Sri Asih was created in 1953 by RA Kosasih, the father of Indonesian comic books. According to the Bumilangit Cinematic Universe Wiki, this is her origin: “Nani Wijaya, is the daughter of a wealthy family, is a bead of Goddess Sri from the Kahyangan Kingdom. As an adult, Nani works as an agent of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation to defend truth & justice. However, when he struggles, Nani can transform herself into Sri Asih by translating “Goddess Asih!”” This allows her to access her powers as the reincarnation of Dewi Sri, the goddess of rice and fertility still worshiped in Java, Bali, and Lombok islands.

Her powers include strength, speed, durability, flight, duplication, a healing factory and the ability to grow in size. As a BCI agent, she already had martial arts and detective skills, adding to her superhuman powers.

Sri Asih was such a popular character that her first movie, directed by Tan Sing Hwat and Turino Djunaedy, was made a year after her debut. Unfortunately, the first superhero movie made in Indonesia is lost.

This version of Sri Asih is the second installment of the Bumilangit Cinematic Universe, a series of superhero films based on more than 500 comic book characters in the library of Indonesian publishing company Bumilangit, which started with 2019’s Gundala.

Directed by Upi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Gundala director Joko Anwar, this tells the story of the third Sri Asih, who is Alana at the start of the movie (Pevita Pearce). She’s been a fighter for her entire life and had to hold back the rage inside her. That makes sense, as she was nearly killed by the volcano that made her an orphan when she was just an infant.

After being raised by a female martial artist, she becomes an MMA fighter in her adulthood, which brings her into the cage against the privileged Mateo (Randy Pangalila). By the end, she will have to battle one of the top five villains of the BCU — the five commanders of the Goddess of Fire — known as Evil Spirit.

I may not know these characters at all, but I think it’s awesome that other cultures are attempting to leverage their own comic book mythologies. That’s why I hate that people talk down on comic book movies—they are no different than the myths of any culture throughout time—and translate them to the screen and give themselves representation.

This might not have the budget of a Marvel movie, but the fights look better, and the CGI looks just as good. At the end of this movie, there’s even a post-credits cameo. Much like Sri Asih showed up at the end of Gundala, Mandala appears briefly.

For those of us in the U.S., Shout! Factory has the rights to this and will release it this year. Check it out when you can because it’s such an incredible opportunity to learn about the heroes of other places and see them in action.. The series

I watched this film as part of The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN). You can learn more at their official site.