Garuda Power: The Spirit Within is a documentary exploring the little known history of Indonesian action films. From the birth of the local film industry in the 1920s and ‘30s, its heydays of the ‘70s, its decline in the early to mid-’90s, and to its resurgence in a new generation after the nation’s democratization in 1998, leading up to its resurgence with The Raid films, this documentary is the perfect starter-kit, jam-packed with clips from what must be hundreds of films, lovingly assembled by director Bastian Meiresonne. Astute in his ratio of presenter-to-camera moments, Meiresonne instead emphasizes interviews, narration and clips, with narration done by Rudolf Puspa, who’s segments are all shot in the Indonesian film archive and in various abandoned cinemas. In a way, he’s like a wandering and ghostly time traveler, with these segments reminiscent of Davy Chou’s Golden Slumbers, an ode to the lost and destroyed Cambodian cinema.
The film begins with a short, but fascinating overview of the earliest iterations of Indonesian cinema, which were primarily Dutch and Chinese productions. This era is unfamiliar to western audiences and is presented succinctly to whet the interest of cineastes to explore further with their own research. The ‘meat’ of the documentary, understandably, is devoted to Indonesian action cinema’s heyday, starting from the late 1960s to its temporary demise in the 1980s. This section of Garuda Power is a hell-of-a-ride, showcasing the pure audacity, charisma, and grindhouse trends that made this time truly special and innocent. Meiresonne, the director, should also be commended for not simply making an ultimate video mashup of his favorite clips. Instead, he strikes a balance by including contributions from local film critics, scholars and film fans. We also learn of Indonesia’s vibrant and popular comic book industry, where many properties were adapted into this B-movie action films, including the superhero Jaka Sembung, portrayed by action icon Barry Prima in the hugely successful The Warrior (1981).
The film ends with the obvious inclusion and recognition of The Raid, which after the action genre’s 20 year absence. Although, the Gareth Evans’ action oeuvre is commendable and shined a light on the Asian martial arts genre again, in the grand scheme of Indonesian film, it’s merely a blip, failing to turn the tide in the overall decay of filmgoing culture and the closing of hundreds of cinemas in the last 20 years (this is cryptically represented in a montage of dilapidated former movie palaces and cinemas).
But it is not all doom and gloom. Garuda Power: The Spirit Within is a record and testament to Indonesia’s forgotten action cinema history and will open the vaults, so to speak, for a new generation of action film fans. Although the hallowed cinema churches are closing down, this genre will live on via the democratizing power of broadband technology.
Anderson Le