Buffalo Boys (2018)

Tio Pakusadewo is Arana, who fled to the U.S. West as a young man when the Dutch were pillaging his homeland.

Now an old man, he’s determined to set foot in Indonesia again before he dies.

And the time is right: The two infants he smuggled out of the country as a young man were the sons of a brother who died fighting the invaders.

Now, Suwo (Yoshia Sudarso) and Jamar (Ario Bayu) are grown, and quite capable of defending themselves.

But back in Indonesia, things have gotten worse. Van Trach, an old enemy of Arana, is forcing the peasants to burn the rice fields they need to survive in order to grow more opium for his profit.

And it doesn’t take Arana, Suwo and Jamar long to run afoul of Van Trach and his men. That happens when they come to the defense of an old man Van Trach’s men plan to rob and his granddaughter, whom they plan to rape.

Review:

A Western? Barely, though the opening scene is set in the 1860s West and the climax certainly resembles an Old West shootout.

But the themes will certainly seem familiar, including Arana, Suwo and Jamar debating the wisdom of vengeance versus the pursuit of justice for their people.

Of course, in this case, the only way to accomplish either is to eliminate Van Trach.

The script is almost comic book in it’s simplicity and, often, in its predictability. But the villains are certainly villainous and the action scenes are certainly lively and well choreographed.

One of the more (unintentionally?) humorous scenes comes when our heroes arrive in Indonesia. Arana tells the young men to blend in as they arrive in their homeland sporting broad-brimmed cowboy hats unlike what anyone else is wearing.

Directed by:
Mike Wiluan

Cast:
Yoshi Sudarso … Suwo
Ario Bayu … Jamar
Pevita Pearce … Kiona
Tio Pakusadewo … Arana
Reinout Bussemaker … Van Trach
Daniel Adnan … Drost
Happy Salma … Seruni
Mikha Tambayong … Sri
El Manik … Suroyo
Donny Alamsyah … Young Arana
Donny Damara … Sakar
Alex Abbad … Faker
Hannah Al Rashid … Adrei

Runtime: 102 min.

Memorable lines:

The grandfather, explaining the burning fields; “If we don’t burn the rice fields (to make way for planting opium), the Dutch will burn us.”

Arana, coming across peasants’ bodies hanging in the forest: “This is the stench of hate.”

Grandfather: “I am ready to die, Sakar. Why do you stand there and beg to this dog (Van Trach)? Why?”

Van Trach to Suwo and Jamar: “What are you? Cowboys of the Wild West? Cowboys ride horses, not buffalo? Well, if I can’t call you cowboys, I will call you the buffalo boys.”

Suwo: “So what’s it going to be: war or peace?”
Van Trach: “I think this is what they call a showdown.”