By For most Americans, our understanding of World War 2 begins and ends with America fighting the Nazis and winning. My time in high school did go into some of the Japanese side of the conflict, but it mostly stuck to Pearl Harbor and when we dropped the bomb on Japan. It did not explain how evil Imperial Japan was and the many countries it disrupted in its attempt to rule the East.
That’s what makes a film like Perang Kota: This City Is a Battlefield interesting from a distance. Dealing with the fallout of World War 2 and Indonesia’s first year of independence following the reigns of both the Dutch and Japanese, I thought this type of setting would be ripe for explaining the horrors of war from a different perspective. I figured I would be in for a brutal, tough watch that clued me into why there is still so much anxiety and angst floating around in Asia.
I did not expect a two-hour movie that begins with a rather explosive display of violence to then devolve into a marital spat and adultery that runs on with barely developed characters. Also, I guess the main guy is impotent.
Perang Kota: This City Is a Battlefield
Director: Mouly Surya
Release Date: April 30, 2025 (Indonesia), July 22, 2025 (NYAFF)
Country: Indonesia
I’m not familiar with Indonesian literature, so I don’t know how accurate of an adaptation Perang Kota is. As the Wikipedia page states, the movie is a loose adaptation of Mochtar Lubis’ 1952 novel Tak Ada Ujung. The novel, much like the film, is set in 1946, following the first year of Indonesia’s independence from colonial control. Following the struggle of Isa (Chicco Jerikho), a 35-year-old revolutionary and violinist, the majority of the film is actually centered on his personal struggles with his wife, Fatimah (Ariel Tatum), and best friend, Hazil (Jerome Kurnia). The movie kicks things off in a rather engaging fashion, though.
The first thing we’re introduced to in Perang Kota is some black-and-white footage in the vein of propaganda films. It explains how much better Indonesia was under Dutch control and how the fight for independence is a fool’s errand. Things then shift to the ground level where Isa is standing in front of a burning building, watching as Indian soldiers carry one of his comrades out. He’s unable to do anything as helping would expose his identity, something that will only end in death.
From there, the movie portrays a bit of Fatimah’s morning as she attempts to get food for the family. With Isa’s son, Salim (Ar Barrani Lintang), by her side, the store she is visiting is ambushed by soldiers, and she makes a desperate attempt to flee. While the store’s owner is killed in the raid, Fatimah does find a hiding spot before things go south. She has to fight off a soldier with all of her strength as Isa’s son cries in a cabinet, praying that he’ll return home to his father soon. It’s certainly a brutal way to start off a film, especially since we watch one kid get mowed down in a hail of gunfire and even see random civilians get their heads blown off.
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During this moment, I understood what the film’s English title meant. This City Is a Battlefield paints a picture of a living hell where no one is safe, and that opening reinforced the idea. I expected the movie to maybe not be an action film, but a depiction of a tumultuous period of Indonesia’s existence that was instrumental in making the nation what it is today. Having seen the entire thing, I’m not sure why I thought this, but first impressions can be deceiving.
As I mentioned above, the majority of Perang Kota is actually about the interpersonal struggles that Isa has with Fatimah and Hazil. I should note before I get into my issues that I think the acting is universally very good. Chicco Jerikho is an excellent leading man, and while he’s maybe a bit buff to be a lowly teacher, he carries the dramatic scenes well. Ariel Tatum has a ferocity behind her that gives her one action scene tremendous power, but she’s also able to show a softer side when the moment calls for it. Jerome Kurnia is also pretty solid as the scheming disciple, following Isa’s orders but always looking as if he’s a deer in the headlights to fool invading troops.
I also do think the set design and cinematography are solid. Perang Kota sells the idea that Indonesia was once a terrible place where death could come at a moment’s notice. It’s maybe not as bleak or dystopian as MA – Cry of Silence, but even in Isa’s rather large home, it looks like he’s barely getting by. Things are falling apart, paint is peeling, the pots and pans are rusted and dented, and everything is just dark. It’s depressing, but also shows the desperation that the main characters have.
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Sadly, the majority of this film just plods along like nothing is happening. After that first bit of war footage and a rather deep discussion of how Isa was previously a war hero who is now living in poverty, I thought the film might shift back and forth between family drama and wartime exploits. Instead, most of this is like watching people put the pieces together for a big heist, and then just dicking around the rest of the time.
So much of this film’s runtime is centered on the relationship Fatimah and Hazil enter into because of Isa’s impotence. During the first love scene, I figured Isa was impotent because he had too much on his mind. From the description of the novel, though, apparently, there was a past trauma during the war that kind of ruined him. This would eventually eat away at his marriage and cause the infidelity. Wow, I sure love that all of that was included in the movie!
That’s really my biggest gripe with Perang Kota. It’s a well-produced movie and has solid acting, but the characters are so paper-thin and the pacing so lethargic that I couldn’t maintain interest. Now, I’m not so naïve as to assume that love cannot be equated to a battlefield, unless Pat Benatar lied to us all. A big part of the reason I wound up not enjoying this movie is that the intro primed me for something the film does not deliver on. I’m okay with a bait and switch like that, but I often look for deeper characterization when a story decides to focus on drama. Perang Kota simply doesn’t have that.
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I guess this could be a limitation of its source material or a sloppy screenplay, but Isa is about the only person given any depth. We do see moments where he struggles with past failings, and his entire purpose in the film is to protect Fatimah and Salim, so he’s very driven. It’s just that Hazil’s motivation of impressing his father is only brought up a few time,s and we don’t ever see him reflecting on that. Fatimah also seems to switch between hot and cold at the drop of a dime, one moment supporting Isa and the next admonishing him for having a job. It’s aggravating.
That lack of consistency, along with certain scenes feeling like they go on for eons, just sank the overall film for me. At one point, I was reminded of Spielberg’s Munich and how that film attempted something similar to this. It started with a bombastic attempt at terrorism, then shifted into the interpersonal struggles of its central characters and how their own hangups were preventing progress. There was also an attempt to humanize its characters, with everyone reflecting on the morality of their actions. Perang Kota seemingly wants to do the same, but it forgets that character development is central to getting people invested in a struggle. I can’t enjoy a plot if I don’t care about anyone.
I’m sure there will be people who enjoy Perang Kota, and I can even see some very clear highlights. Sadly, I just wasn’t a fan of things when all was said and done.
