Indonesia, the 1980s: Ajo (Martino Lio) is a hitman for the mob, who on a job falls in love with Iteung (Ladya Cheryl), the bodyguard of one of his hits. The two beat one another black and blue, but once the job is done it turns out the tender feeling is mutual, and the two become a couple, and marry even. There's one problem, Ajo is impotent, but at first that doesn't matter too much as they're madly in love. Thing is, Iteung is eventually cornered by an ex and forced to having sex with him, and it's not long before she learns she's pregnant. When she tells Ajo, he immediately breaks off with her - but bungles up his last hit and is sent to prison. Iteung tries to visit him in prison multiple times, but he refuses to see her - but after leaving her baby on someone else's doorstep she knows what to do to win back his love: To avenge Ajo's mother, who when he was a child was raped and murdered before his very eyes. When Ajo's released from prison again, he becomes a trucker, and tries to stay on the right side of the law, which includes dodging fights he could easily win and the like. One day he picks up a beautiful female hitchhiker, Jelita (Ratu Felisha) and despite her repeated offers to "pay" the fare, he remains the perfect gentleman - and a good thing that is, too, as Jelita is actually an avenging spirit on the lookout for those who have wronged her ...

If above reads like a pretty crazy collection of pulp motives, that's of course true, as on one hand this movie is an hommage to both local and international pulp cinema of the 1980s that also includes plenty of martial arts and violence - but that's really just the story level of the movie, as beneatht he fast paced action piece, the film hides strong criticism of the toxic masculinity in both these movies of old and society as such, and often subverts gender traditions in order to shine a light on things - but without ever standing in the way of the story, which flows rather easily. It's just that in many of the film's hyperboles, genre conventions get exhilarating spins, making the movie a sure hoot to watch.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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