Indonesian film Dear David just as relatable as Hollywood teen romcoms, say actress and director

LOS ANGELES – Part of an ambitious slate of made-in-Indonesia films and series announced by Netflix in 2022, Dear David is a coming-of-age romantic-comedy drama about three Indonesian teenagers, who learn to embrace their sexuality and other parts of themselves they once found shameful.

And its Indonesian director and lead actress say its universal themes make it as emotionally relatable as any Hollywood teen romance, albeit one with a strong sense of Indonesian identity.

The Lucky Kuswandi-helmed movie – now streaming on Netflix – is set at an Indonesian high school, where a straight-A student named Laras (Shenina Cinnamon) is as strait-laced as they come.

But she is suddenly outed as the author of a risque blog – one filled with elaborate sexual fantasies about her classmate David (Emir Mahira) – that scandalises the entire school.

And her future hangs in the balance as she navigates the fallout with David as well as her former best friend Dila (Caitlin North Lewis), whom David has a crush on.

Chatting to The Straits Times and other media over Zoom, Cinnamon – an Indonesian actress who starred in the crime drama Photocopier (2021) – believes Dear David’s look at teenage angst and romance is highly relatable despite its cultural specificity.

Most people will know someone like her character, she says.

“Laras is very ambitious and diligent, she’s the head of the student body and she loves her family, so her life has always been pretty square. But stay tuned for what happens next,” the 24-year-old says through an interpreter.

She adds that emotionally, Dear David is “no different” from Hollywood fare of the same genre.

“What makes it Indonesian is the background of the characters and the setting of the film, but at its core emotionally, it is a very universal story about self-compassion, self-love and self-discovery.”

Kuswandi agrees.

“This is a movie with very universal themes, and it is not only for teenagers even though the packaging is for teenagers,” says the 42-year-old, who directed the comedy-drama Ali & Ratu Ratu Queens (2021), also available on Netflix.

“It’s the idea of passion and desire and really complicated relationships that involve unrequited feelings.”

He adds: “Right now, we are in an era where we’re demanded to be more and do more, especially with teenagers on social media, where they always compare themselves with other people, so there’s always this pressure.

“The characters in Dear David are experiencing that and the idea of being compassionate to ourselves, and living with the complexity of who you are, is something rarely talked about or practised, so for me it felt important to discuss it.

“So this is not really an ‘Indonesian’ movie – it can be for everyone.”

And although she is older than her character, Cinnamon says she felt an immediate connection to her the first time she read the script.

“Because I’ve been in that timeline and I’ve been in Laras’ position of finding my identity and being on my own journey to fully accepting myself.

“And I’m sure everyone can relate to going through a long process before they can actually love themselves.”

But despite its universality, Kuswandi feels it was still essential to convey a strong and contemporary sense of national identity for this made-in-Indonesia tale.

He says: “I think it’s really important for us to not just represent Indonesia in a more traditional, cultural way – the way foreigners see us – but also in a very urban and contemporary way.”

In the way they live, dress and speak, the three main characters of Laras, David and Dila “are a representation of Indonesia’s Gen Z, especially in urban areas”, he explains.

“And we have a representation of very diverse characters, including underrepresented minorities, in this film. So it is very much a representation of contemporary urban Indonesia.”

Dear David is available on Netflix.