- Berlinale World Cinema Fund
- Indonesia
VENGEANCE IS MINE, ALL OTHERS PAY CASH
Synopsis
Indonesia in the 1980s. Ajo Kawir (Marthino Lio) fights for money; his rage has a cause he tells no one: he has been impotent since witnessing an act of violence as a boy. In a society that defines a man through his masculinity, this is a disgrace he papers over with his fists. Then he meets Iteung (Ladya Cheryl), a bodyguard for a rival, who fights at least as well as he does. The two fall in love, marry – and the silence about his body becomes a problem. “Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash” by Edwin, Indonesia 2021, takes the title literally and turns it around.
The source is the novel of the same name by Eka Kurniawan, who also co-wrote the screenplay. Edwin stages it as a homage to 1980s Asian action cinema and as its dismantling: shot on 16mm, with garish colours and kung-fu choreography, the film is about a masculinity that stands in its own way. It premiered in competition at Locarno in 2021, where “Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash” won the Golden Leopard. The film was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2021 in the Berlinale World Cinema Fund section.
Festival
Shown at the 2021 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.
