A Letter To My Youth Review
Director: Sim F.
Date Created: 2026-01-30 02:47
3.5
A Letter To My Youth Review: Directed by Sim F. Surat Untuk Masa Mudaku is a gentle coming-of-age drama that leans heavily on emotional memory, loss, and the long shadows cast by childhood trauma. Starring Agus Wibowo as Simon Ferdinan, alongside Fendy Chow and Millo Taslim as the adult and younger versions of Kefas, the movie also stars Aqila Herby, Cleo Haura, Halim Latuconsina and others. The film explores how small acts of compassion can leave lasting imprints across generations.
A Letter To My Youth Review
The plot of Netflix’s A Letter To My Youth follows Simon Ferdinan, who finds himself in charge of a bunch of emotionally damaged kids at a local orphanage. He needed a job, not some kind of idealistic calling, and he showed up with his own set of baggage: grief, loneliness, and a quiet exhaustion. The kids start to respond to his constant presence after some time because his presence becomes particularly effective with the young boy who struggles to control his feelings of anger and loss, and his experience of being left behind. The movie shows how late-life human relationships create permanent emotional wounds through its character dialogues.

The Indonesian coming-of-age drama A Letter To My Youth presents itself as a gentle, authentic film that depicts the process of mourning and isolation and psychological recovery through its careful and restrained presentation of these themes. The movie presents a complex emotional landscape which shows characters dealing with their historical trauma while facing dim prospects of what lies ahead in their lives. The main lesson from the study shows that people can heal through kindness and empathy, but these traits do not function as complete solutions to their problems.
You get drawn into Simon’s life and Kefass ups and downs as both are looking for something. They do not know what it is. Simon wants a reason to keep going. Kefas wants someone to really hear him. The orphanage is where they meet and find what they need. The movie shows how they become friends by sharing things, being honest, and understanding each other. They do not do things to show they care. Instead, they do things that show they trust each other, and it feels real.

The movie does a good job with the main characters, such as Simon, who is a guy who seems really worn out and unhappy, but he is not just a sad person all the time. You can tell he is hurting a lot. He does not say much about it. He mostly shows how he feels by being quiet.
On the other hand, Kefas is a very different person. He gets angry easily. Can be difficult to handle, but you can still understand why he does what he does. He is angry because he is still dealing with a lot of pain from his past. The movie portrays Simon and Kefas as people with real problems. These characters seem like people; they are the kind of people we might know.
They have been shaped by the things that have happened to them, like the people they have lost and the things they have been through, not by the story that is being told about them. The characters feel like they are real because of this, like they are people and not just made up for the story.

The movie A Letter To My Youth really gets to me because of the tone. There is a kind of sadness that’s always there, in the background of the film. This is because it knows that when something bad happens to us, it does not just go away as time passes.
Indonesian movie A Letter To My Youth proves that some of the things that may hurt us can stay with us even when we grow up and have kids or a life. Not many films deal with this type of thing in such a truthful manner, and it does not make suffering look beautiful. It does not attempt to make us feel better too quickly. This particular story does not attempt to change these feelings; it simply lets them be. This makes the story seem real and true. The story is believable because it lets these feelings be without judgment.

The only issue is that it felt too familiar. Some of the elements feel like you know what is going to happen. The film also explains some things in detail. The film is very genuine. It does not take many risks with the story. This means that viewers who have seen films like this before will not be surprised. The film is good. It could be better if it did some things differently. The film does not feel as emotional as it could be because of this. The film and its story are fine. They do not do anything new or exciting.
The acting is really good. They help to advance the plot. Agus Wibowo has done a good job as Simon. He is very subtle. Does not overact. He relies on expressions to convey Simon’s feelings rather than speaking much. Millo Taslim is very convincing as the Kefas. He conveys how confused and nasty the kid can be because of what happened to him. Fendy Chow acts as the adult Kefas. Although we do not get to see him much, he helps us to understand the impact of Simon on the life of Kefas.

Netflix A Letter To My Youth Review: Summing Up
A Letter To My Youth is a film that will have a gentle impact on the viewer. The film, although its story is very familiar and at times very safe, is still a very meaningful film to watch. If you are a fan of films that are very introspective and deal with themes of memory, loss, and the power of human connection, then this film is for you.