I’ll be honest here: I rarely watch Indonesian movies. This one, though, was driven by the knowledge that this is directed by Angga Sasongko (the one who also directs Stealing Raden Saleh) and Rachel Amanda and Sheila Dara are starring in it. I didn’t even realize that this was the sequel to Nanti Kita Cerita Tentang Hari Ini (or, One Day We’ll Talk About Today).

Driven by impulsivity (as how it is usually done in my life) I went to the nearest cinema and watched Jalan yang Jauh Jangan Lupa Pulang, or, Walk Far but Don’t Forget to Come Back Home, by myself. It’s kinda worth my time, I’d say.

(I know that is a shitty translation of the title, but please bear with that, I literally type this review at one in the morning /cry)

[ For more complete information, visit this movie’s Letterboxd page, here! ]

I sat in the cinema and, in my opinion, got the nicest seat (the very last row, exactly in the middle so I can see the whole screen easily), and I was ready to watch without any expectation.

It was, arguably, a nice movie. I kinda envisioned myself crying, because, well, this is a story about family and someone who lives far away from home. The typical heart wrenching family drama movie, you know the drill. In the end, I did cry, tho.

A small note from me: I will compare this movie with Stealing Raden Saleh a lot, because it was literally the latest Indonesian movie that I’ve seen and it was also directed by Angga Sasongko. I won’t compare both movies in terms of genre, oh no no. It’s just about how it was shot, how the scoring is done, and—well, technical things, you know.

And also, this review is not spoiler free!

What Stands Out to Me

Once in Stealing Raden Saleh’s behind-the-scenes video, Angga Sasongko talked about his signature: he does his angles as a POV—how it follows the movement of the main characters as the third person in the room. 

It is immediately apparent in the early scenes; the way the camera moves with Aurora, our main character, as she wakes up, the way the camera follows Kit from inside the bus as he tries to catch Aurora, and so on, and so forth. Several times, there are these scenes where the human characters are not even in focus, and the camera focuses on the background instead. This kind of photography works for me; I think those shoots are beautiful.

It’s also worth noting that, even though the setting is in London, the crew doesn’t shoot the movie as tourists. I believe this has been said in the behind-the-scenes video somewhere. They focus on the “ugly side” instead—the struggles, the hard-work they have to do as a foreigner working (and studying) in a foreign land. I appreciate the realism here, it’s a nice touch.

Moving on, the next thing that stands out to me is the storytelling. The movie is presented in a non-linear style, and as someone who really likes this kind of storytelling, I was thrilled to see how it’s done nicely in an Indonesian movie! It’s nicely done and it’s not too exhaustive to keep track of for people who get confused easily.

The last thing that I want to mention is the soundtracks. They are nicely done (hooray, Abel Huray!) and I somehow recognize the similarity on how the soundtracks are put with Stealing Raden Saleh (again, because they both are directed by the same person.)

Another thing about scoring: when Dunia Tipu-Tipu by Yura Yunita is played, it immediately reminds me of how Sebuah Kisah Klasik cover by Rendy Pandugo played in Stealing Raden Saleh. The immediate thought that occurred was that: oh, so Angga Sasongko likes to put songs with opposite meanings as the scenes in his movie, huh?

What I mean is this. The scene is Aurora moving away from her previous flat with Jem. They separated because of Jem’s anger issue and, cough, Aurora’s running away issues. The song that is played, Dunia Tipu-Tipu, is this:

Di dunia tipu-tipu, kamu tempat aku bertumpu.

Baik, jahat, abu-abu, tapi warnamu putih untukku.

[ In the world of lies, you’re my place to lean on.

Good, bad, gray, but your color is white for me.]

Well, she literally chooses the wrong person, and the soundtrack seems like mocking her, because she thought Jem’s color was white, but apparently he’s not.

Yet, if we see more, that scene is where Aurora moves out and is helped by Honey. It can be that the person indicated in the song is her, because she’s the stability that Aurora wants, the pillar that helps her when she’s not okay. Honey (and Kit) is Aurora’s place to lean on. So, in a way, the soundtrack fits.

Stealing Raden Saleh spoiler alert! This also happens here, too. In this case, the scene is like this: Tuktuk is retained, Fella and Ucup are hiding in an unknown flat, Sarah, Piko, and Gofar are in Piko’s studio. The song that is played is a Sheila on 7 cover of Sebuah Kisah Klasik, and the lyric is:

Bersenang-senanglah, karna hari ini yang ‘kan kita rindukan di hari nanti,

Sebuah kisah klasik untuk masa depan

Bersenang-senanglah, karna waktu ini yang ‘kan kita banggakan di hari tua.

[ Just have fun, because today is what we will miss someday,

A classic, old time story in our future

Just have fun, because at the moment, it’s what we’ll be proud of in our old days. ]

And, well, is being retained in the police station something to be proud of? Is feeling anxious because not knowing where your friends are, something to reminisce about in our old days? They aren’t, but in a way, they are.

It just feels very ironic; their “proud” moment is literally when Tuktuk is in jail, and everyone else cannot do anything about it. It easily becomes one of my favorite scenes in Stealing Raden Saleh.

Final Thoughts

Aurora’s story kinda resonates to me because I am, too, living alone in a city far away from her home country. Yet, while Aurora has found herself a concept of home, I think I haven’t had one, yet. The fact that this movie doesn’t glorify the concept of “home is your blood family” is a nice and fresh touch. Not everyone has the “perfect” family, and not every family has to be blood-related!

Overall, if you can relate to either the middle-child problem or the far-away from home problem, I think this is a movie that you can watch if you want a good cry. The casts are excellent, they deliver the lines and emotions nicely. The pace is just right, and each portion of Aurora’s problem is enough-sized; not drawn too long nor executed too quickly. It’s an enjoyable movie, really.