Just got back from watching Delon's first ever movie, Vina Bilang Cinta.
Now, you might say that I'm a lil biased here but it was good, man. Well, there's lots of room for improvement but on Delon himself, there's nothing really bad to say about him. Just read a quote from Kompas below:
"Untuk seorang pendatang baru, Delon bolehlah dalam berakting. Dalam beberapa adegan ia berhasil mengimbangi Rachel, yang punya pengalaman lebih dibandingnya."Translation: For a newcomer, Delon's acting is not a disappointment. In some of the scenes, he manages to counter Rachel's, who has considerably more experience than he does.
Agree wholeheartedly with that! I especially like the "showdown" scene when Celli (read: Silly. Who on Earth came up with this name?) confronted Delon's character Tristan about his supposed betrayal. The lines were good and both actors staged it brilliantly. Was so proud of Delon when I saw that particular scene.
Thumbs up to writer, Monty Tiwa, for those inspiring lines. The lines Tristan says about Celli being the beautiful beach he can just sit and look at are perfectly natural and in-context, if you know what I mean. Some other Indonesian movies are too preoccupied with idealism that they turn out wildly unnatural.
The editing could've been better and there are redundancies but to be honest, Pearl Harbour was worse than Vina. You see, I watched Pearl Harbour three times. (Yes, three times. Was totally in love with Josh Hartnett.) And the more I watched it, the more I lost patient with the super-bad editing, the redundant subplots... I mean, what on earth was Cuba Gooding Jr brought in for?
Now, in Vina there's room for improvement, like I said. Some of the cast seem to falter a bit sometimes -they could've found some actors to play the theme park clowns naturally. And I've especially got a chip on my shoulder about the scene where Tristan asks Celli's father to let him take her to dinner. So awkward, man. There should've been a take of him thinking first and then go on with the request.
Or the camera could've zeroed on him while Celli and her Dad were still talking to emphasize Tristan's (apparently) sudden decision.
But... (well, I'm definitely not a director!) at the end of the day, it's a good one. Another round for the writer please... Monty, you did a good job!
Lots of potential... Hope there's more coming from Mr Tiwa.