• Buffalo Boys

    Directed by Mike Wiluan
    Singapore | 103 minutes | FLOS: Foreign Language Oscar Submissions

This raucous anti-colonialist fantasy reminiscent of Django Unchained is the first Indonesian Western. Following a brutal massacre and murder of Sultan Hamza, his two young sons are taken to America to learn the ways of the West in preparation for revenge in a surprising showdown.

film synopsis

In 19th century Indonesia, after his brother Sultan Hamza is killed by Captain Van Trach and his Dutch soldiers in a brutal massacre, Arana spirits his infant nephews Jamar and Suwo away to America. Raised in the Wild West they learn the cowboy way of life while working on the railroads. after being caught in a barroom brawl, Arana decides it is time to take his nephews back home to avenge their father’s murder. In Java they rescue Siri, the daughter of the village head who immediately welcomes them into the community. While there, they find out that the locals are oppressed at the very hands of Captain Van Trach, the man who killed their father. Can they use the skills they have learnt in the West to defeat the sadistic Dutch colonial governor and avenge their father in a high noon shootout? This raucous anti-colonialist fantasy reminiscent of Django Unchained is the first Indonesian Western.

In competition for the FIPRESCI Award.

film details

Director: Mike Wiluan
Producers: Mike Wiluan, Huang Junxiang, Tan Fong Cheng, Rayya Makarim, Kimberly james
Screenwriter: Mike Wiluan, Raymond Lee, Rayya Makarim
Cinematographers: John Radel
Editor: Natalie Soh
Cast: Yoshi Sudarso, Ario Bayu, Pevita Pearce, Tio Pakusadewo, Reinout Bussemaker
Country: Singapore
Language: in Indonesian and English with English subtitles
Year: 2018
Running Time: 103 minutes
Primary Company: Samuel Goldwyn Films

director biography

2019 Film Festival