Markus, an inveterate criminal, visits Marlina, a widow, in her secluded home on a barren hill in Sumba. He tells the widow that he intends to steal her livestock and then he and his friends will rape her that very night. While waiting for that moment, he asks her for some chicken soup.

The opening scene creates instant tension. Almost all the foreign reviews of Mouly Surya's movie admit to a certain sense of awe, not only inspired by Sumba's sta