Singapore & Asian Film News Portal since 2006
REVIEWS

Netflix’s Hidden Gem ‘One Day We’ll Talk About Today’ Is a Realistic Story of a Family in Grief6 min read

29 September 2020 5 min read

author:

Netflix’s Hidden Gem ‘One Day We’ll Talk About Today’ Is a Realistic Story of a Family in Grief6 min read

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Harboring a deep secret, a seemingly happy family confronts the trauma of years past as a clash between generations threatens to separate them.

Director: Angga Dwimas Sasongko

Cast: Rio Dewanto, Sheila Dara Aisha, Rachel Amanda, Susan Bachtiar, Donny Damara

Year: 2020

Country: Indonesia

Language: Bahasa Indonesia/Indonesian

Runtime: 120 minutes


With streaming on the rise and tons of films available on platforms like Netflix, it can’t be helped that some gems may be overlooked. On top of that, films from Southeast Asia are barely promoted and are relegated to being swept under the mass amount of programs streaming services offer. One of these is One Day We’ll Talk About Today or Nanti Kita Cerita Tentang Hari Ini and it definitely deserves more credit than it gets.

Released earlier this year, the Indonesian film tells the story of a family and how they cope with tragedy. While the premise may seem simple, it is anything but. Told half in the present and half in the past, the story unfolds in separate timelines following each of the three children’s trials and tribulations.

In the film, we meet a seemingly perfect family of five, however we soon learn that appearances are deceiving as we see them struggle with long-held trauma. We see the characters try to cope, leading them to push each other away. The family hold on to an all too familiar mentality of ‘out of sight, out of mind’, not discussing any of their emotions and feelings, instead burying and repressing it. This in turn infects their relationships and ends up being more toxic than good.

In One Day We’ll Talk About Today, Awan (Rachel Amanda) is the youngest of three siblings and the sheltered princess of the family. We watch as everyone in the family bends over backwards for her, sacrificing their relationships and putting their careers on the line. This in turn creates a strain in the relationship between the siblings.

The film gives you a real portrayal of families and acknowledges the complications that come with living and growing up together. If you have any siblings, you would be able to relate. The way the three children of the family have rivalries and feuds but ultimately still love each other is something that hits close to home.

This film is grounded and genuine with the heart of the drama being the family dynamic. And the fact of the matter is that you can tell that this family loves each other just in their own misguided way, which makes it all the more painful for the viewer. We see this from Narendra’s (Donny Damara) intensity about caring for Awan, which in turn alienates his two other children, making them bitter towards their youngest sibling.

As the story is told in the past, obviously there would be child actors. While some may have their gripes with child actors with how hit-or-miss they are, One Day We’ll Talk About Today does well in casting. The children acting are believable and despite not being perfect, you can truly feel them giving their best and doing well to convey the emotions they are meant to. Some of the most poignant scenes come from the seven year old M. Adhiyat playing young Angkasa. The strong performance truly plucks at your heart strings and evokes a strong sense of pity and sadness.

On top of that, the adult cast also does very well too, particularly the patriarch of the family played by Donny Damara. He portrays the loving father, blinded by a warped sense of guilt. He is constantly trying his best to fix his family, only to make things worse. Damara absolutely nails the role, staying true to his character with lines read in such an intense sense of anguish that the emotions transcend the screen.

The camera work also adds to the film. During the chaotic scenes, the camera does well to truly make you feel the fear and suffocation of the film’s characters. The sheer panic of the situation is heightened by the closeups and the shaky cam.

One Day We’ll Talk About Today was something I truly enjoyed. It not only was a heart-warming tale but also a genuine and relatable film. With a simple premise and stellar performances, I would say that this is a film not to be overlooked. It stays as a realistic portrayal of families and does not go heavy on the melodrama. Everything that happens on screen seems rather plausible in our everyday lives and it is this relatability that truly let it resonate with me.

While drama is not my go-to genre for movies, One Day We’ll Talk About Today is a really unique watch that I highly recommend, especially with moments that are so heartfelt and real. It captures the essence of growing up and the complexity of familial bonds. The film is somewhat of a cautionary tale about how to deal with grief and support each other in hard times. Yet it also is an idealistic portrayal of a loving family, giving us both the rawness and the heart-felt love of a messy, loving family.

Overall it was a cathartic watch, though the start may be slow and characters skirt around each other instead of talking about their feelings, the resolution is worth the wait. As the threads unravel to show more perspectives on the events that occurred earlier, you get to see how the family had constantly supported each other. Watching One Day We’ll Talk About Today, gives you the belief that no matter what, you always have family and family comes through for you in the end and honestly there is no message more important.


Catch the trailer below


Read more:
A Look Back at the Films From Singapore Writers Festival’s ‘Utter’ Initiative
Raw and Gritty, ‘#Alive’ Is a Zombie Film Centred on the Everyday Man
A Film Festival First-Timer’s Take On SeaShorts Film Festival 2020

Catch One Day We’ll Talk About Today on these streaming services

An avid reader and movie watcher struggling to balance a love for life with inherent existential nihilism.
%d bloggers like this: