Wait Until I Make It

Call Me Dunham

“The most Lebaran film of Lebaran” that’s what people have been saying about this one. **Tunggu Aku Sukses Nanti** comes with a fairly simple premise: a young unemployed man struggling to find a job to prove himself to those who look down on him. But the line between perseverance and his obsession with validation slowly drags him into deeper problems. I’ve seen plenty of films like this before, but honestly, what makes this one interesting is its Lebaran setting. It’s not just a backdrop it also works as a critique of behaviors we often see in big Indonesian families: being overly involved in other people’s lives, while masking pride and showing off as if it’s genuine concern. The film portrays this quite clearly through Arga’s extended family. Family gatherings become a stage for showing off achievements, which builds resentment in Arga. It shapes his mindset into believing that working isn’t about making a living, but about chasing validation and recognition. And this is where you really see how environment can shape the way we think. It all comes back to one question: are we living for ourselves, or for other people’s opinions? As for the flaws, I’d say they’re quite significant but also somewhat expected. It feels like either the writing is weak in places, or there’s an attempt to adjust things for its Lebaran market appeal. Some scenes are overly dramatized when they actually would’ve worked better if handled more subtly though I get that it might be done to make things easier for the audience to follow. There are also a few important conflicts (won’t mention them because they’re pretty spoilery) that should’ve had proper resolutions, but instead just kind of disappear. That’s unfortunate, because they’re actually important for Arga’s character development. Even by the end, his character doesn’t feel fully resolved. That said, I’m still pretty satisfied with the film overall. I even watched it at night, so when I walked out of the mall, the melancholic atmosphere kinda lingered… 😂