Ali and Ratu Ratu Queens is an Indonesian film currently streaming on Netflix with a running time of 1 hour and 42 mins. Lucky Kuswandi’s directorial flick is quite emotional.
The movie opens with a teenage boy sitting in front of a laptop and trying to make a video or something and calling his ‘Mom’ repeatedly. At first sight, I thought his mother has passed away but the deeper I got into the plot, the more it became apparent that this was going to be an emotional rollercoaster ride.
Ali and Ratu Ratu Queens is a film about a teenage boy Ali (played by Iqbaal Ramadhan) whose mom abandoned him back in Jakarta, Indonesia, to chase her dream in New York, when he was a toddler. After many years when Ali’s father dies, he stumbles upon his mom’s letters and passport in a drawer and decides to set out on a journey to New York to find her.
With nothing but an immense amount of bravery, he steps towards New York in search of his mom Mia (played by Marissa Anita). Once Ali reaches New York, he visits an apartment where his mother used to live. There, he meets four crazy but very helpful aunties, Party, Biyah, Ance, and Chinta who work at different places but are planning to start their own Indonesian restaurant. He gets to know that his mother has already moved out of that place. Since he needs a place to stay, Ali moves in with them and together, they set out on a journey to find Mia.
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After many tries, he finally finds his mother but I bet he had no idea that she will pretend not to know him. It seems like she has a different world now in New York and she is happy with her husband and two children. But Ali’s arrival disrupts everything and she is unable to understand what to do. This situation breaks Ali’s heart. So, will he give up and go back to Indonesia? What will happen next? Will his mother ever accept her past life and her son Ali? To know all of that you have to watch this film.
In the course of his journey in Ali and Ratu Ratu Queens, he meets a girl, Eva (played by Aurora Ribero), Ance’s daughter, and falls hard for her. There’s sweet chemistry between the two as well. Will their love brew more? Will Ance accept her daughter Eva flirting with Ali? The answers to these questions will definitely warm your heart!
Stream it or Skip it: Ali and Ratu Ratu Queens
The story is mostly predictable but the emotions will hit you at the right chords. There are two songs in it which are very soothing and goes really well with the situation. This is the first time I am watching an Indonesian drama and I really enjoyed it. The actors have done a great job.
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Here, Ali is a sketch artist and he transfers his sketches, videos, and pictures into animation. At the end of the film, he will be applying for a scholarship (Spoilers Alert). The only thing that I felt was a bit off was the pace of the film. It is a bit slow but worth a watch. The aunties name their restaurant Ratu Ratu Queens which means Queens of the Queens. How sweet!
Ali and Ratu Ratu Queens is currently streaming on Netflix.