Context: The Indonesian archipelago in Southeast Asia was slowly conquered by Netherlands over the 16-20th centuries, but after many fights, Indonesia finally won her independence in the 1945-1949 national revolution. However, being a colonial country, her economy still largely depended on the Netherlands.

Content: The protagonist Iskandar arrives back home from this war, some say with a soldier's PTSD, I'd say it's rather guilt. Either way, he is unable to find his way back in civil life whether he tries to follow civil or military rules, and he is also disappointed in what the country has become.

Realisation: The director is considered the fater of Indonesian film, as he and his studio had a huge effect after the country won her independence. Because he spent a couple of years in Hollywood, it is no wonder that the film has a very noir-ish vibe, although it's not very playful with camera angles, cuts or lightnings and shadowings. Even the music is Western-style, which is a shame, it would have been more interesting to see Indonesian art seeping into the film; instead, we only get a glimpse of it in one scene. Acting is kind of stiff, and not in the good, Bessonian sense.

Overall it's a surprisingly complex film thematically in a surprisingly Western-style realisation, especially for a country in ruins and without much prior experience.

I saw 'After the Curfew' ('Lewat Djam Malam' in the Indonesian) at the 2012 London Film Festival, and it's a real rarity: an Indonesian film from 1953, set just after independence (granted just four years before). A former resistance fighter leaves the jungle and tries to take up the reins of his pre-revolution life, only to grow discouraged that the newly-independent country isn't the people's paradise he had been hoping for. The film is a bit preachy - even propaganda-y - at times; scenes of people enjoying a sing-song at a party go on far too long; and the continuity is a bit ropey (although the action is set over the course of just 24 hours, look carefully and you'll see the hero wears at least four different pairs of socks during it!) But for its novelty value alone this is worth seeing if you get the chance.