25 Best Indonesian Movies of All Time: A Must Watch!
Many Indonesian movies are too good to be left alone. Various genres and also entertaining storylines. films that show stories about Indonesian society as well as their culture. Indonesian movies that are getting better and satisfying the audience will be more interesting to watch. Here we provide a list of Indonesian movies for you to enjoy!
1. The Raid
As one of the movies that succeed to reach the title of best box office movie in Indonesia, The raid is surely a movie that we cay say has its level compared to another local movie. Another thing that might prove how good this movie is – the fact that The Raid was able to get into the US box office and also at that time, this movie was able to secure its place in the 11th position of the most-watched movie.
The Raid surely brings other perspectives to a commoner in how local movies can reach the audience differently compared to before. The story brought up by The Raid is telling about a mission that is given to a special force team to clear out a gang of mafia and get a certain VIP out of their hideout. This movie also succeeds in mixing a traditional martial art, Pencak silat, inside the fights in this movie, make it something that might be unbelievable to watch. You can catch its action on Netflix, Vidio, and Bioskop Online.
2. Satan’s Slaves (Pengabdi Setan)
With a story about pure love, Joko Anwar, the producer of this movie, succeed to make the audience cries their heart out with this movie. Kost room, Traffic, Warteg, wet street, might be familiar in the slum area of Jakarta. With different perspectives and views, Joko Anwar is trying to take the audience also to be inside the movie, as if they are there with the actors and actresses. From the view that is in the entire movie, we can see that this movie is trying to combine living with poverty and the hard life to survive the Jakarta lifestyle. This movie was supposed to ‘hit’ the rich who forget to see the life around them. Enjoy the thrill of this movie on Netflix.
3. Impetigore (Perempuan Tanah Jahanam)
Another movie that we recommend is Impetigore, another box office movie with Joko Anwar’s directorial skills. This movie is not only a hit in Indonesia, but it also getting much praise in a lot of countries such as the Netherlands. After the highest top-selling horror movies in Indonesian cinematic history, Satan’s Slave (Pengabdi Setan), Joko Anwar made a comeback with Impetigore. This movie has a cultural setting, making this movie perfect to be in the night slot of film festivals. This movie talks about a female protagonist, Maya, that is trying to find what is left for her in the land of Java. Joko Anwar succeeds to make the atmosphere in the screening as something terrifying and spooky for its audience.
4. Marlina and The Murderer in Four Acts (Marline si Pembunuh dalam Empat Babak)
If you’re looking for more movies that can be added for your next must-watch, we have something for you. Marlina and the murderer in four acts or maybe more popular as Marlina si Pembunuh dalam Empat Babak is a drama movie helmed by Mouly Surya’s directorial excellence. Marlina and the murderer in four acts is a ‘satay western’ type of movie. It combines the idea of feminism that comes from a Western culture with the Indonesian culture. The movie can be described as pieces that are divided into four parts, this might be new to the Indonesian film industry. This movie talks about the female protagonist, Marlina, that is doing her revenge because she is raped by local men. You can catch the thrill on Netflix.
5. The Rainbow Troops (Laskar Pelangi)
The rainbow troops or Laskar Pelangi is a movie that adapts from the bestselling book by Andrea Hirata in 2004. The storyline is based on the writer’s childhood life when the writer used to live in a Sumatran remote island named Belitong. The plot of this movie is talking about the life stories of the village children that struggle to achieve a good education and their big dreams in the future. This slice-of-life movie is not only brought up the cheerful life of the children but also the heartbreaking part of the poverty and corruption that persists in Indonesia. The director of the rainbow troops, Riri Riza, succeeds in bringing the sensitivity of this movie and the story also succeeds to reach the audience. Because of that, The Rainbow Troops succeed with a total of 4.6 million cinema audiences in Indonesia. Watch it now on Netflix, and Vidio.
6. Habibie and Ainun
For Indonesians, these names ring a special bell in all of our hearts. Habibie, or B.J. Habibie, was Indonesia’s third president. However, this is the story of how he met and found love to Ainun, his late wife. Their story has long been known to be mesmerizing and romantic, even before turned into move script. This move attracted so many hearts, from young adults to the older generations, all enjoyed the beautiful story of a struggle to strive together as a couple. It has also been made into trilogy with the sequel Rudy Habibie and then Habibie & Ainun 3. Watch this heartwarming movie on Netflix and Viu.
People also read: 7 Best Romantic Movies of All Time
7. The Verses of Love (Ayat-ayat Cinta)
Undeniably one of the most popular Indonesian movies all time. This story is about Fahri, a charming muslim student, who shares love with two women, Aisha and Maria who’s Christian. At one point, Fahri had to marry both of them and their struggle to bear the pain makes your heart wrench. This movie invites so many tears back in 2008, and has been legendary ever since. You can enjoy this heartwarming movie on Netflix
8. Petualangan Sherina
Do you want to try something different? If you’re looking for something refreshing and light, we have something for you. A musical movie named Petualangan Sherina can be your next watch list. Through Riri Riza’s directorial briliance, it will serve its audience with a movie that talks about a little girl, Sherina. The plot is about the energetic and smart Sherina that lives in Jakarta. She tries to fight the bullying friend and also the kidnappers. This movie is family-friendly so you can watch this movie with your beloved ones. Enjoy the fun watch on Netflix and Vidio.
9. 5cm
This movie is more than just about love, it’s about friendship. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t love a heartwarming story of a group of friends exploring life together?
This is the story of Genta, Arial, Zafra, Riani, and Ian. They’ve been friends for a long time and have grown up together, yet have been apart from each other as they reached adult life. To celebrate their friendship anniversary, they decided to cut all ties with each other for three months and come back again to do a challenging trip to hike Mount Semeru. The journey of hearts and dreams might be your next tear-jerker. You can watch this movie on Iflix.
10. What’s Up Love? (Ada Apa Dengan Cinta?)
In Indonesia, this movie got to the cinemas in 2002 as Ada Apa Dengan Cinta?. What’s up with love features a female protagonist, ‘Cinta’. With a chick-flick genre, this movie was and keeps being the most-watch movies for Indonesian youngsters. The plot of this movie was exciting, fun, and of course with a little bit of twist. This movie is consists of the sweet and bitter lives of teenagers, friendship, and puppy love between the protagonists. This movie also completed with a memorable soundtrack that filled the entire movie – a plus point for this movie.
There you go, 10 all-time best Indonesian movies by Flokq. Surely you’ve heard about at least one of them. Do you have any other movies that you considered one of the best? Share with us by commenting down below!
People also read about Indonesian Horror Movie
11. Two Blue Stripes
Another best Indonesian movies is Two Blue Stripes. Starring Angga Yunanda as Bima and Adhisty Zara as Dara, this film successfully won trophies at various prestigious Indonesian film awards. Two Blue Lines tells of the life of a couple who had a romantic relationship during high school. Unfortunately, their romance actually creates new problems in addition to their ignorance about sex. The film, which has a duration of 1 hour 35 minutes, successfully conveys a moral message to Indonesian youth, where often this issue is still taboo to discuss.
12. 27 Steps of May
Next, another Indonesian movies is 27 Steps of May. The film, which tells the life of May, who was initially divorced when she was 14 years old, had to dim because of a very heartbreaking incident. As a result of the incident, May had to endure the pain she had felt for years. Although he saves on dialogue, Raihaanun, who plays May, managed to convey the sad feelings that May felt. This is evident from the many trophies they have brought home from prestigious film events in Indonesia.
13. Check the Store Next Door
Check the Store Next Door has won the title of being one of the best Indonesian movies. This film also managed to become the Favorite Film and Favorite Male Supporting Actor at the Indonesian Movie Actors Awards. In addition, he is also a Praised Cinema Film and Praised Screenwriter at the Bandung Film Festival. Check the Store Next Door tells the story of a father who runs his shop, he has two children with different characters and intelligence levels. However, this storyline has quite a twist ending that the audience didn’t expect.
14. The Birdwoman’s Palate
Who doesn’t know Dian Sastro? This time he competed in acting with Nicholas Saputra in the Indonesian movie,The Birdwoman’s Palate. This film tells the story of the friendship of two women and two men who love to go out and eat and enjoy various foods from various regions. Starting from Jakarta, Surabaya, Pamekasan, Pontianak, and Singkawang. Not only that, but this film also focuses on investigating the case of bird flu that they both did.
15. Love for Sale
Another Indonesian movie that you should watch is Love For Sale. The storyline is quite interesting and will not bore the audience. Raising the issue of romance in the digital era, Richard, who is acutely single, is too picky in choosing a partner. Until one day, he was challenged by his friend who was about to get married to bring his partner to the wedding. He also looks for a way to find a partner in a short time, until he meets Arini from a matchmaking application until finally, love grows between them. However, the end of the story has succeeded in making the audience happy, are you too?
16. Ave Maryam
An Indonesian movie that is no less cool is Ave Maryam. The storyline is quite interesting and previously unimaginable by the audience. Ave Maryam tells the story of a nurse named Maryam in a nursing home. Until finally one day she moved to Girisonta, Ambarawa, Semarang, Central Java, and became a nun in one of the churches. Maryam was fully devoted to the church until finally, the presence of Father Yosef changed her loyalty.
17. Critical Eleven
Critical Eleven is also one of the best Indonesian movie. In accordance with the title, this film does take the philosophy of the critical eleven that occurs during landing and take off. The story of Ale and Anya who fall in love and decide to have a family becomes the gate of trouble for them. Both had to be hit by an unpleasant tragedy in the early days of their marriage. But did they manage to keep their marriage?
18. Gundala
Not only releasing Perempuan Tanah Jahanam, but Gundala also managed to become one of the best Indonesian movie. This time the film is about a superhero, entitled u Gundala, who tells about Sancaka who has superpowers when hit by lightning. He also uses his power to defend the oppressed. Even so, this film does not only show various scary scenes but also several comedy scenes that entertain the audience.
19. A Man Called Ahok
As the title suggests, this Indonesian movie tells the journey of a former governor of DKI Jakarta, Ahok. Starting from his story as a child until he can become a leader like he is today. It turns out that his life is quite different from what we have seen so far. The many struggles that Ahok faced were enough to inspire the audience. Including fighting with his father and dealing with other difficult situations.
20. Warkop DKI Reborn: Jangkrik Boss!, Dono Film Remake, Kasino, Indro.
Who is not familiar with the legendary Indonesian comedian trio, Warkop DKI. Falcon Pictures has finally reproduced this Indonesian movie, Warkop DKI Reborn. Tells the humor that occurs between the friendship of the three, Dono, Kasino, and Indro. They are played by the three newest actors, Abimana Aryasatya, Vino G Bastian, and Tora Sudiro. The story is not far from the previous DKI films. Even so, there are some scenes and some new jokes that really entertain the audience.
21. Dilan 1990
Indonesian movies are booming and make happy all over Indonesia. Dilan 1990 became the best film because of the many interesting things in it. Like some of the methods used by Dilan to win Milea’s heart. The story of Dilan and Milea was quite successful in attracting the attention of 6,315,664 viewers. The story continues in 1991’s Dilan: The voice of Dilan, a story that is no less entertaining for the audience.
22. Sinking of the Van Der Wijck
At first glance, this film reminds you of Titanic, but don’t judge before watching the film. The Indonesian movies, entitled Sinking of the Van Der Wijck, is no less interesting. Tells the story of a man named Zainuddin who must sail from Makassar to Padang. Until on his way, he met Hayati and fell in love with each other. But unfortunately, their love story had to die because of differences in social status. Hayati is a girl of noble descent, while Zainuddin is just an ordinary boy.
23. Susah Sinyal
Not only Cek Toko Next door, but Ernest Prakasa also released another Indonesian movie, Susah Sinyal. The film tells the story of a single mother named Ellen who works as a lawyer. His busy schedule makes his son, Kiara, less attentive. One day, this mother and daughter made plans for a vacation to Sumba. But because Ellen forgot her promise to go to an event at Kiara’s school, it made Kiara angry, and wanted to go to Sumba herself.
24. One Day, We’ll Talk About Today
An Indonesian movie that discusses problems that often occur in a family,One Day, We’ll Talk About Today (NKCTHI). NKCTHI managed to become the most favorite family drama in 2020. The film adaptation of the novel by Marcella FP successfully brought the emotions of the audience for 2 hours 1 minute.
25. Newly Rich
Another Indonesian film that is no less entertaining is Newly Rich. Tells the story of a family with a mediocre but happy economy. Until finally the father died and gave a very large inheritance. They can ask for extras whenever they want. However, this turned out to be the point where the problems came repeatedly. Until one day the lawyer who arranged the inheritance said that there was no longer any additional money for them. Watch Newly rich to find out how the story goes.
No Comment