Sembung is established as a pretty tough fellow early on in the movie, mostly due to his defeating the seemingly invulnerable and magically gifted character Kobar. He doesn’t look, act or fit into the ideal mold that has been created for martial arts action stars, but regardless he gets the job done. Jaka Sembung himself, played superbly by Barry Prima, has to be one of the main draws for this movie.

Oh, we also get to see a guy get turned into a pig after having his eyes gouged out, in graphic detail! Set within the occupation of Indonesia by the Dutch, who owned the islands right up until the Japanese invasion during World War II, we get to touch on some cultural issues and get to see the spiritual side of Indonesia’s culture. The Warrior differs from this lineage by setting itself in the distant past and directly reflects a very important time within Indonesian history. Although each film is distinctly a piece of Indonesian film history and reflects certain aspects of the culture, they all take their inspiration from much more popular Hollywood films. The previously mentioned films are all titles that really blur the lines between the cultural aesthetics of Indonesia, and the genre filmmaking laws dictated by Hollywood. Lady Terminator, The Stabilizer and Rambu are all titles that have pushed the boundaries of good taste and have developed a true cult following here in the states. Although these films weren’t the most technically well-crafted pieces of cinema to debut in the eighties, for b-movie fans they deliver just the right atmosphere of silly spectacle and cheesy fun. This leads the Dutch to turn towards Kobar, the incredible strongman who possesses powerful black magic, as well as an evil magician who raises one of Sembung’s oldest enemies, the nefarious Kieten, from the dead! Will Jaka Sembung rescue the Indonesian people or will these forces of evil prove to be too much for this warrior?Īlthough modern Indonesian action has received a face lift in recent years thanks to Gareth Evans ( Marentau, The Raid), the classic days of Indonesian action certainly deserve their own spotlight. Although most of the population look to Sembung as a local hero, fighting the good fight, there are still some evil men who would turn against him. Rather than calling for military reinforcements, and looking poor in the face of the general command, the leading Dutch officer instead turns to the local citizens for help in finding this rough and tumble Jaka Sembung. Although he appears to us first as a captive, he soon escapes and embarrasses the local Dutch military who will do anything to capture this savage yet again.

The Plot: Jaka Sembung (Barry Prima) is a freedom fighter leading the revolution against the Dutch invaders who have overtaken Indonesia.

Film indonesia jaka sembung