Martial arts prodigy Yuda embarks on his merantau, a traditional rite of passage, in which he must leave his village to experience the big bad city. Living on the streets of Jakarta, he rescues a struggling brother and sister from the clutches of ruthless criminals, an intervention that escalates to a final deadly showdown. Director Gareth Evans discovered action star Iko Uwais (The Raid: Redemption) while shooting a documentary on silat, Indonesia's indigenous martial art. Combining a literal "hero's journey" with old school exploitation movie trappings, ground-breaking action, and a little profundity for good measure, Merantau rekindled Indonesian action cinema.