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| - While the first film delves on characters and personality, Darah Garuda focuses on the characters’ heroic battle. This sequel picks up where the first movie left off, focusing on the adventure of a band of brave young cadets, comprising of Amir, a former teacher and devout Javanese Muslim (Lukman Sardi); high-tempered Tomas (Donny Alamsyah), a native of Sulawesi who wants to take revenge on Dutch soldiers who murdered his family; Marius (Darius Sinathrya), a Eurasian ladies man; and a young Balinese Dayan (T. Rifnu Wikana).
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| - While the first film delves on characters and personality, Darah Garuda focuses on the characters’ heroic battle. This sequel picks up where the first movie left off, focusing on the adventure of a band of brave young cadets, comprising of Amir, a former teacher and devout Javanese Muslim (Lukman Sardi); high-tempered Tomas (Donny Alamsyah), a native of Sulawesi who wants to take revenge on Dutch soldiers who murdered his family; Marius (Darius Sinathrya), a Eurasian ladies man; and a young Balinese Dayan (T. Rifnu Wikana). The film opens with the four characters breaking into a Dutch internment camp to rescue women they love — Senja (Rahayu Saraswati), Tomas’ love interest who loses her brother in a battle against the Dutch soldiers; and Amir’s pregnant wife Melati (Astri Nurdin). The fighters work together with soldiers from Gen. Sudirman’s battalion who received an order to launch a strike against a new airstrip controlled by the Dutch, in the hopes that it could help stave off the soldiers of the ruthless Gen. van Mook. On the way, they meet new challenges, from building an alliance with new band of fighters, clashing with a band of Islamist separatists and coming face to face with an old enemy who is now in charge of Dutch intelligence. Darah Garuda also features new casts of characters who drop by for cameo performances. Among actors who made brief appearance in the film are Atiqah Hasiholan as a traumatized courtesan named Lastri, Alex Komang as the leader of the Islamist guerrilla group, Ario Bayu as tough guerrilla Sgt. Yanto, Rudy Wowor as the Dutch rogue soldier van Gaartner and newcomer Aldy Zulfikar as the child soldier Budi. One of the most memorable scenes in the film is when the wounded Dayan is captured and interrogated by van Gaartner in a dingy room, followed with a torture carried out by van Gaartner’s ruthless henchman, de Graaf. Both Rudy Wowor and T. Rifnu Wikana do a remarkable job in some of emotional and bloody scenes, reconstructing the brutality of the Dutch troops and this part is where the film scores its highest point. The two directors also take pains to do the battle scenes, where a string of rapid-fire machine-gun blasts, massive explosions is portrayed realistically. The directors also add a little bit of romance and mild humor, which remind us of typical Hollywood action flicks. This Hollywood flavor colors much of the film simply because for Darah Garuda, producers hired special effects and technical experts from Hollywood, including special effects coordinator Adam Howarth (Saving Private Ryan, Blackhawk Down), key armorer John Bowring (The Thin Red Line, X-Men Origins: Wolverine), make-up and visual effects artist Conor O’Sullivan (The Dark Night, Saving Private Ryan) who was nominated for the Academy Award, and stunt coordinator Scott McLean (The Matrix, TV series The Pacific). These foreign talents are supported by reputable local crew including film editor Sastha Sunu and music director Thoersi Argeswara. The trilogy was inspired by the true story of young cadets killed in Lengkong, West Java. The film is also a tribute to the men and women who sacrificed their lives for the fight for independence between 1945 and 1948. The idea of the trilogy first came out when Allyn, visiting his best friend, Hasyim Djojohadikusumo, saw two old photos of soldiers on the wall and asked him about it. Those were the portraits of Hasyim’s uncles, First Lt. R.M. Subianto Djojohadikusumo and Cadet R.M. Sujono Djojohadikusumo, who were killed in the Lengkong battle in 1946. Meantime, the trilogy is aimed at encouraging Indonesia, especially its young generation, to love the country, as well as telling Indonesia’s history to the world.
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