Storyline
Milea (Vanesha Prescilla) met with Dilan (Iqbaal Ramadhan) at a high school in Bandung in 1990, when Milea moved from Jakarta to Bandung. An unusual introduction brings Milea to know the uniqueness of Dilan, smart, kind, romantic. The way Dilan approaches Milea is not the same as other male friends, even Beni (Brandon Salim), Milea's boyfriend in Jakarta. The journey of their relationship is not always smooth. Beni, Anhar (Giulio Perangkan), Kang Adi (Refal Hadi) color the journey. Dilan makes Milea believe that she can arrive at the destination safely.
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.