Despite Violent Scenes, Directors Mo Brothers Say Censorship is Not the Limit
Jakarta. In “Headshot,” the latest action movie by the Mo Brothers, Iko Uwais plays a character who suffer amnesia after he is shot in the head.
As seen during the media preview that in Jakarta on Thursday (18/08), “Headshot” features quick fighting and gun violence scenes which undoubtedly will raise the question about censorship. Directors Kimo Stamboel and Timo Tjahjanto said censorship should not limit their creativity.
“We are pleased to work with Iko and his team who choreographed fighting scenes in ‘Headshot.’ I learned that there’s so much more than pencak silat in our martial arts, and I consider Iko as a national asset for being able to combine styles from different schools,” Timo said.
Known for directing gory movies such as “Rumah Dara” and “Killers,” Kimo said “Headshot” is still going to be bloody, but the duo wanted their new movie to be a proper action movie.
“If we’re making an action film, there are elements in the movie that mush be pushed. If we let [censorship] control the direction of the movie, we will never be able to finish it,” Kimo said.
Since action movies require big budgets, the only way to survive for now is to appeal audience in other countries. Ahead of its world premiere in Toronto International Film Festival, “Headshot” already signed distribution deals with Nikkatsu in Asia and XYZ and Vertical in United States and Europe.
Timo said he wishes “Headshot” would pave the way further for Indonesian action films in the international stage the way “The Raid” did.
“After ‘The Raid,” there were so many attempts in making action movies and we have so many talented filmmakers. Unfortunately, we tend to rush things. Any story that is rushed into production will not end well,” Timo said.
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