10 Best Indonesian Movies to Watch First

10 Essential Indonesian Films

Ranked native cinema in Indonesia’s own creative voice.

1. 

   1. The Raid

   Serbuan Maut · 2011

   An elite SWAT team storms a rundown Jakarta apartment block that serves as a fortress for a ruthless crime lord, but when the raid goes wrong, the officers are trapped floor by floor and must fight their way out. A ferocious, wall-to-wall martial-arts action thriller.

2. 

   2. The Raid 2

   The Raid 2: Berandal · 2014

   Immediately after surviving the tower-block bloodbath, the rookie cop goes deep undercover inside a powerful Indonesian crime syndicate to root out corruption, a long con that puts his family and his life in constant danger. A sprawling, brutal action epic.

3. 

   3. Ca-bau-kan

   2002

   Seeking her roots, a young woman uncovers the sweeping, unconventional love story of her parents — a Chinese-Indonesian courtesan and a tobacco merchant — set against decades of colonial and wartime upheaval. A lush historical romance.

4. 

   4. November 1828

   1979

   During the Java War against Dutch colonial rule, a village is torn between loyalty and betrayal as its people are pushed toward revolt. A landmark Indonesian historical epic of resistance.

5. 

   5. The Night Comes for Us

   2018

   When a Triad enforcer spares a little girl during a massacre, he becomes a marked man, and an unrelenting army of assassins descends on him. A blood-drenched, hyper-violent action thriller.

6. 

   6. The Shadow Strays

   2024

   A young assassin defies her mentor and her shadowy organization to protect an orphaned boy from a vicious crime syndicate, unleashing carnage on anyone who stands in her way. A stylish, brutal action spectacle.

7. 

   7. Satan's Slaves

   Pengabdi Setan · 2017

   After their mother dies following a long, mysterious illness, a family in a remote house begins to sense her presence returning — and something far darker coming with her. A chilling, atmospheric Indonesian horror hit.

8. 

   8. Dilan 1990

   2018

   At a Bandung high school in 1990, a charming, motorcycle-riding rebel sets out to win the heart of a shy new transfer student with unconventional, sweetly persistent courtship. A hugely popular teen romance.

9. 

   9. Gundala

   2019

   Abandoned as a boy and hardened by a life on the streets, a wary loner who can channel lightning is reluctantly pulled toward becoming a protector when injustice and a ruthless villain threaten his city. An Indonesian superhero origin story.

10. 

    10. Jumbo

    2025

    A chubby, bullied little boy determined to win his town's talent show stages a play inspired by a storybook his late parents wrote — with the help of an unexpected friend. A heartfelt Indonesian animated adventure.