Mat Kilau: A Movie of Historical Malay Silat Hero

There is a new Silat movie out that has been dominating the movie theaters in Malaysia. Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan has become the highest grossing Malaysian film of all times beating “Top Gun Maverick” starring Tom Cruise and is on track to topple Marvel Avengers, Infinity Wars and Avengers End Game. Released June 23, 2022, the movie stars the famous Silat master Yayan Ruhian as the character Toga. Yayan was also one of the choreographers of the numerous fight scenes in the film.

Mat Kilau is set in 1892 and is inspired by the true life story of a legendary Malay warrior who fought against British rule in present-day Pahang, Malaysia. Adi Putra, a well-known Southeast Asian actor, plays the hero Mat Kilau in the film alongside other famous actors such as Fattah Amin, Beto Kusyairy and Johan As’ari.

The film has been such a blockbuster success in Malaysia that it has been the source of inspiration for numerous TikTok videos where people perform Silat movies while doing mundane tasks such as mopping floors or doing laundry. The film has multiple scenes where actors are fighting using traditional Malaysian Silat empty hand techniques and as well as traditional Silat weapons such as kris, sabit (also known as cilurit), tepki (trisula), golok (machete) and more! Though many of the fight scenes in the beginning are relatively short, the movie keeps to the common martial arts film tradition of a rewarding extended fight scene at the end.

According to a Straits Times article, after the release of the movie Mat Kilau, the movie has triggered a new phenomenon in the form of a “Silat revival”.  “An increasing number of people are picking up the Malay martial arts ‘Silat ‘, with enquiries coming from parents who want their children to learn martial art skills from Silat associations. Jempol District Seni Silat Gayong Malaysia (PSSGM) vice-chairman Ahmad Shafiq Zulkifli said the association has seen some 40 new students registering to learn the martial arts in the past three days”. 

Malaysia is set to host the 19th World Pencak Silat tournament from July 26-31 in the historical state of Malacca.

Although the movie has been praised for its intense action scenes, the acting and script has been described by some critics as “over-the-top” and overly dramatic. The characters are often shouting their lines passionately – almost as if it were a play rather than a film. The sound design of the film is reminiscent of Kung-Fu films of the eighties, where sound effects are intense and often superfluous. 

There is a fair amount of religious content as well as nationalistic sentiment with the main hero making statements such as “Islam is my religion, Malay is my nation” and “We fight not to call for people’s attention, but we fight at the command of Allah.” The bad guys in the movie are British, Sikh Indians and other foreigners such as a Chinese nobleman and assassin from Borneo played by Silat master Yayan Ruhian. The movie did not attempt to go deep into the motivations of the antagonists and some critics wished the movie could have been more nuanced – particularly in regards to the villains from other ethnicities. 

Without doubt, this movie has struck a cord with millions of movie-watchers in Malaysia. The intense action, well-choreographed fights and high-emotion scenes as well as the strong nationalistic and religious rhetoric with the call for unity of the Malay people against foreigners is perhaps the sentiment that helped push Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan to be the most successful Malaysian movie of all time. 

Note: Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan is currently not available to view in USA. Contact us