Raihaanun
May
Overview
Eight years ago, 14 year old May was raped by a group of men. May’s father is devastated, blaming himself for not being able to keep his daughter safe. Traumatized significantly by this incident, May withdraws completely from life.
Cast
12 people
Reviews
4 min readThe Unspoken Weight of May
I’ve seen films about trauma before—ones that scream, ones that weep, ones that drown in their own metaphors. But 27 Steps of May doesn’t do any of that. It sits.
It lingers. It forces you to hold your breath until the silence becomes unbearable. And then, just when you think you can’t take it anymore, it offers a single, fragile thread of hope—not as a solution, but as a question. Can you carry this?
Ravi L. Bharwani’s film is a study in restraint, a quiet rebellion against the expectation that pain must be performed to be understood. The story is simple, almost skeletal: May (Raihaanun), a young woman raped at 14, has withdrawn into silence, her body a fortress of unspoken agony.
Her father (Lukman Sardi), a former boxer, oscillates between guilt and rage, punching bags and strangers in equal measure. Eight years pass like this—grief as a closed loop, a home as a tomb. Until a courier (Verdi Solaiman) arrives with a package that isn’t just a delivery, but a key.
Not to a door, but to a possibility.
What’s remarkable is how little Bharwani relies on dialogue to convey this. The film’s power lies in its silences—the kind that hum with tension, the kind that make you lean forward in your seat as if proximity alone could make you understand. Raihaanun’s performance is a masterclass in physical storytelling.
Watch her hands. They’re never still. They twist the hem of her shirt, pick at scabs, clutch at nothing.
Her face is a mask, but her body betrays her: the way she flinches at sudden noises, the way she curls into herself like a question mark. There’s a moment early on where she stands in front of a mirror, tracing the scars on her wrists with her fingertips. It’s not melodramatic.
Audience Opinions
Audience 7.9/10
"A quiet, visually poetic trauma drama whose near-silent performances and raw emotional honesty leave a lasting bruise."
Emotional impact is the strongest draw, with the story of May and her father described as intimate, intrusive in its closeness, and painfully relatable for those with difficult pasts. Performances by Raihaanun and Lukman Sardi, along with symbolic imagery and the contrast between a dark, confined home and a colorful magician’s world, are praised for conveying grief and tentative healing without much dialogue. latestnetflix.com's read is that the slow, heavy tone, triggering subject matter, and a somewhat idealized, sudden ending make it a demanding experience that some find hard to revisit.
What viewers praise
- Intense emotional impact The portrayal of sexual-assault trauma and its aftermath feels raw, painful, and deeply human, resonating strongly with viewers who carry their own wounds.
- Exceptional lead acting Raihaanun’s largely wordless performance and Lukman Sardi’s guilt-ridden father are frequently singled out as astonishingly expressive and authentic.
- Expressive use of silence Minimal dialogue and heavy reliance on body language and quiet moments are seen as a powerful way to let the trauma and recovery speak for themselves.
- Striking visual contrast The shift between the dark, suffocating home and the colorful, whimsical magician space is praised for mirroring the characters’ emotional journey from confinement toward fragile hope.
- Respectful handling of trauma The film avoids sensationalizing violence, focusing instead on inner scars, self-harm, and slow attempts to live again in a way that feels honest rather than exploitative.
Common complaints
- Very heavy subject matter The focus on rape trauma, self-harm, and persistent psychological damage is described as deeply triggering and exhausting, especially for emotionally fragile viewers.
- Demanding slow pace The deliberately unhurried rhythm and quiet, repetitive routines can feel dragging or hard to endure for those expecting a more plot-driven drama.
- Sudden idealized resolution The final stretch is criticized by some as too neat and dreamlike compared to the earlier rawness, making the ending feel slightly contrived.
- Limited narrative explanation The reliance on symbolism and sparse dialogue leaves certain elements and character shifts feeling underexplained for viewers who prefer clearer exposition.
Recommended for
Slow-burn trauma drama fans Indonesian art-house followers Character-study enthusiasts Viewers of minimal-dialogue films Emotionally intense drama seekers Raihaanun and Lukman Sardi admirers
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsA festival judge also plays a boxing manager
Joko Anwar sat on the Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival jury that gave 27 Steps of May the Golden Hanoman Award on 6 December 2018. The Jakarta Post quoted him saying the film mixed comedy, action, and drama, and that it beat 18 other titles in the Asian Feature race. Wikipedia lists Anwar in the cast as a boxing manager. Nobody in that coverage called it a scandal. latestnetflix.com's read is that it is still the kind of Indonesian film-world overlap a gossip desk circles in red.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCc4FZhZMoU
Ravi Bharwani directed. Rayya Makarim wrote. They produced with Wilza Lubis for Green Glow Pictures. Raihaanun plays May. Lukman Sardi plays her father. Ario Bayu is the magician next door. Verdi Solaiman is the courier. The film opened 8 October 2018 in Busan's A Window on Asian Cinema program, then reached Indonesian theaters on 27 April 2019. Wikipedia counted 57,416 admissions and about Rp 2.2 billion. TMDB lists the same $146,830 as revenue and a 1 hour 52 minute clock. Netflix acquired it and posted the title on 1 October 2021. The official trailer on the film's YouTube channel still sells a locked room and a hole in a wall, not a festival speech. , , ,
Bharwani told Infoscreening the script began as an obsession with alienation, then as a response to the May 1998 riots, when many women were raped. He switched to English for the plot that followed. "Later it develops into story of rape, father, magician." He said the research ran through articles, survivor accounts, books, and talks with a psychologist. The finding that stayed with him was how much a survivor needs a support system. Raihaanun, he said, was the most convincing May in the room. Her near silence is not a flourish. He said the character had closed the story of eight years of trauma until the magician appeared. TMDB's English overview is the logline, not a leak. Eight years earlier, 14-year-old May was raped by a group of men. Her father blames himself. She withdraws from life. ,
The Citra night turned into a plea
On 8 December 2019 at the Indonesian Film Festival, Raihaanun won Best Actress. Kompas reported her thank-you, then the last line as she left the stage, hoping that all violence against women would vanish from the earth. It was her first Citra Award. Wikipedia also lists a Malaysia Golden Global Best Actor win for Lukman Sardi, a New Hope Award for Bharwani, and later Maya Awards for both leads. The film never became a local box-office monster. Festival hardware and a Netflix pickup are what kept May in circulation. Treat any rumor that this is a straight biopic of one named survivor as rumor. Bharwani framed it as alienation plus 1998, then as a father, a magician, and a woman trying to leave a bubble. , ,
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.