Brief Story Line
Set in the year 2030 in the aftermath of pandemic, the world has changed a lot including the ban of dating and the legal marriage was set at the age of 17 years old. Three childhood best friends named Salina (Amanda Rawles - Dear Nathan, Jailangkung etc), Ulfah (Maizura - Tarung Sarung etc) and Tara (Asmara Abigail - Perempuan Tanah Jahanam, Abracadabra etc) were part of the girls who dreamt of the perfect married life and went for a retreat at an organization called The Light.
This organization was said to be the place where people would find their perfect match and lived happily ever after. The Light was led by its charismatic leader Ali Khan (Chicco Jerikho - Foxtrot 6, A Copy of My Mind etc) together with his wife Sofia (Ayushita - Reuni Z, Perburuan etc). During her stay at the Light, Salina met a boy who she felt attached with named Hafiz (Jerome Kurnia - Surat Dari Kematian etc). However, as the girls were living their dreams and getting prepared for life after the Light, it would seem that things might not be as perfect as they thought.
So how would the story conclude? You can find them all in this drama thriller movie.
End of Brief Story Line
When I found out about this movie (it was promoted in social media as well as on Netflix itself), I actually had high hopes. I thought this did not look like any standard Indonesian movies which usually were either horror or teenage romance drama. So I started watching this with lots of excitement. The beginning of the movie was actually pretty good as it showed the aftermath of pandemic and set in the future with new rules & regulation.
As we were introduced with the main cast, I opted to have an open mind despite few of them seemed to be not really convincing in their roles. But as soon as we were shown the seminar-like scene, I felt there was a weird scene involving one of the girls and subsequently a lot of things that did not seem to have proper context which rather confused me. However, as the story progressed, I could slowly understand where the story was heading. Unfortunately though, the mystery & thrill was not as spectacular or extraordinary as I had hoped for. In fact it was a bit of a let down, especially when I found out what the finale going to be.
During the 1 hour 46 minutes duration of the movie, there were plenty of nice songs accompanied us. I watched during the closing credits that some of the lyrics of the English language songs were written by Nia Dinata herself. She served as the director and co-writer with Lucky Kuswandi (Madame X, Ali & Ratu Ratu Queens etc) in this movie. Btw there was no mid or post end credit scene here. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed with how the film turned out. It was quite below expectation, especially with Nia Dinata at the helm, since she had vast experience in directing successful and/or critically acclaimed movies such as Ca Bau Kan, Arisan! and its sequel and few others. Although I had to applaud her brilliant idea of making this kind of anti mainstream story in Indonesia.
I mentioned above that few of the main cast were not truly convincing in their parts. It was not only because of their acting but also the appearance. The main focus of the story was the teenage boys and girls' dreams of having their perfect life by the time they reach 17 years old. But I thought some of them did not look their age and make it hard to believe this is a story of teenagers. Plus no offence to Chicco Jerikho (I like his performance in other movies), but personally I thought he did not seem to be suitable playing the role of a charismatic, charming and suave humanist organization leader. Oh talking about the cast, there was a surprise cameo appearance of one famous & popular Indonesian director in here.
Overall this movie was something that could have been a great breakthrough in the Indonesian cinemas, but for me it did not really perform to my high expectations. I did like the idea, the music, the good enough special effects (those high tech gadgets look great) and the cinematography. However I would have preferred a darker mystery, a more spectacular conclusion, plus probably different casting to some of the main cast. So if you are interested in watching an Indonesian movie that is unlike the usual genre, this one certainly fit the category. As long as you manage your expectation, this one should be entertaining enough.
Mike's movie moments rating: 3 out of 5 stars
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