Vanguard of the Indonesian New Wave, Edwin ("Postcards from the Zoo") breaks from his arthouse sensibilities with a genre potpourri of martial arts, hardboiled crime, and soppy yet endearingly sweet romance.

Based on Eka Kurniawan’s acclaimed novel, its terrific title an ode to exploitation literature and cinema, "Vengeance…" nails the aesthetics of its ’70s and ’80s forebears with its vibrant 16mm photography and retro score as it unravels the melodramatic misadventures of Ajo Kawir (Marthino Lio), a street fighter for hire who fears nothing but his own shameful impotence.

Less stylized is the action, which Edwin firmly grounds in entertaining but deliberately more minimalist choreography than seen in most of Indonesia’s contemporary fight flicks.