Go deep inside the underworld of Jakarta in Netflix’s newest Indonesian original film, The Shadow Strays. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Timo Tjahjanto, this nonstop action film claimed the spot in the Global Top 10 non-English films list just six days after its launch. The film also ranked in the Top 10 Films in 85 countries, including US, Canada, Brazil, France, UK, Germany, Spain, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Indonesia.

The Shadow Strays marks Timo’s most ambitious project yet with Netflix, after working with high-caliber martial artists Iko Uwais and Joe Taslim in the 2018 hit The Night Comes for Us and the 2022 blockbuster action-comedy The Big 4 with Abimana Aryasatya and Putri Marino.

Timo, who directed and wrote the screenplay, describes The Shadow Strays as a story about love and the need to express it: “The lead character 13 has an unexplainable trauma from her childhood suppressed inside her. At the same time, she has this feeling of having to love somebody and when she meets this young boy Monji, she grows to care a lot about him. It’s the same with the character Umbra, 13’s mentor. She has this overwhelming feeling of wanting to have somebody to care about, and she’s repressing it.”

Seeing through the complex and layered characters
Beyond the intense fighting choreography and stunning cinematography, the film explores characters with intricate emotional journeys.

It was important for Timo to cast actresses who could embody this complexity, and he believed Aurora Ribero and Hana Malasan were perfect for the roles of 13 and Umbra, despite them never having played in action movies before. “My instinct told me Aurora and Hana are the right ones,” he said.

Aurora shared her perspective on 13: “She looks tough but she actually has a very soft heart. She craves to be loved and cherished. In this story, we see her having an existential crisis and trying to find purpose. And while 13 sees Umbra as a mother figure, their relationship is so complex. Umbra taught 13 to be this cold-blooded killer and there are so many things 13 has to do to make Umbra proud. At the same time, 13 really craves her love.”

“They are mentor and protégé, and they have gone through a lot together,” Hana added. “13 has a softer side that I think is influenced by Umbra. Maybe Umbra looks heartless, but she actually has a maternal side. This is what’s interesting about her journey. This movie has lots of action and is bloody, but there is also a very strong relationship between these two characters.” 

Another complex character is the corrupt cop Prasetyo, played by Adipati Dolken, who has a tight bond of friendship with Ariel (Andri Mashadi) and Haga (Agra Piliang).  “Portraying such a deeply human and layered role was a real challenge for me. The character has very complex and intense emotions,” Adipati said. “Prasetyo is very protective of his close friends, whom he considers family, and he’s possessive of his feelings towards them.”

So when Prasetyo senses that his family is threatened, his first instinct is to protect them. “I don’t see Prasetyo as a true villain. He acts out of a need to protect what he considers his own, and when someone threatens that, he reacts. He’s defending his family and friends, and his actions stem from love, even if they’re misguided,” he added.

Timo also noted that the depth of each character is stated in their weapons of choice. “Soriah, who’s explosive and out of control, will look unbelievably cool with a shotgun. Prasetyo, an interesting antagonistic role, doesn’t intimidate through physical actions but rather he uses his connection and squad. 13, who’s still in training to be an assassin, would go for a smaller weapon, such as a knife or a small sword. While Hana, the veteran killer, would opt for the violent katana sword in black. So all the layers of all these characters are also presented through their weapons,” he explained.

From combats to brawls
Cinematically striking, The Shadow Strays features all kinds of action imaginable, from car stunts, shoot-outs, mayhem in a traditional Japanese teahouse, chaotic fights in a nightclub and hand-to-hand combat. Stunt choreographers Muhammad Irfan and Trisna Irawan incorporated silat, kickboxing, Japanese katana swords, and other weapons to suit the demands of each scene.

Irfan shared that for cast members who were already familiar with martial arts, the choreographers let them incorporate their own styles into the choreography designed for the characters. “We also tried to mix different martial arts styles to make the choreography more resonant,” he said.

Making the magic behind the action’s set pieces
Hana trained for two and a half months to get ready for the role, while it took four months of intense training for Aurora. Her persistence and resilience during training impressed everyone. “When we started the training sessions, she always made excuses to go to the shower room. When we finally got to ask her why, she finally confessed that each time she went to the shower room, she was crying,” Irfan shared.

The epic warehouse scene, featuring car stunts,  shoot-outs and hand-to-hand combat, was shot in a real warehouse for 12 nights, with the crew wrapping at sunrise each time. Timo calls it the hardest shoot he has experienced so far: “We didn’t feel as energetic as we do during the daytime, and that warehouse was filled with mosquitoes and dust.” 

The Shadow Strays is now streaming, exclusively on Netflix.

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