User Reviews

This is a charming, beautifully made short film produced by a couple on the island of Java in Indonesia, Scott Allen Nollen, a native of the U.S.A., lifelong historian and author of dozens of books on pupular culture, including a superb new book on Japanese actor Takashi Shimura, who plays the lead character in Akira Kurosawa's SEVEN SAMURAI, which inspired this "Indonesian" tribute, and his wife and literary partner, Yuyun Yuningsih Nollen. Her son, Julio, plays the villain in this entertaining romp shot on location at several stunning locations on Java. The cast is truly international, with Yosuke Sasaoka, a native of Japan and citizen of the U.S., who plays a character modeled somewhat on the one played by Toshiro Mifune in the Kurosawa film. The atmospheric, Japanese-influenced musical score by Nollen, who also directed, produced, wrote, photographed, edited--and who knows what else (all from a wheelchair, because he has been physically disabled for the past decade), is worth the "prive of admission." According to IMDB, Nollen has been invloved in making over 70 films over the past 43 years, but this one should get everyone noticed. Also watch for the "matinee idol" of the film, a guy named Kuntoro, in a couple scenes--too bad he's not in it more--but little 8-year-old Julio really steals the film--even as good as Yuyun Yuningsih Nollen is as "Lambei" (the "Shimura character"), playing it entirely in drag, with obviously crude makeup to look like the classic Noh-style masks that Kurosawa (in THRONE OF BLOOD, 1957) and other Japanese directors used throughout their classical era. Check this out--there is a lot of humor in this, too.

Watching this very thoughtful and respectful short movie allowed me to get to see locations in a different part of the world certainly not offered in mainstream media. The photography and music is stunning, and I will watch it again and again for those reasons. This is obviously a labor of love on all counts, and was made for that reason, by someone who not only has studied the films but also now is in that part of the world. Really a pleasure, and something you won't find in commercial movies.