I'm likely late to this party, but I watched 'The Raid: Redemption' for the first time yesterday. My first taste of Indonesian films, and wow, incredible film. I do love a good violent martial arts flick truth be told. Raid 2 already pre-ordered. So I'm looking for some recommendations for other Indonesian films, actors with a decent filmography etc. Any / all genres, but an emphasis on violent martial arts flicks wouldn't hurt! Could also expand recommendations to films from that area of the world, Malaysian, Vietnamese, Thai etc. Oh, and must be dubbed or subbed into English, preferably subbed.
I saw the title and was going to recommend The Raid, but you beat me to it Look up Tony Jaa films. Ong Bak is an awesome Thai series. Jaa has an amazing flying knee.
Only Indonesian films I've seen are The Raid films. The director is Welsh though so I'm not sure how representative they are of films from that country. From Thailand look out for films from Tony Jaa such as Ong Bak and Warrior King and Jeeja Yanin such as Chocolate and Raging Phoenix. Definitely check out Bangkok Dangerous and 13: Game of Death is a good thriller. Can't think of any others off the top of my head that I've seen. From South Korea director Park Chan-wook's films are worth checking out, most notably Oldboy. The Good, the Bad and the Weird is a great high-energy action film. If you like Kung Fu Hustle, give Arahan a try and The Host is a good monster film. If you like J-horror films try Tale of Two Sisters and R-Point. Fighter in the Wind and Save the Green Planet are pretty good as well. Although France is nowhere near that part of the World, if you've not seen the District 13 films you should definitely be giving them a go. Great mix of martial arts and free-running. All films listed are available on DVD in the UK. If you have a CEX near you their 2nd-hand DVD section should have a World cinema section. Worth keeping an eye on it.
