Asia's newest martial arts action star, Iko Uwais, blasts on to the screen in Merantau, a rousing action-thriller that introduces Western audiences to the rarely-seen on screen Indonesian martial art of Silat, an incredible combination of strikes, joint manipulation, bladed weapons, throws and animal-derived fighting techniques that take hand-to-hand combat into a whole new realm.

Echoing the visceral thrills of recent martial arts hits such as Ong Bak and Chocolate, Merantau unleashes a fresh new wave of Asian filmmaking that has been hailed by Harry Knowles at AintItCoolNews.com as "non-stop AWESOME" and by John Mosby of Impact Magazine as "jaw-droppingly good...on a par with Bourne."

Written and directed by Welsh-born Gareth Evans (Footsteps), Merantau stars Iko Uwais as Yuda, a young farmer and skilled Silat practitioner from Minangkabau in West Sumatera. Following a centuries old tradition, Yuda is about to embark on his ‘merantau', a rite of passage that requires him to leave his home and family to make a name for himself in the wider world. He heads for the bustling city of Jakarta, where he immediately finds himself homeless, jobless and alone. A chance run-in with a juvenile street thief, Adit, leads Yuda to an encounter in which he is compelled to defend Adit's elder sister, Astri, from a violent situation involving her abusive employer, Johni, and his henchmen.

Unknown to Yuda, Johni is a major supplier of local girls to a human trafficking ring led by a volatile psychopath, Ratger, and his right-hand man, Luc, and he needs Astri to make up the numbers in his latest delivery. Johni kidnaps the girl and, once again, Yuda comes to her aid, this time rescuing her from the traffickers' clutches in a striking one-man assault on their headquarters. Injured in the confrontation, Ratger determines to seek bloody retribution and to recover his ‘merchandise' in the process. Yuda, Astri and Adit are forced to go on the run in the unforgiving city with a swarm of pimps and gangsters dogging their every step. With escape seemingly beyond their grasp, Yuda realises he has no choice but to face their foes head-on in a no-holds-barred showdown.

Building to an adrenaline-charged, jaw-dropping finale, "Merantau's mix of muscle, melancholy and mighty martial arts impresses" (Impact Magazine) and will no doubt leave audiences desperate to see just what director Evans and star Uwais will come up with next.

Merantau (cert. 18) will be released on DVD by E1 Entertainment on 26th April 2010 at the RRP of £12.99. No extras have been listed.