If you’re in touch with the Indonesian action cinema scene, you’ve been likely fortunate to hear of filmmaker Bastian Meiresonne’s upcoming niche documentary,
Garuda Power, which is poised to be a love letter to the longstanding legacy of Indonesian action cinema for fans long before Welsh action auteur Gareth Evans popularized the market with films like
Merantau and the
Raid trilogy-to-be. As of recent, the film has been busy ramping up its movement on
Facebook as a promotional platform for its said documentary, as well as a discussion of classics AND upcoming films, one of which reportedly went into production last month.
That film is director Ifa Isfansyah‘s upcoming period martial arts action epic, The Golden Cane Warrior from blockbuster producer duo Mira Lesmana and Riri Riza. And if you have been to the Facebook page, you will likely recognize the following promotional test art for the film which you can now check out below, in addition to a detailed, exciting synopsis:
As the most honourable, powerful and respected institution, the Golden Cane School protects the kingdom from enemy attacks. Golden Cane’s relic weapon and tactics have become a symbol of the strength, leadership and wisdom of the Golden Cane School. The Golden Cane is a deadly, unbeatable weapon, which until now, has only been possessed by Grandfather Wirabumi. Wirabumi, leader of the school and holder of the Golden Cane, is very old. It is known that he will pass the Golden Cane down to one of his best students — Biru, Dara or Banyu.
Wirabumi’s strongest student, Biru, has long desired to be the school’s leader and heir to the Golden Cane staff and moves. For him, this is the road to the peak of power. Unexpectedly, Wirabumi chooses Dara as the successor.
Biru and the King’s heir, who has the same ambition, plan to snatch the Golden Cane from Wirabumi and Dara. They poison and kill Wirabumi, but Dara and Banyu manage to escape. Betrayed, Dara and Banyu vow revenge for their master. They are also worried that the kingdom and the Golden Cane institution will fall into the wrong hands.
They seek the only person left who knows the Golden Cane moves — the Golden Cane Warrior. This is Wirabumin’s last message before his death.
Who is the Golden Cane Warrior? Can they find him and prevent a disaster?
“This story is about childhood memories,” says Isfansyah in a previous director’s statement on the film. “It is about sneaking past adults to see a warrior hero fly and strike his opponents, about forgetting to do homework as you were too busy devouring comic books bought with the pocket change you saved up. It is not about teaching violence but how the warrior hero defends right from wrong, and how goodwill prevails. I think this is an important lesson, and people will leave the cinema with a smile on their face because they would have witnessed their warrior hero defeat his enemies.”
He adds “Growing up, we experience the pain of defeat. When we suffer from a defeat, the child inside whispers, ‘Relax, the hero always loses first.’ One day, we realise that we are the hero of our own lives and that the hero always defends the truth. This is what the film is about — restoring memories and defending the righteous. This nation is too old to be so poor. Perhaps what is needed is some entertainment to calm us down and realize that some issues are too complex to be unravelled one by one. We need to be reminded of our childhood when everything was simple, and the essence of life was to defend what is right.”.
Courtesy of Miles Films and KG Studio, The Golden Cane Warrior stars Nicholas Saputra, Eva, Celia, Reza Rahadian, Tara Basro and Christine Hakim, with Hong Kong action legend Xin Xin Xiong (New Dragon Gate Inn, The Blacksheep Affair, Coweb) directing the action sequences. The film is reportedly due for a comic book as well as a theatrical domestic release sometime this December.
Stay tuned for more news on The Golden Cane Warrior!
Native New Yorker. Lover of all things pizza, chocolate, pets, and good friends. Karaoke hero. Left of center. Survivor. Fond supporter of cult, obscure and independent cinema - especially fond of Asian movies and global action cinema. Author of the bi-weekly Hit List. Founder and editor of Film Combat Syndicate. Still, very much, only human.
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