''Stone Turtle'' is a 2022 Malaysian- Indonesian

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

directed by Woo Ming Jin, starring

Asmara Abigail Asmara Abigail (born 3 April 1992) is an Indonesian actress, dancer, and model who rose to prominence after starring on Joko Anwar's horror films ''Satan's Slaves'' (2017) and ''Impetigore'' (2019). She was nominated for three Citra Awards for he ...

and

Bront Palarae Nasrul Suhaimin bin Saifuddin (born 27 September 1978), known professionally as Bront Palarae, is a Malaysian actor, film director, screenwriter and producer. Bront built his career in the early 2001 with roles in Castello, Bilut, Tipah Tert ...

Plot

Island-dwelling refugee Zahara (

) and an intrusive outsider (Bront Palarae) play out repeated versions of a cautious standoff: She deals in precious leatherback turtle eggs; he claims to be a wildlife researcher but pursues her with a passion that suggests other priorities.

Cast

as Zahara *

as Samad * Samara Kenzo as Nika * Amerul Affendi as Registry Officer * Maisyarah Mazlan as Zahara's sister * Alison Khor

Release

The film premiered at the 75th Locarno Film Festival on 4 August 2022. It was the first time a Malaysian film had been picked for the festival's main categories. The film won the

FIPRESCI Prize The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for ''Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique'') is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the worl ...

at the festival. Parallax Films acquired international sales rights to the film in August 2022.

Reception

Matthew Joseph Jenner of the ''

International Cinephile Society The International Cinephile Society is an online organization of professional film critics and journalists worldwide. It was founded in 2003 and, has approximately 170 members—among them are Mike D'Angelo, Justin Chang (''Los Angeles Times'') ...

'' rated the film 4 stars out of 5, writing that "By the end of Stone Turtle it is likely that the viewer will leave the film with more questions than answers – in most cases, this would be a shortcoming, since the lack of closure can be frustrating. Yet Woo is gifted enough to use this as a powerful tool, one that stirs as much thought as it causes confusion, which matches the general tone of the film and creates a far more enriching experience than we may have expected at the outset." Jessica Kiang of ''

Sight & Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (formerly written ''Sight & Sound'') is a monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). Since 1952, it has conducted the well-known decennial ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time. ...

'' wrote that "even without much in the way of subtext, the energy given off by the film’s bold engagement with its broad themes of violent patriarchal oppression, tradition colliding with modernity, and ancient folkloric traditions crossbreeding with newer storytelling forms keeps Stone Turtle compelling even when it fails to convince."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 15438014, Stone Turtle 2022 films 2022 thriller films Malaysian thriller films Malaysian science fiction films 2022 science fiction films 2020s films about time travel Indonesian thriller films Malay-language films