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Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts

Play trailer 1:44 Poster for Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts 2018 1h 35m Mystery & Thriller Drama Western Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
98% Tomatometer 44 Reviews 81% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
When a young widow is raped and her cattle are stolen, she fights back and kills several of her attackers. She embarks on a journey of redemption and empowerment, but the ghost of one of the men she killed returns to haunt her.

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Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts

Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts

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Critics Consensus

Subversive, gorgeously shot, and suitably visceral, Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts injects timely feminist themes into a neo-western grindhouse framework.

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Critics Reviews

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Gary Goldstein Los Angeles Times 07/05/2018
To its credit, the film eschews excess gore and mayhem, largely making its points in more subtly incisive ways. Go to Full Review
Peter Howell Toronto Star 06/28/2018
3.5/4
Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts recalls the oaters of Sergio Leone and his brethren, all right, but it upends the usual male concerns for some serious and satisfying feminist payback. Go to Full Review
Godfrey Cheshire RogerEbert.com 06/24/2018
3/4
It's one of those features from a distant part of the globe that seems like it may have been created primarily for Western art houses and festivals, where its exemplary direction and feminist theme are indeed likely to win Surya new fans. Go to Full Review
Yasser Medina Cinefilia Aug 1
7/10
Here, Surya offers a revenge thriller that, with a neo-Western aesthetic and a capable performance by Marsha Timothy, interrogates a sober portrait of female emancipation, justice, and resilience from a feminist perspective. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Harris Dang In Their Own League 09/23/2020
5/5
Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts is a brilliant female-driven arthouse/grindhouse rape-revenge Western that manages to endear, repulse, emotionally stir, mesmerize and propel in the best of ways. Go to Full Review
Panos Kotzathanasis Asian Movie Pulse 10/27/2019
"Marlina" is a film with very few faults, that manages to present a completely different take on the western, through an artful, meaningful and quite entertaining approach. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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01/31/2022 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. See more 04/19/2021 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 See more 04/06/2021 Average, slow. Not very interesting. See more 05/25/2020 Marlina is a brilliant story. A big shout about Indonesian Culture and and its perspective. Salute to Mouly! She is brilliant! See more 04/08/2020 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 !! See more 10/09/2019 like it!! ✧⁺⸜(●˙▾˙●)⸝⁺✧ See more Read all reviews
Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts

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Movie Info

Synopsis When a young widow is raped and her cattle are stolen, she fights back and kills several of her attackers. She embarks on a journey of redemption and empowerment, but the ghost of one of the men she killed returns to haunt her.
Director
Mouly Surya
Producer
Rama Adi, Fauzan Zidni
Screenwriter
Rama Adi, Garin Nugroho, Mouly Surya
Distributor
Icarus Films
Production Co
Icarus Films, Cinesurya Pictures
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Drama, Western
Original Language
Indonesian
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 22, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 16, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA)
$9.9K
Runtime
1h 35m
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