A CIA agent roams the streets of New York haunted by the death of the beautiful woman he fell in love with while on assignment in Jakarta. When he is kidnapped and drugged, the destination is Jakarta once again where he tries to unravel the mystery that is the city which broke him three years earlier.
Peluru dan wanita
France
USAR
France
USA
Someone sure likes their pulpy Raymond Chandler novels..
Jakarta has many of the classic noir stylings/ trappings found elsewhere: a voiceover narrator, a reluctant hero type, untrustworthy past events, the mysterious femme fatale, etc.
Despite this movie being transported to 1980's Indonesia, it retaines a lot of the classical noir look as well; a certain way faces and scenes are lit, a woman's face half covered with hair (making her look both mysterious and seductive,) our hero driving a old fashioned car, etc.
Even the actual story doesn't deviate too much from from the established mold. Stories like this really are a dime a dozen in the detective genre.
There is a scene where our main guy meets a powerful…
High escapist adventure and uber-stylish, slickly shot exotica-noir with beautiful and picturesque scenery in both New York and Indonesian getaways. Neon lights, lush color coding, shadows, saxophones, voiceover narration, international espionage intrigue, daring action exploits, chases down steamy alleyways and over shantytown rooftops, a car/motorcycle chase in which abundant fruit stands and a wedding banquet are demolished. Absolutely steeped to the gills in atmosphere. The look and feel kept reminding me of 8 Million Ways to Die, and my thinking was confirmed when they repeat the shot from that movie of the girl with her face pressed against the rear windshield as the bad guys drive away to disaster.
The story is pretty cliche-heavy and the romance feels as rushed…
Troma Films' head honcho Lloyd Kaufman was the co-executive producer of this rousing,action packed U.S./Indonesian actioner from director/co-writer (and Lloyd's brother)Charles Kaufman(MOTHER'S DAY[1980],WHEN NATURE CALLS) that has (a pre-television star)Chris Noth(CASTAWAY,SEX AND THE CITY 2) as a CIA agent who is kidnapped by his sneaky boss([a quickly cameoing]David Gale[SYNGENOR,RE-ANIMATOR]) to Indonesia to conduct a mission,with Noth badly affected by the place(and the film's title Indonesian city) as he has bad memories of the lady(Suzee Pai[BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA,SHARKY'S MACHINE]) of his life that he supposedly lost until he finds her alive and well as he soon is heavily pursued by various gun wielding henchmen of the local criminal underworld which he learns that Pai is tightly involved in as…
Like a grimy, lurid, 10¢ paperback come to life- Jakarta is soaked to the bone in noir-like atmosphere, sex appeal, and violence. The lead actor looks serviceable as a clean cut 'government agent' and as a heartbroken vagabond on the run from his former superiors. The femme fatale is drop dead gorgeous and the actress in the role turns in a surprisingly good performance.
At times the movie seems fondly obsessed with it's eponymous locale, and at other times it abruptly swerves into stereotypes and cliches- whenever it's most convenient of course. The locals are portrayed as spiritual and even mystical people, but rarely are they ever given much character or personality beyond food cart owners or rickshaw drivers and…
This is a sweaty, sweaty movie. And I like sweaty movies. This is also a good movie for all the reasons listed in some of the other reviews here - that are far better than this bulb-review will be. Unexpected, great action and stunt work push this otherwise relatively by the book neo-noir into the “unseen classic” territory. If you live in LA, stop by Cinefile Video and rent it. We have a nice Laser disc transfer of it. Anyway, I dug it, and think you will too!
This is a great, great action movie that's tragically obscure now because of poor distribution.
But I want to tell a story.
Last spring my friend and I were in the local grocery store, both a bit tipsy, and in the checkout line in front of us is Chris Noth. You see, Jakarta was his first starring role in a movie. He pays, leaves, we pay and go to the parking lot.
Chris Noth is putting away his cart. I throw caution to the wind, walk up to him.
"I love Jakarta," I say.
He brightens up instantly, pulls back in shock. "No way! You did NOT see that!?!" I like to think I made his day, perhaps his week.…
