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The Golden-Stick Warrior revives silat legends
Cempaka: Christine Hakim portrays Cempaka, a master warrior seeking to pass on the Golden Stick
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span class="inline inline-left">Cempaka: Christine Hakim portrays Cempaka, a master warrior seeking to pass on the Golden Stick.--Courtesy of Miles ProductionsPendekar Tongkat Emas begins with Cempaka (Christine Hakim), an aging warrior who wants to pass her titular Golden Stick ' and signature fighting style ' to one of her disciples, either Dara (Eva Celia), Biru (Reza Rahadian) or Gerhana (Tara Basro).
While Biru at first appears to be the strongest candidate, Cempaka chooses Dara and Angin, a child she has adopted, to learn the way of the Golden Stick.
When Cempaka is killed before she can complete their training, an errant warrior named Elang (or 'Hawk', played by Nicholas Saputra) saves Dara and Angin (whose names mean Blood and Wind, respectively).
They then embark on a quest to find Naga Putih (White Dragon) to complete the training that Cempaka began, retrieve the Golden Stick and restore peace and order to the land.
According to producer Mira Lesmana, Pendekar was the most expensive and time-consuming movie that she worked on, after Riri Riza's biopic Gie.
The director, Ifa Isfansyah, who won the Citra for Best Director for Sang Penari (The Dancer) in 2011, helmed the popular kid's sports drama Garuda di Dadaku (Garuda in My Heart) and 9 Summers 10 Autumns.
The graduate of the Indonesian Art Institute in Yogyakarta said that he's been a silat warrior story fan since childhood.
'Me and Ifa are silat buffs,' said Mira, before the premiere of Pendekar Tongkat Emas in Jakarta.
While Pendekar features Slamet Rahardjo, Prisia Nasution and Darius Sinathrya in supporting roles, another star is Sumba Island, whose natural beauty and community life are on screen throughout the film's 133-minute runtime.
Cogon grass waving in the breeze, clear blue skies, starry nights and fighters mounted on galloping horses on savanna are among the scenes moviegoers will be able to feast their eyes on.
Traditional Sumbanese woven fabrics also made a bow, through the costumes of the characters.
'Various places in East Indonesia are highly recommended for filmmaking locations, compared with those many people have so far imagined, for instance, in Japan, Paris and New Zealand,' Mira said.
As in her other films, such as Laskar Pelangi (Rainbow Warriors) and Sokola Rimba (Forest School), Mira involved local residents in the shoot.
Hundreds of people from Waingapu, the capital of East Sumba, and three nearby villages were recruited as extras. Those passing casting tests went through a month of fight-choreography training.
The acrobatic silat performed on screen owes a debt to Pendekar's fight choreographer Xiong Xin Xin, a Chinese-born stuntman and martial artist who was a stand-in for the legendary action star Jet Li in several films, including Martial Arts of Shaolin.
For seven months, the actors and actresses went through rigorous physical training and fight-choreography practice, learning the steps and moves of the warriors they would portray on screen.
Training grew more intense 'topping eight hours a day as shooting approached, according to Nicholas. 'We were half-athlete and half-actors,' said the actor, who rose to fame in another film produced by Mira, Ada Apa Dengan Cinta (What's Up with Love).
The film's climatic showdown required even more training and preparation.
'The most impressive moment is the final fight, because it's so long and its intensity had to be maintained,' said Tara, who also starred in Catatan Harian si Boy (Boy's Diary) and The Killers, directed by the Mo Brothers.
Reza Rahadian echoed Tara. 'The last three months were focused on choreography. It was quite long, as the final clash was also long.'
The film's soundtrack, created by the renowned composer Erwin Gutawa, features the theme song 'Fly My Eagle', performed by the ever-luminous Anggun C. Sasmi.
Mira said that Anggun's distinct voice would help distributors sell the film worldwide, especially in Europe.
