked with missions such as eradicating a whole yakuza clan, and are mightily good at it, as the massacre that is the first sequence of the movie eloquently highlights. As soon as the bloodshed is done, we are introduced to the two members responsible, Umbra, a Shadow trainer and her trainee, agent 13, who is actually scolded for making a mistake during the mission that demanded of her ‘mentor’ to step up.
It seems the whole deed has placed 13 on ice and her desperation is not exactly hidden. Right at that point, she meets a young neighbor kid, Monju, whose mother was just killed by the man that also harassed him, Haga. Soon, 13 finds herself protecting the boy, but eventually a gang of human traffickers and their collaborators, a son-father political duo Ariel and Soemitro, kidnap the boy. 13 decides to free him and eventually finds herself against the aforementioned, corrupt police officers, and even her organization.
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Although not particularly evident, there is a contextual undertone hidden in the midst of all the action and violence here. For example, one can only make comparisons with Ariel and Soemitro’s efforts to make the former Jakarta’s governor, and what is actually happening in the Indonesian political scene at the moment. Furthermore, under the currently rather popular girls-with-guns trope, a comment about motherhood does exist, with the relationship between 13 and Monju, as much as Umbra’s past, being indicative. Lastly, the fact that the villains here are definitely ‘dark’ and not grayish, being truly despicable with their violence easily turning against children and women, also works exceptionally well, away from any kind of boring political correctness.
Apart from this, though, “The Shadow Strays” is essentially a continuum of non-stop, as-impressive-as-it-is-brutal action, including some of the most outstanding sequences we have seen in a similar film for quite some time. In that fashion, the introduction which pits the protagonists against yakuza and pencak silat nad knives against katanas is just an hors d’oeuvre in front of the plate of intricacy and diversity of action Tjahjanto and fight choreographer/stunt coordinator Muhammad Irfan serve later on.
The scenes in the club, which also move into exploitation paths and even include a sex scene, the ones involving Umbra and the terrifying Troika, the use of guns, swords, knives, nails and everything in the vicinity actually, are all rather impressive to watch, highlighting the prowess in every aspect of filmmaking found here. However, there are two sequences that definitely stand out. The one with the shootout in the warehouse is reminiscent of John Woo’s best moments, with the gun fu approach working exceptionally well, as much as the drama involved in the particular scene. Secondly, the ultimate duel is one of the best one-on-ones ever to appear in cinema, where two fighters, equally skillful, equally strong, equally angry and desperate face off in a deathmatch that seems to pit two Goliaths against each other in the most rewarding fashion.
This scene, and the whole movie, benefit the most from the two protagonists. Aurora Ribero is a tour de force throughout, looking and acting impressively in scenes that must have been quite difficult to shoot. Hana Malasan, although in a smaller role, is equally good, with the chemistry of the two, that goes somewhere between mother/daughter, mentor/mentee also being of the highest level. Andri Mashadi as Ariel plays the archetypical, self indulging torturer/villain with gusto, with the same applying to Taska Namya as Soriah, who also adds an element of dark sensualism in the movie. Lastly, Daniel Ekaputra as Troika is one of the most imposing presences in the whole movie.
Batara Goempar’s cinematography captures the plethora of settings that appear throughout 144 minutes of the movie in utter grittiness, in a deep down and dirty approach that fits and occasionally dictates the overall aesthetics here. Dinda Amanda’s editing results in an expectedly fast pace, although the slower moments work good too.
Violence and action in movies can sometimes exist purely for the audience’s entertainment. It’s good that directors like Tjahjanto remind us of this with films like “The Shadow Strays”.
