Dear Nathan Hello Salma is a 2018 teen romance drama directed by Indra Gunawan, with Jefri Nichol, Amanda Rawles, Susan Sameh, and Devano Danendra in the lead roles. The film portrays the challenging love story of Salma and Nathan, who must choose between their love and family.
Salma’s home, which should be her sanctuary, feels suffocating as her parents demand that she get into the University of Indonesia and refrain from dating. Following the pressure, Salma loses herself and is faced with the ultimate test of love when she meets Nathan.
Nathan, who is trying to better himself, accidentally gets into a fight over Salma and is forced to leave the school and separation from Salma. This separation is not a long-distance kind of story, but rather their love story comes to an abrupt end.
While living his life at his new school, Nathan meets a girl named Rebecca (Susan Sameh) who’s facing serious problems with one of the popular boys. Nathan ends up defending her, and their unexpected friendship begins to blossom. However, Rebecca mistakes Nathan’s kindness for love, and things get complicated.
Meanwhile, Salma is under constant pressure from her father to pursue medicine at UI and is set up with Ridho to keep her away from Nathan. The pressure placed on Salma crushes her, and she falls into depression.
Eventually, Salma meets Rebecca, who opens a space for depressed youngsters, and Salma is allowed to express herself. It’s through Rebecca that Salma reunites with her ex-boyfriend, Nathan. But with Ridho’s presence and her father’s disapproval, the relationship between Salma and Nathan appears to be doomed.
The premise of the movie is refreshingly close to reality. The movie touches on mental health issues among teenagers as a consequence of their family lives, and it’s an issue that needs more attention in society. However, the execution of the storyline seems rushed, and a lot of scenes are abrupt and disjointed.
The breakup of Nathan and Salma’s relationship wasn’t handled correctly, and the Rebecca subplot wasn’t fleshed-out to completion. The theme of depression was displayed too briefly, and Salma’s recovery seemed too easy. The sudden appearance of Salma’s father from Canada and his arrogant behavior also seemed out of place and didn’t fit in with the rest of the movie’s story.
In conclusion, Dear Nathan Hello Salma is a teen romance movie with a different perspective than most. It tackles some important themes in modern society like mental health, but the storytelling of the film takes away from its potential impact. Despite its shortcomings, the movie may still be an excellent watch to anyone looking to see young love in its rawest form.
