Starring August Melasz, Yenny Rachman, Boy Shahlani, Djauhari Effendi, Godfried Sancho, Bambang Hermanto
Directed by Frans Totok Ars
Expectations: Low, but hopeful.
On the general scale:
On the B-movie scale:
While I was working my way through the Superman films, I was inadvertently exposed to this largely unknown, low-budget Indonesian film called Rama Superman Indonesia. It all happened when I visited this post on Ruth’s blog Flixchatter, where she relates her love of the Man of Steel and shares that her father produced and wrote a superhero film in the ’70s… Rama Superman Indonesia. The whole thing is on YouTube, so since I just did all those Superman movies, I figured now was a better time than later and dove head first into my first low-budget offering from Indonesia.
I did so without the aid of subtitles, but thankfully, subtitles were mostly unnecessary. Rama Superman Indonesia features a simple story easily told through its visuals. Our film begins with Andi — who reminded me a lot of Sammo Hung — selling newspapers on the street. He is established as a kind soul, helping hungry children and defending bullied kids by punching their attackers into the river. His random acts of kindness pay off later that day when he finds a dying old man laying beside a bush. Andi buys him some food and drink, assisting the old man the best he can. The old man rewards the boy with a golden butterfly pendant and then disappears into thin air.