Critic Reviews

It’s a thrilling, poignant accomplishment, as uncompromisingly bleak as it is epic in scope.

The East is an unrelenting condemnation of the Netherlands’ misguided attempt to return its colonial outreach to a time long gone while hitting most (if not all) of the “doomed war” niche genre movie tropes without ever actually teetering into cliche. That’s an ever-tricky move that Taihuttu aces.

The East is essentially divided into two halves, and neither is more illuminating than the other.

The details may be novel — even eye-opening for some — but this story of white guilt and brutality feels mighty old.

Covering the Indonesian war of independence through the viewpoint of the occupier, The East is yet another pale addition to the format, rehashing empty metaphors that are barren of emotional complexity, historical poignancy or visual ingenuity.