Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saya suka film di mana aktor dan aktrisnya bermain natural, dan sutradaranya menjaga naskah tetap sederhana. - I like movies where the actors and actresses act naturally, and the director keeps the script simple.

Possessive “his/her/its/their”
- aktor dan aktrisnya ≈ “its actors and actresses” (the actors and actresses of that film)
- sutradaranya ≈ “its director” / “the director (of that film)”
It refers back to film, so literally: “I like films where their actors and actresses act naturally, and their director keeps the script simple.”
Definite “the”
Sometimes -nya just makes the noun specific, like “the”:
- sutradaranya = “the director (already known from context)”

So in this sentence -nya both points back to film and makes the nouns specific: the film’s actors/actresses and the film’s director.

Why is di mana used here? Does it literally mean “where”?

Literally, di mana = “in where / where”, and its basic use is for locations:

Dia tinggal di mana? = “Where does he/she live?”

In your sentence, di mana is used like English “where / in which” to introduce a relative clause:

film di mana aktor dan aktrisnya bermain natural
≈ “films where the actors and actresses act naturally”

Notes:

In very formal or prescriptive Indonesian, many teachers and style guides prefer yang for this kind of clause:
- film yang aktor dan aktrisnya bermain natural
In everyday speech and much writing, using di mana this way is very common and sounds natural to most speakers.

So yes, it comes from “where”, but here it’s functioning like “where / in which” in English, introducing a description of the kind of film.

Is bermain natural really how you say “act naturally”? Should it be berakting or use secara?

In film/theatre contexts:

bermain can mean “to act / to perform (a role)”, not just “to play”.
- Dia bermain sangat bagus di film itu. = “He/She acts very well in that film.”
berakting is also common and clearly means “to act”.

About natural:

Grammatically, natural is an adjective, so the fully “textbook” version would be:
- bermain secara natural (“act in a natural way”)
  or
- berakting secara natural
In colloquial Indonesian, it’s very common to just put the adjective after the verb:
- bermain natural, berakting natural, bicara pelan, makan cepat, etc.

So:

bermain natural = natural, casual Indonesian.
More formal/clear options:
- bermain secara natural
- bermain dengan naturalitas (quite formal)
- berakting dengan natural
- or using a native word: bermain dengan alami / secara alami / dengan wajar

What exactly does tetap do in menjaga naskah tetap sederhana?

Tetap means “remain / stay / still”.

The pattern here is:

menjaga X tetap Y = “to keep X Y / to keep X in a Y state”

So:

menjaga naskah tetap sederhana ≈ “to keep the script simple”
Literally: “to keep the script remain simple.”

Without tetap, menjaga naskah sederhana is possible but feels less idiomatic and a bit more ambiguous (could be read as “maintain a simple script” but not as clearly “keep it from becoming complicated”).

So tetap highlights that the script stays simple and doesn’t become more complex.

Does menjaga here mean “to guard”? How does it get the meaning “to keep (the script) simple”?

Menjaga is quite broad. It can mean:

To guard / watch over
- menjaga rumah = to guard the house
To take care of / look after
- menjaga anak = to look after a child
To maintain / keep something in a certain condition
- menjaga kesehatan = to maintain one’s health
- menjaga tradisi = to preserve tradition

In menjaga naskah tetap sederhana, sense (3) is used:

The director “maintains” the script in a simple state.
So it naturally translates as “keeps the script simple / keeps the script from becoming complicated”, not “guards the script” in a physical sense.

Can I replace di mana with yang and say Saya suka film yang aktor dan aktrisnya bermain natural? Is that better?

Yes, you can, and many teachers would actually prefer yang here:

Saya suka film yang aktor dan aktrisnya bermain natural, dan sutradaranya menjaga naskah tetap sederhana.

Differences:

yang is the standard relative marker in Indonesian and works very well here.
di mana is also widely used in speech, but some consider this kind of use “translation-like” or less formal when it’s not about a literal location.

So:

yang → safest, most standard choice in writing and exams.
di mana → very common in real-life usage; acceptable in many contexts, especially speech.

Both sound natural to many native speakers in everyday conversation.

Why isn’t there a plural marker like para before aktor dan aktrisnya? How do we know it’s plural?

Indonesian usually does not mark plural the way English does. Plurality is often understood from:

context,
numbers (tiga aktor),
or words like para.

Here:

aktor dan aktrisnya is clearly more than one person because:
- aktor dan aktris (actor and actress) together implies a group,
- plus suka film di mana aktor dan aktrisnya bermain natural clearly refers to how the cast acts.

About para:

para aktor dan aktris would explicitly mean “the actors and actresses (plural)” and is a bit more formal.
Omitting para is very normal: aktor dan aktrisnya is enough to imply plural here.

So the sentence is natural without para; plurality is inferred from meaning.

How does tense work in Saya suka? Could it mean “I liked / I have liked” as well as “I like”?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. Suka stays the same:

Saya suka film itu.
Could be:
- “I like that film.”
- “I liked that film.”
- “I have liked that film.”

The exact time is usually shown by context or by time words:

Dulu saya suka film seperti itu. = I used to like films like that.
Sekarang saya suka film seperti itu. = Now I like films like that.
Sejak kecil saya suka film seperti itu. = I have liked films like that since I was little.

In your sentence, with no time marker:

Saya suka film di mana… is best read as a general, timeless preference:
“I (generally) like films where…”

Is natural really an Indonesian word, or just English thrown in? Are there more “Indonesian-sounding” alternatives?

Natural is an English loanword that is widely used in Indonesian, especially in:

film/acting,
fashion and makeup,
photography,
everyday descriptions.

In this sentence, bermain natural sounds completely normal in modern Indonesian.

More “Indonesian-sounding” options include:

bermain dengan alami / bermain secara alami = act in a natural way
bermain dengan wajar = act in a natural/normal, not exaggerated way
bermain apa adanya = act just as they are, without pretending/exaggerating

So the choice of natural is stylistic: it sounds modern and casual and is very common in media and conversation.

What’s the difference between Saya suka film… and Saya menyukai film…?

Both can mean “I like films…”, but there are some nuances:

Form & frequency
- suka is more common and neutral in everyday speech.
- menyukai is more formal / bookish and is used more often in writing or careful speech.
Grammar
- suka can be used:
  - with an object: Saya suka film itu.
  - without a stated object: Saya suka sekali. (“I really like it.”)
- menyukai is clearly a transitive verb, so it almost always takes an explicit object:
  - Saya menyukai film itu. (sounds a bit more formal than saya suka film itu)
Feeling
- Saya suka film seperti ini. = neutral, natural.
- Saya sangat menyukai film seperti ini. = feels a bit more emphatic and formal, like “I really appreciate / I’m quite fond of films like this.”

In your sentence, Saya suka film di mana… is the most natural, everyday way to say it. Saya menyukai film di mana… is correct but sounds more formal or “written”.