With: Wafda Saifan Lubis, Roy Sungkono, T. Rifnu Wikana, Claresta Taufan Kusumarina, Kiki Narendra, A. Rani Someng, Bukie B. Mansyur, Mike Lucock, Abdurrahman Arif, Joseph J.U. Taylor, Ben Sumadiwiria
An import from Indonesia, and directed by Brian L. Tan (or "BLT"), Bandit is a pulpy crime story in the very best way, taking dime-novel twists and giving them fresh jolts of energy and emotion.
In Bali, Indonesia, Gatra (Wafda Saifan Lubis) is struggling to get by on an honest day's pay. His wife Maya (Claresta Taufan Kusumarina) is pregnant and is having complications. At the doctor, they scrape up enough cash to pay for the visit, but can't afford the medicine she needs. So Gatra turns to his old pal, Tiar (Roy Sungkono), a bad influence whom Gatra stopped seeing after being married. Tiar doesn't have any money or leads, but they start talking and drinking.
After a time, they see a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon. It's dark and no one seems to be around, so Tiar gets the idea of stealing it and selling it for some quick, easy cash. Before Gatra can dissuade him, Tiar jumps in the car and starts it up. Worse, they accidentally back over the vehicle's owner. Still worse, when they have a chance to stop to catch their breaths, they find a gun in the glove compartment and a dead body in the trunk.
When they go to sell the vehicle, they learn that it belongs to Beni (T. Rifnu Wikana), a dangerous killer for a local crime syndicate. Now their lives are on the line, and time is running out for Maya.
Bandit is clearly a labor of love rather than a pale imitation of classic crime movies. The Tiar character, for example, is a staple of the genre, the troublemaking best friend whom the hero knows he ought to stay away from but can't (much to the chagrin of the hero's love interest). This type of character was memorably fleshed out by Jeremy Renner in The Town, Edward Norton in Rounders, and Robert De Niro in Mean Streets, to name a few.
Sungkono deserves to join the list. The scenes in which the two friends talk build up to a painful portrait of their true relationship, based on love, but also on unease and deception. But Sungkono doesn't steal all the scenes; Lubis has a scruffy star power all his own, and Wikana is a genuinely scary villain, a juggernaut that won't stop until he has tasted vengeance.
Additionally, director Tan builds a tangible, palpable world for these characters a criminal labyrinth full of chop shops, card games, and dirty dealings, all nestled within a deceptively beautiful and colorful city. A shot of Tiar wandering alone in front of a majestic palace lit up in purple is a great juxtaposition: the lost and the unattainable.
What makes Bandit work so well is that we believe this story. We believe that these characters are trying to do their best in a system that is corrupt and snuffs potential for advancement. Tragically, it's a story that is becoming altogether common in the world.
Bandit will be available as part of the Catalina Film Festival's online selection, and will be available for two weeks to anyone anywhere who buys a ticket to the online festival. Additionally, it will be featured in this year's Dili Film Festival and FilmQuest.
