Vengeance Is Mine,
All Others Pay Cash
A FILM BY Edwin Edwin
PRODUCTION GRANT - Fall 2019
Ajo Kawir has not been able to get an erection since he was a young teenager. At 12, he and his best friend, Tokek, were secretly stalking a young widow named Rona Merah, when they witnessed her being raped by two police officers. Tokek managed to escape and hide, but one of the officers caught Ajo Kawir and made him watch and join them in raping her again. Ajo Kawir failed to sustain an erection, and his penis has never gotten hard since.
Since then Ajo Kawir becomes violence. One of the fight leads him to Iteung, a girl with great skill in the martial arts and, to his surprise, they fall in love.
Unfortunately, Iteung has an affair and becomes pregnant. She confesses to her husband, Ajo Kawir, who is enraged. When he walks out on her, Iteung is devastated and regrets her actions. Iteung kills her lover, and goes to jail for nine years.
When Iteung is finally released, she hunts down the two policemen who jailed her, and kills them. At home, Ajo Kawir is waiting. He has no problem with impotence now, and is sure that he can repair their marriage. But, when Iteung comes, police officers are waiting to escort her back to prison.
Once again, Ajo Kawir’s penis will have to wait.
In a society ruled by machismo and patriarchy, a hibernating “bird” becomes a very serious matter. In a life of brutality and hardship, the sleeping bird is an allegory for a peaceful and serene life, even when the whole world tries desperately to rouse it.