The World of Movies: One Day We’ll Talk About Today
Written by Rachael Crawley
The World of Movies is a series that explores global cinema, drawing on films from many countries, industries and eras. This week, we trace the history of an Indonesian family.
One Day We’ll Talk About Today.
May contain spoilers.
One Day We’ll Talk About Today (Angga Dwimas Sasongko, 2020), based on a popular novel, tells the story of an ordinary family – mom, dad, and three kids. We flash back and forth between their childhood and the present day. Their growing-up years seem to have been marked by parental pressure. While outwardly they have the appearance of a happy, close-knit family, when they get together, there is an obvious disconnect between them. The three children learned certain patterns young. Now they carry them into the present day.
All three of them – Awan, Aurora and Angkasa – are learning to navigate the pitfalls of adult life. The youngest, Awan (Rachel Amanda), tends to be the focus, though not exclusively so. When she fails at an important career milestone, she is forced to re-evaluate. While this includes rethinking her career, and embracing the possibility of romance, her thoughts always pivot back to her family and the effect they have had on each other. Angkasa, meanwhile, is trying to sustain a failing relationship, while Aurora disconnects from her family to pursue an art career. For each of them, something is missing.
Such themes could easily lead to melodrama. Occasionally the movie slips into this, but in general, it’s a very grounded story. This is mostly due to the connection between the characters, which is realistic in both writing and performance. Awan’s romance is also pretty low-key, and plays out naturally. The result is a family that feels real, with character arcs that seem earned, not least through the backstory. Each character is adequately explained, especially later in the film. I do think the movie could have been shorter – the second half starts to drag, verging on ending fatigue. More concise editing would have made it stronger.
One Day We’ll Talk About Today.
At first I was lukewarm on the flashback structure – the initial scenes of their childhood tend to be a bit over-the-top and don’t seem to add a great deal of information. As the movie progresses, the purpose of the scenes becomes clearer, and the viewer begins to understand. It’s also in this section that the parents, very much secondary figures until this point, get their chance to stand out.
One Day We’ll Talk About Today won several awards in Indonesia, mostly for its acting and its soundtrack. I would agree that these are its strongest points. As acting goes, I particularly enjoyed the performances from the three siblings, who suggest the difficult history between them while still making their bond clear. They work well not only as individuals, but as an ensemble, which can be tricky. The music is certainly a standout, both in its score and song choices (including a couple of great concert scenes).
This is an honest and well-executed family drama, which gives a lot of insight into its five central characters. It takes time to unfold, so it requires some patience from the viewer. That said, it is a rewarding experience, chiefly from its performances. It will appeal most to fans of character-driven dramas. For more casual viewers, though, there is still a lot to offer.
Rachael Crawley holds a Master's Degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, and has worked with film in Canada and in Europe. She adores language and cinema, and how these subjects interact with each other.