Dilan 1990

Never read the novel and been hearing the hype. I finally found it on Netflix. The acting of Dilan character is very bad. This character is already a stalker (creepy). Add bad acting, unnatural speaking tone (what teenager speaks that way?!) into the mix and you end up with a creepy stalker instead of a charming rebel. Other than this, the story telling is a drag, not engaging. I tried to enjoy this movie but it's so bad that I couldn't justify the time I spend (read: waste) to watch it. I don't recommend it.

The emotion in this movie is so strong. It begins with some cheesy/sweet talk between Dilan & Milea, and ends up with strong love connection. The costumes & color cinematography are inline with the background year. This is a cute movie that makes you recall your memories about your first love and school friends. Simple yet heartwarming :)

So i just found out about this movie a week before its release. I've read the books, the first and second (the main story) and i really liked it (the books), and I'm really curious how they are going to cramp 2 worth of novel to a moviel, and boy i didn't expect it to be an adaptation of the FIRST book only.

First of all, the name Dilan has been very popular for the last 2 months in my country, the book itself was huge in selling and i believe 3/4 teenagers in Indonesia ranging from 13 to 24 have read the book so it is really well known. I went to watch it with my friends and we all agree that some books should not be adapted to the big screen.

The Plot

While some may disagree, i think the movie has no plot whatsoever. Yes i know, it needs to stay faithful to the novel, but not like this. It's not a story, it's a compilation of the main character's struggle to capture the heroine's heart, it has some up and down but not a conflict, no conclusion. You felt nothing, not a single accomplishment when you're finally done with the movie. Instead of doing a very close adaptation to the novel, i think the movie will be more interesting if they cramp 2 novel to a one long a*s movie, because they would have a Conflict and a Resolution to the conflict, or even better? They make it a TV series (i know the quality of some Indonesian TV shows but the recent one from NET is better). The point is, they want to milk this movie, getting the most out of it, even if they make something this ridiculous, teenagers and the novel's fan would still see it.

The characters

Okay, let me get this straight, I'm not a hater of Dilan's actor as some Indonesia male teen are, but i think he's not fit to play Dilan, not because of his acting (it's okay) but for his charm. Dilan in the book is neither ugly nor handsome but this guy? Some of female teenagers in the cinema was literally screaming in awe when he get his games out (which i don't like, pls don't be that person). He is too attractive to play Dilan and i know exactly why they picked him, well how to attract female teenagers to watch it? The same formula works vice versa for Milea's actress, but i have no qualm about it because she is supposed to be beautiful. The only thing i dislike about her actress is the way she act, i think it was just a little off and sometimes you will cringe on her acting, but meh, it was probably just me.

Overall

The cheesyness of the dialogue may be too hard to receive when it's your first time seeing Dilan in action (not reading the novel), but bear with it so your gf can be happy, some readers of the novel may understand (especially if you're a male) that the feel you get when reading and watching is different, so if first timers find the movie too cheesy to watch, try the novel, you'll understand why i like it more. The movie itself i think were pretty enjoyable, depends on what kind of person you are. If you're looking for a sweet romance about a girl and boy i think this movie will be enjoyable for you. But if you're looking for a deeper stories or a conflict of some kind that needs a resolution, don't bother watching it. Me personally, i kinda enjoy it because it's really faithful to the novel, but kinda disappointed too because it was the kind of movie that you'll forget when eating dinner after watching it.

This movie have a lot of romatic word and goes viral in indonesian's teen and all indonesian netizen. the Dilan character I think he plays good and make me think that I really wanna be people like him. The strong character in Dilan really inspire me, and the chemistry between Dilan and Milea is really sweet. sometimes I feel like cringe and laugh and sometimes I feel like I was in high school.

when I see bandung 1990, I got problem here, I see a lot of modern building there and modern cars althought that was a lot off 1990's car too.

the fighting scene over all is good, and I feel really angry when I see Milea was slapped by Adnan.

I watched this film about four years ago and dared to voice criticism this year. I think this film is seriously overrated. The acting of the two main characters is very stiff. There were many comments from people who thought the same as me that the main actor's speaking intonation when delivering dialogue seemed artificial or unnatural, as did the main actress. I'm still confused about why the main actor was nominated in the best actor category. Sorry if I'm presumptuous.

One more thing, the depiction of the 90s setting is really not visible. From clothes to hairstyles it looks very modern. Despite all that, I can still be a little entertained by this film, even though it's mostly uncomfortable.