'If you only see one feminist Indonesian Spaghetti Western this year, this should be it' – The Irish Times

Marlina is a murderer. There are four acts. But this artful take on genre tropes, selected for Cannes’ Directors' Fortnight, is a refreshing and richly observed look at female empowerment.

Director Mouly Surya is shining star of a blossoming film nation. Her 2013 film What They Don’t Talk About When They Talk About Love won Best Film at Indonesia’s Maya Awards and featured at Sundance. Here she casts her lens upon our heroine, Marlina (veteran belle Marsha Timothy), as she faces down a group of leering gangsters invading her farm. Her tale is sure to shock, surprise and satisfy.

Stunning vistas and a dutiful musical homage to Morricone accompany her stoic journey into darkness and back into the light. As viscera-soaked as a Caravaggio and as colourful as a Gauguin, Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts reveals a pioneering talent.

'At once tightly controlled and simmering with righteous fury, it’s gorgeously lensed, atmospherically scored and moves inexorably toward a gratifying payoff.' – Variety