DANCES WITH FILMS 2026 REVIEW! Bandit is a crime thriller from director Brian L. Tan, aka BLT. When two friends desperate for money decide to steal a car, who they steal it from—and what they find inside—leads to a night of trouble.
In the film, we’re introduced to Gatra (Wafda Saifan Luis) and his very pregnant wife, Maya (Claresta Taufan Kusumarina). They’re happily in love and can’t wait for the birth of their daughter. One night at home, Maya has an issue with her pregnancy, and the couple rushes to the hospital. Fortunately, all Maya needs is some medication, but after paying the doctor’s consultation fees, they have no money left.
This causes Gatra to reach out to his old friend Tier (Roy Sungkono). Tier doesn’t quite live the straight life, makes questionable decisions, and deals with some shady characters to get by. Tier doesn’t have the money Gatra needs, and the two proceed to get drinks and catch up.
As the night is wrapping up, the two drunk friends stumble across a parked Mercedes G-Wagon, and Tier has an idea: for Gatra to steal it and then resell it at a chop shop. The plan seems easy enough, and before Gatra can protest, Tier jumps into the car only to find that it’s a stick shift that he can’t drive. Then comes another shocking surprise: the driver is standing out of sight behind the vehicle. Luckily, Gatra knows how to drive a stick shift, but in their desperation to get away, he puts the car in reverse and accidentally runs into the owner, knocking him out cold. The two now have no choice but to go through with the theft, and as they take off, they make another discovery: a dead body in the back. Tier’s simple solution has now become very problematic.
Beni (T. Rifnu Wikana) stands his ground during a tense confrontation in Bandit.
“When two friends desperate for money decide to steal a car…leads to a night of trouble.”
Director Brian L. Tan is from the United States, so taking this story to Bali and using Indonesian actors who don’t share his native tongue is quite a feat. The casting was wonderful. I am not familiar with any of these actors, yet I felt a great connection to each of them and the multidimensional characters they created right from the jump. I immediately felt the history of friendship between Gatra and Tier and the deep love Gatra has for his wife, Maya. You can’t help but root for Gatra in this film. There is another character to watch out for, Beni, played by T. Rifnu Wikana, whom viewers will be talking about afterward. Hollywood likes to stick to “name” actors to sell films, but this film is another example that you don’t need them with the proper directing and casting. As they say, it’s all about the execution, and Tan did his job.
Speaking of Tan’s directing, there’s one sequence that really grabbed me that takes place in a nightclub. There’s a scuffle that breaks out in front of a DJ stage, and this could very well have been over-choreographed with a lot of close-up action shots. Steven Seagal does this now in a lot of his B movies, and they’re terrible. But here, Tan chooses to use a wide shot, putting the camera on a dolly and panning it left to right and vice versa. The technique totally works.
Finally, as an audience member at the film’s premiere, there’s a scene near the climax that prompted the audience to clap. That told me two things: that’s the impact of a good film, and that’s why we watch movies in theaters. It’s all about the shared viewing experience, and with Bandit, I was happy to have been there to see it on the big screen.
Bandit screened at the 2026 Dances with Films.
"…it’s all about the execution, and Tan did his job."
