Timo Tjahjanto talks about Netflix’s “The Shadow Strays”.

If there was an AI input behind Indonesian action maestro Timo Tjahjanto’s latest Netflix film The Shadow Walkersit would probably go something like this: “Give me John Wick but make it Indonesian women with Uzis and samurai swords – and even more brutal.”

Not that there’s anything remotely artificial about the viscerally kinetic set pieces that explode from the screen in the cult filmmaker’s latest action melodrama.

Tjahjanto has gained a global following with his relentlessly creative fight choreography punctuated by generous doses of writhing ultra-violence. The Shadow Walkers is his second film for Netflix after the more comedic film The big 4as part of an ongoing multi-picture deal. He also recently completed production on his Hollywood debut, the action sequel Nobody 2starring Bob Odenkirk, Sharon Stone and RZA and scheduled for release in 2025.

The Shadow Walkerswhich arrived on Netflix on Thursday, is unlikely to disappoint the director’s legions of international fans. The film tells the story of a teenage assassin codenamed 13, who belongs to an underground murder network called “The Shadows”. When a young boy from the protagonist’s neighborhood falls victim to a ruthless crime syndicate, 13 defies her mentor to save him – unleashing hellish fury from all directions.

Despite its brutality, Tjahjanto describes the film as, in a sense, a hidden coming-of-age film.

“In the end, it’s about this character learning the hardest lesson in life – that you can’t always control things,” he explains. “Even if you try to make things better, they may just get worse.”

The director said he cast his star, 20-year-old Aurora Ribero, after seeing her breakthrough role in the teen drama Like and share.

“When it comes to action, anyone who has the will and courage to train it can eventually do it – but you don’t see that humanity in every performer,” says Tjahjanto. “Aurora has a certain innocence in her eyes that is one in a million.”

In fact, throughout Shadow spreaderRibero oscillates between moments of poignant fragility and unbridled rage. According to her director, the ability to achieve both convincingly is what particularly impresses the actress’ work.

“One of the things that people often underestimate about making an action film is how physically demanding it is – and that was even more true for Aurora on this project because she always had to walk the fine line between being vulnerable and convincing . “Killing machine,” he explains. “The journey she went through behind the scenes was just as tough as what she went through on screen. It’s easy for people to take this genre for granted and say, “Oh, that’s just another pow!” Phew! “Action film” – but the commitment required to make it is mind-boggling.”

Ribero, who had no experience in action cinema at the start of the project, trained intensively for four months with Tjahjanto’s experienced stunt choreography team. There were moments early in the preparation when she broke down and doubted whether she could continue.

“I think it’s one of the bravest things I’ve done in my life,” she says. “I felt so lost at first. Since I do yoga, I thought I would be pretty flexible, but it turns out I needed strength too. But once you get into the flow of training, you build muscle memory.”

Tjahajanto admits that he himself hardly fits the stereotypes of stunt cinema.

“On the film I just made, Nobody 2“I think a lot of the Hollywood stunt guys and the choreography team were expecting some muscle-bound guy with a background in stunts to arrive on set,” he says. “Instead they got this skinny Asian guy.”

He adds: “I’m known as an action director, but it’s funny because the kind of films I really prefer are human dramas.”

The filmmaker says he tried hard to penetrate that Shadow spreader“Characters with the kind of human complexity that wouldn’t be out of place in an Akira Kurosawa classic. But he also wanted to create a merciless world for his story – “dark and moody, with a neo-noir aesthetic.”

“I think there is room for violent action cinema,” he explains. “Not every action film has to be a superhero film. I have no problem with superhero films. But ultimately, action films are made for adults. And I want adults to be able to see that and say, ‘Yeah, that’s what happens when you stick a sword in someone’s neck.'”

Asked what he hopes to convey from Indonesian action cinema to Hollywood with his upcoming work with Odenkirk Nobody 2Tjahajanto is blunt: “I hope it’s because of the brutality.”