Chito Rono's "The Trial" - Riveting Cinema

Ronald Jimenez (John Lloyd Cruz) is 27 going 13; mentally that is. But he is about to graduate seventh grade. Helping him catch up with school work is Bessy Buenaventura (Jessy Mendiola), his kind-hearted teacher and the school president’s niece.

Though Ronald is “developmentally delayed”, his functionality approaches “borderline normal”. Still slower than most, he is able to perform tasks and function like most people. In fact, he's a brilliant gardener in school where he works part-time in exchange of his admission. Back home, he lives with lesbian “father” Santi (Sylvia Sanchez) and cross-dressing “mother” Nando (Vince de Jesus), his biological parents. He is surrounded by the oddball horde who populates the comedy bar where his parents work.

Meanwhile, grief palpably percolates in the Bien household still reeling from the death of son Martin (Enrique Gil) who perished in a vehicular accident. It has been a year since but Amanda (Gretchen Barretto) is still wrapped in her own guilt and loss that she is unable to move on.

Hubby Julian (Richard Gomez) just wants to start anew so he wants their marriage annulled. To facilitate this, he has decided to sell their house, an idea that Amanda resists, “Ayokong makalimutan si Martin.” But a sensational rape case sweeps the Biens out of their own misery.

When a rape video involving Ronald and his teacher Bessy goes viral, Amanda gets asked by her friend Lallie Laperal (Vivian Velez) to help out. Amanda is, after all, Bessy’s godmother. Meanwhile, Santi and Nando pursue Julian to handle Ronald’s case. Unknown to the grieving couple, Ronald was Martin’s good friend when he was still hosting his Payatas feeding program. Ronald is even privy to some of the Bien’s internal dispute, not the least of which is Julian’s past infidelity.

To honor the memory of her son, Amanda convinces Julian to the take the case in exchange of her signing the annulment paper. Julian can only acquiesce. What happens to Bessy?  Did Ronald, who regularly watches porn videos borrowed from a friend, force himself on the only lady who’s shown him affection? Did he have violent streaks? The video (which shows Bessy parrying Ronalds’ advances) doesn't lie, does it? How can Bessy’s shouts (“Tama na, Ronald!”) be indicative of anything but rape?

As legal dramas go, Chito Rono's "The Trial" examines a world of flawed characters and dysfunctional families navigating a consciously litigious and supercilious society. It isn't easy to second guess its narrative trail. The story telling, from Enrico Santos and Kriz Gazmen’s script, is quite fluid. The build up towards the climax engages the viewer into one resolute viewing. As audience, you’re transfixed on your seat, with bated breath, while the plot gradually unravels into one suspenseful denouement.  Mainstream drama has never been this riveting.  

“The Trial”, inspired by a script originally written by Ricky Lee, is a pondering on intents and actions, of causes and effects, and how perception of truth is easily carved by man’s idea of what normal or abnormal is. In so many ways, our existence is defined by these scruples. Moreover, we’re made to scrutinize how some people face bereavement, palpably depicted in extreme contrast by Amanda and Julian’s behavior towards each other.

Grief is dealt with in different ways; some more destructive than others. The past, just like history, has its own relevance, as when Julian watches random videos of his family prior to the accident – quite wistfully gripping in its laidback demeanour. Looking back allows us to see how far we’ve strayed from our intended paths. I realize that there are situations far more devastating than the actual tragedy.

The movie romps away with superlative performances. Gretchen Barretto unexpectedly scintillates with devastating sincerity. In a role that’s conveniently a claptrap for overzealous sentimentality, Barretto is an enthralling study of thespic authority. You could feel her pain in every scene. When she finally runs after Ronald and remembers a similar incident involving her son, it becomes one of the most heart breaking scenes I've had to endure at the cinema this year. Suddenly you realize that it was Amanda’s moment of closure. If cinema were meant to move people like that, then you know it has served its purpose well.

Vince de Jesus, as gender-bending Nando, beautifully delivers a performance that shall define his acting career from here on. In fact, his scenes are high-wire acts, vacillating between comic and poignant (e.g. his valedictory scene with John Lloyd during their victory party). One of my favourite scenes involves Sylvia Sanchez as she recalls how Ronald was once bullied ("ang pula ng siopao"), ending up with blood on his forehead. This would be Sanchez’s most memorable, if uneven, turn as an actress. Unfortunately, her other scenes needed a bit of restraint because wrath or disappointment isn’t essentially realized by sheer auditory volume or nerve-popping histrionics. People don't always shout when hurt.

We’ve always thought of Jessy Mandiola as an adorable but bland pretty face. “Call Center Girl”, anyone? But not anymore. With this star turn, Mendiola is on her way to joining Star Cinema’s stellar league of A-list dramatic actresses (Bea Alonzo, Erich Gonzales, Angelica Panganiban, Iza Calzado, Maja Salvador) as she bowls us over with quiet power in "The Trial". 

Despite brevity of scenes (she is actually not seen in almost a third of the movie), her presence lingers in your head. 

There are several worth mentioning where she displays cinematic brilliance: her reaction after failing to answer a student’s question (about the difference between genetic drift and random mutation) while being observed by a CHED supervisor. Her deceptively “ordinary” scenes with her abusive boyfriend Benjamin Alves were likewise affecting. After all, what is there to fight for when someone you love has seen through your self-worth. Then there’s the scene when she tells Ronald, “Ikaw ang pinakamabait kong kaibigan sa buong mundo.” Mendiola, I suspect, is still evolving in her craft. Isn't that exciting for someone who’s a relative upstart in the business?

John Lloyd Cruz is a virtual force of nature. He inhabits Ronald Jimenez with fierce earnestness, it’s hard to presuppose his performance the way we can’t second guess persons with intellectual crutches. He is never predictable. Cruz, in attacking a character, combines intellect and intuition, and he’s quite consistent in it. His exquisite command of craft is evident in several scenes, like when he tells his teacher, “Ma’am Bessy, di ka naman okay, eh.” Or when he asks Gretchen how Martin’s younger brother isn’t Amanda’s son: "Paano nangyari yun?". Or when he realizes what Amanda’s asking, “Sikreto nga eh. Akala mo ha?” This list is long – and is thus proof of Cruz’s enviable commitment to his character.  

RESERVATION

We do have reservation about Vivian Velez’s character. She may have valid concerns, but she is compromised by a black-and-white characterization. “Punch line of the academic community?” Don't we just love hyperbole?

“The Trial” compels its viewers to sit back, if a tad uncomfortably, for an engaging narrative ride. It doesn’t allow passive spectatorship. You couldn’t help but dissect the motives presented by its characters – from Ronald to Bessy; from the grieving household of the Biens to the dysfunctional family of Santi and Nando Jimenez. You even find yourself examining Lallie Laperal’s motives – or her lawyer’s “too involved” attitude. With its mellifluous plot unraveling before your very eyes, you expect one perfect story, right? Or was it?

For the sake of discussion, allow me to nitpick. Bessy’s own intellectual inadequacy is so subtly suggested that we actually believe her predicament, i.e. that she’s also “slow”. Being that way, such individuals don’t briskly form conclusions or react with proficient problem-solving skill. In the scene where Ronald and Bessy engage in sex, when Bessy saw a phone filming their liaison, she immediately “concocts” a scenario that would make her look like the victim (thus her repeated cries, “Tama na, Ronald.”) This reaction seems incongruent to that of a slow mind. Lesser mortals would just scoot, skedaddle and hide, not engage in improvisational dramatics. Did she actually anticipate a litigious scenario to unravel as a result of their indiscretion? She isn’t all that slow, is she? 

In another scene where Julian discusses his strategy to save Ronald from imminent incarceration, Sylvia Sanchez’s undue wrath seemed too extreme – her vocal histrionics almost dug a hole in my tympanic membrane. After all, she was talking to an illustrious lawyer who’s had years of experience - and who had to be pursued to take the case. You’d think she’d be circumspect dealing with someone who agreed to help – instead she flew off the handle! Who cared if their family would look eccentric before the court? Eccentricity won’t send them to jail. Wasn’t their goal saving Ronald at all cost?  

THE SLAPPING LAWYER

Now let’s discuss my "favorite" part. Attorney Patricia Celis, portrayed by the usually brilliant Isay Alvarez, meets Amanda for the first time. The lawyer carries undue vitriol, regarding Amanda with absolute acrimony. She's haughty and morose. You would think that Atty. Celis has a personal stake on the case. You’d likewise mistake her as the aggrieved party. As counsellor, wasn’t she supposed to approach the case with sobriety and rational savvy? Which lawyer involves herself in a slapping incident with a would-be witness? Talk about misplaced theatrics. But then Alvarez is a luminary in Philippine theater. How very apropos.

As for the scene where Ronald finally takes the witness stand, was Bessy’s admission from the audience gallery even admissible in court? (She was asked if Ronald’s confessions were true.) Shouldn’t she take an oath first – that she’s telling the truth and nothing but – before anything she divulges would actually amount to much under the court of law? What’s the judge doing while this drama was happening? Cogitating on her morning bowel movement? Was she dozing off? You see, more credible admissions have been deemed inadmissible under the wrong platform. How different is this?

The film boasts of a hundred and one messages that make us think. That misunderstandings don’t exactly define a bad relationship. That a person could be worth our affection despite his inadequacies. And so on. This much is true – “The Trial” deserves to be seen by anyone who claims to love good movies.

John Lloyd Cruz

Jessy Mendiola

Benjamin Alvez joining his Tito Piolo in ABS-CBN?

Enrique Gil

Topel Lee's Amorosa - Revenge of the Vigorously Confused

As a child, Amiel (Martin del Rosario) was diagnosed with Retinitis Pimentosa, an irreversible and incurable eye disease that eventually leads to blindness. Rosa Calderon (Angel Aquino), Amiel’s mother, the carrier of the illness, feels responsible for Amiel’s misfortune. But she enlists his other son Rommel’s (Enrique Gil) dedication to assist Amiel as he gradually loses his vision. ‘Di tayo aayaw; ‘di tayo susuko, Rosa reminds her son. She further says, “Sa ‘yo ako humuhugot ng lakas, anak.” Amiel and Rommel grow up close and supportive of each other. They play Beethoven’s “Fur Elise” together on the piano. They even prepare for the eventual forfeiture of Amiel’s vision by counting the steps to familiar nooks in the house.

One fateful day, the family figures in a catastrophic accident instantly killing Rosa’s husband (Lloyd Samartino). Rosa gets thrown out and survives with a mere contusion. But the wreckage perilously hangs by a cliff. The townsfolk turn to the site to pull the survivors out of the car. As time critically ticks by, a samaritan shouts to Rosa: “Sino ang sasagipin?” Rosa’s knee jerk reaction has her shouting, “Yung nakasalamin!” (Amiel). Rommel hears this and gets heartbroken. This scene has since defined Rommel’s relationship with his mother and brother Amiel.

Surviving the accident turns into an icy chapter in the lives of Rosa’s family. The once obedient and dutiful Rommel has turned wayward, preferring constant night outs with friends of ill repute. Moreover, their financial standing has down spiraled. Situation turns dicier when Rosa accepts an offer to manage a desolate inn in foggy Tagaytay where Amiel and Rommel spent their summers as children. Rommel acquiesces when he renews acquaintance with childhood friend Amanda (Jane Oineza) who’s grown into a lovely girl.  

But the old and creaky house rankles with an ominous past. A girl named Sandra (Empress Schuck) was gang raped and murdered in the house 15 years ago. Since then, men – suspected rapists – die mysterious deaths around the area. A killer is running loose, and Sgt. Villegas (Richard Quan) pays Rosa a visit to warn her about this. Meanwhile, Rommel’s demeanor towards his mother and brother changes abruptly with Amanda’s constant visits (she delivers flowers to the guest house). Fetching scenario, right? But are they safe from the wandering killer? Is Rommel free from the influence of his delinquent friends (Ejay Falcon, Franco Daza and Nico Antonio) who have their eyes on Amanda? Has Rommel mended his strained relationship with Rosa and brother Amiel?

A convoluted plot replete with several intervening narrative strains makes this mostly incongruent flick a herculean cinematic experience. The issues involved in “Amorosa” are disparate, and director Topel Lee vigorously pieces them together like oddly-shaped parts of a puzzle.  There’s the beautiful title that would have you believe that titular Rosa is the focal character in this story.  Well, she isn’t. There should be something about her that deserves a theatrical “title” other than the fact that she’s the genetic carrier of her son’s Retinitis Pigmentosa; maybe a glimpse into her past? But if you really think about it, Rosa could be written differently, i.e. as a supporting character or a flashback - and this wouldn’t harm the major premise that’s more about sibling rivalry than the guilt of a mother who wants to pass her burden to her younger child. How convenient, right?

During the accident, the Samaritans who went to the vehicular wreckage chose to “ask which one to help” losing more time in the process. Most people with brains would readily act on it than ask for decisions. They were at the scene, for Pete’s sakes. It was their call to just pull anyone out before the car tumbles down the ravine. But no, in their moment of idiocy, they had to ask the confused, contused and flustered mother which one should they pull out of the wreckage. Moreover, what mother would choose a child over another? This moral dilemma is really a narrative catachresis, clumsily manipulated to draft a situation.

On the other hand, Sandra’s (Empress) story, which starts the movie, is hokey. To add to Rosa’s grief, Director Lee has decided to throw in an avenging ghost who kills “rapists”. The film would have you believe that Tagaytay is the Rape Capital of the Philippines; rapists are a dime a dozen and they roam the streets like happy vagrants looking for damsels in distress. And restless Sandra haunts and kills them. But what bothers me was after having exterminated the characters played by Ejay Falcon, Nico Antonio and Franco Daza, what happens to the avenging Sandra? Her story has conveniently become an unfinished business, right? Unless she has decided to retire from her protracted retribution.  What did Sandra do to her own rapists – Carlo Aquino, Johan Santos and Lemuel Pelayo? Why kill others, but not your own rapist/murderers? Busy sya? Anyare, kuya?

And didn’t you notice how Manila boy Rommel’s friends seem to follow him all the way to Tagaytay? Moreover, there’s an albularyo (Nanding Josef) who intermittently warns Rosa of impending events, and there’s a child (Xyriel Manabat) who seems to see ghosts. Yet all of them are disposable characters that are as quickly forgotten as they are introduced into the story. Let’s not forget Lilia Cuntapay who provides asinine humor, an absolutely misplaced thread in an already confused narrative body.

Furthermore, Director Lee wasn’t happy with these plots so he further deviates by providing another twist! In what could be the silliest form of “deus ex machina”, Rosa is suffering from a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that would have her believing that Amiel survived the accident. But such gravity of delusion and visual hallucination isn't part of Post Traumatic Stress. Try Major Depression or Schizoaffective Disorder, but absolutely NOT Post Traumatic Stress Disorder! Isn’t it easier to actually consult a psychiatrist if you were to make a cinematic case out of a psychiatric diagnosis than cursorily reading about hallucinations from Wikipedia? Some people could be so inept or lazy.

It turns out, post-accident Amiel was but a figment of her imagination. How very Shyamalan!

Angel Aquino boasts of an arresting presence and an earnest take on mother’s guilt. Empress Schuck is, as usual, fetching and sympathetic as Sandra. These two ladies make watching Amorosa a little less painful, churning out commendable performances in shoddily written characters. Others aren’t as lucky. Ejay Falcon displays course depiction too far removed from most Star Magic actors. His characterization is, in fact, very Mac Alejandre’ish - mediocre, loud, predictable, and shallow. Enrique Gil and Martin del Rosario mostly deliver perfunctory turns, but they’re nothing to crow about. After all, the bond between these two actors is mostly fabricated, more than visceral.   

I have to admit though that the setting and cinematography are a pleasure to the eyes. Fog bound Tagaytay, gigantic trees with a thousand branches that reach to the heavens, atmospheric corners of some eerie locations provide a very visually compelling cinematic canvas. Unfortunately, mere beauty doesn’t suffice. A beautiful girl with the brain of a paramecium soon loses novelty, and we eventually see through her hollow skull. And it’s becoming clear how Topel Lee, once a very promising indie talent, has failed to deliver his promise. With visually succulent scenes, all he’s able to churn out are the superficial requirement of his cinema. Visuals are an integral part of a film, but it’s a valid story and an intuitive storytelling that drive any cinematic vehicle. In “Amorosa”, cerebral occupancy is nil! There’s just no one home but an unmanned camera.

Nanding Josef and Nico Antonio

Empress Schuck is the avenging Sandra.

Martin del Rosario is Amiel. Enrique Gil is Rommel. They are brothers... from a different mother... and a different father! See any similarity? You have to judiciously use your imagination for that. :)

Ejay Falcon is William, the present-day rapist; Carlo Aquino is Jerry, the rapist of the past! 

Pretty Jane Oineza plays flower girl Amanda, Rommel's childhood friend.

The cast of "Amorosa: The Revenge" and their confused director.

Note:

Please read our featured post on Cinema Bravo and why we sometimes feel nginig about Web Criticism:
- http://makemeblush2.blogspot.com/2016/10/cinema-bravo-film-criticisms-execrable.html

Frasco Mortiz's The Reunion - Lost in the Music

Ten years after their high school graduation, Lloyd, Joax, Boggs and Patrick are still finding their place in the sun. Lloyd (Enchong Dee), a graphic artist, works at a print shop churning out calendars and pasting faces in glass mugs. Joax (Xian Lim) drives other people’s cars at a valet parking. Boggs (Enrique Gil) does the harrowing grind of a real estate stand selling nothing. Pat (Kean Cipriano), a musician, still pursues his dream of making it big in an industry that has so far ignored him. Stuck with their dead end jobs, the barkada finds themselves in a class reunion where, once again, their level of success is under scrutiny. This somehow takes them back to their momentous past: Lloyd was besotted with shy but receptive Ara (Cristine Reyes); Joax flirted with student council rival Toyang (Megan Young); Boggs succeeded to get fellow athlete Ligaya’s attention – and affection, as did Pat with Shirley's (Bangs Garcia)! One fateful day, Pat and his friends got unwittingly involved in a scandal (involving Alodia Gosiengfiao’s missing jewellery piece inside the girl’s car) that nipped these romantic couplings in the bud.

Back to present time, they believe that their setbacks are somehow rooted on that specific incident, like a trajectory that went awry. The solution: to reconnect with the girls from their past. So with the help of Ali (Jessy Mendiola) and Jay (Matt Evans), the guys set themselves up for a wild goose chase to find their Juliets. Unfortunately, Lloyd’s opportunity to find the girl is closing in fast. Ara (Cristine Reyes) is rumoured to be getting hitched. And no one seems to know where to find her. In the age of google and one-click search boxes, phone directories, Facebook and twitter accounts, finding Ara becomes a quest for the Holy Grail – and she couldn’t be found! Go figure. The same goes for Shirley who has moved up the fame ladder by becoming a popular FHM model. (Another head scratching moment! She's gone so famous that she couldn't be found? LOL) What about Toyang? Where the heck is Carmen San Diego, err... I mean Toyang? O, Diyos ko, ano ba naman ito? Will the boys be able to correct the misplotted dots and “rectify” their misdirected lives this time?  

Director Frasco Mortiz’s movie runs on a premise that’s too ridiculous to believe. In fact, connecting the dots should be the least of their worries as logical groundwork in the narrative leaves much to be desired. Sure, Mortiz buoys his story with unbridled energy, delightful music and testosterone charm, but it’s a hurdle going through something as ludicrous as getting flak for helping a girl find her lost jewellery inside a car. If this incident became a scandal then, didn’t it warrant an investigation? A single paragraph of explanation would have easily cleared the air, wouldn’t it? Didn’t anyone – Lloyd, Joax, Boggs, Patrick - even try to explain the situation to Ara, Shirley, Toyang and Ligaya? Everyone believed they were guilty of sexual indiscretion though they were all fully clothed inside a car that isn’t even tinted? How have they become such idiots?

The sprightly music of Ely Buendia’s Eraserheads is turned into discordant chapters that help bestow cinematic vim to an otherwise droll, sitcom-inspired, albeit middling story. What’s worse, there’s hardly chemistry among this filmic brotherhood. You don’t discern sincere camaraderie. Despite their emerging problems, you end up not caring. In fact, many of the characters are downright forgettable. I had to refer to my notes to check who Boggs was or if Pat had a girlfriend. When your protagonists don’t make a lasting impression, you know you’re in trouble.

Among the guys, Enchong Dee ends up with a more sympathetic character. His Lloyd was written as a geek and he succeeds depicting him in some ways, deflecting an occasionally noticeable "softness". But he should thank the luminous Jessy Mendiola resilient in a half-baked character named Ali who eternally tags along with Lloyd like a fag hag, i.e. if Lloyd was a fag (get it?) Something about Xian Lim disconcerts me. He has a perfidious veneer that seems detached from real emotions. He towers over everyone which must be why empathy is hard to come by. Either that – or he needs more teleserye experience to finetune his craft. His “singing” scenes should have imbued a little more compassion, but this moment flittered like a lovely, piquant butterfly on its way to rainbowland. Many other talents are wasted here: Julia Montes (who’s always competent); Bangs Garcia (who’s back to being a mere boob-girl); Gina Pareno (as Aling Nena, was inconsequential); Janus del Prado in a politically incorrect and insensitive role.

I am thus baffled why this was given a B rating by the retards and dimwits of the Cinema Evaluations Board (CEB). How can anything with such incongruent narrative strains deserve such “quality-indicative”, tax-evading rating? But then, I’ve long accepted the fact that these CEB evaluators either have self-serving motives or possess the brain of cockroaches. “Pak! Pak! My Doctor Quack” was rated B. Need I say more?

The E-heads surely deserve homage the way ABBA got their “Mamma Mia”. After all, their music helped define a generation. But pinning their musical legacy on a mediocre story, wrapped in frothy, buoyant energy is nothing short of a disservice. Some heads need to roll.  

In her drunken stupor, Aling Nena (Gina Pareno) offers an unsolicited advice: "connect the dots" which reminds me of a recent horror flick.

Ali (Jessy Mendiola) pines for her best friend.

Toyang and Joax flirt around.

Pat (Kean Cipriano) and Shirley (Bangs Garcia) give each other their hearts.

Enchong Dee

Xian Lim

Enrique Gil

Kean Cipriano

Jessy Mendiola

Way Back Home - Crying Your Hearts Out of the Cinema

I have a secret. When watching a movie, it doesn’t take much for me to shed a tear. I’m Holly Hunter’s Jane Craig (“Broadcast News”). I could outcry Roxanne Barcelo (Pinoy Big Brother) or any of Kim Chiu’s teleserye personas. Any hint of an emotional strife in a story, I easily employ my lachrymal glands for catharsis. Crying feels good, and even better when my boyfriend watches a movie with me. Men seem to adore me more when I sob and turn to their bulging muscle-bound shoulder for solace. When Jerry Lopez Sineneng’s “Way Back Home” came to the fore, I knew I’d be in for some orgasmic marathon-style crying.

When little sisters Jessica and Joanna (Julia Montes and Kathryn Bernardo respectively) join their parents for a beach outing in Zambales, the younger Joanna wanders off and is never seen again. For the next 12 years, Amy (Agot Isidro), the girls’ mother, is inconsolable. She stares into the great beyond, hair beautifully coiffed, garment immaculately pressed. The mere kink, i.e. losing a daughter, in her charmed existence has taken its toll on Jessica, now 16, who carries the burden of having lost her little sister. She overachieves in school with the hopes of gaining her dear mother’s attention, but all her effort is for nought. One day, during a swim meet where Jessie is to compete, Amy hears a young girl Anna (Bernardo) singing a lullaby (Francis Salazar’s “Langit”) at the ladies room; the very same song Amy used to sing to her little Joanna. The song made her suspend her bowel movement. You would if you suddenly found your lost daughter, wouldn’t you?

During the swim meet, Amy instead roots for Anna who eventually wins the championship, all the while ignoring Jessica who settles for second place. Amy runs to Anna’s side and without much batting an eyelash, declares, “Joanna, naalala mo ba ako?” Anna is nonplussed and bewildered. We don't blame her. There’s this labile woman – with beautifully coiffed hair, garment immaculately pressed – claiming her. Anna returns to her seaside home, in a fishing village where her loving, albeit impoverished family subsists on the bounties of the sea. She then asks her mother Lerma (Lotlot de Leon), “Ba’t po wala akong kamukha sa inyo? Anak n’yo po ba ako?” ("I don't look like you. Am I your daughter?")

Anna eventually and reluctantly joins her affluent birth family, while Jessie is beginning to harbor ill feelings against her returning sister who’s enjoying her mother’s favors and attention more than ever. She detests such injustice – and the story turns into florid teleserye melodrama clutter. What becomes of saintly Anna who’s constantly getting brushed off and blatantly embarrassed by her elder sister? Will she ever find her, err… way back home? Guess.

There is meretricious theatricality on display and you can’t escape the narrative maneuverings designed to inspire some old-school whimpering. I must have cried a bucket. Unfortunately, it gets too obvious that such manipulations have resulted into a contrived and unctuous yarn lacking discernment.

On point of performance, Julia Montes fares better than pretty Kathryn. Her depiction of a conflicted Jessie is insightfully threshed out despite unfair caricature as it's written. She’s the bitter and vindictive sister. As she spews out her venom against saintly Anna, you absolutely understand why she’s cantankerous. That we don’t find her a despicable creature altogether is a testament to her ability to allow us understanding of what her character is going through. That she doesn't come off silly or caustic is a marvel. And that’s a feat!

Kathryn Bernardo is a charmer, she lights up the screen when she smiles. Unfortunately, Anna is written on desultory wisdom. Her whole being is nothing but a komiks heroine not dissimilar to those written by Nerissa Cabral and Gilda Olvidado, i.e. unnaturally good natured she would put some saints out to pasture. If you believed her kindness is reality-based, then you’re as naïve as, say, KC Concepcion. (wink wink)

There are bothersome parts of the story: Agot Isidro takes a meaty role as grieving mother Amy, yet 12 years is such a long time for bereavement. When it happens, such melancholic state should underline a clinical pathology. People who can’t cope should manifest in their manner of dressing, in their sleeping habits, in their general appearance. Agot, for the most part, looked ready to walk the runway. Even when she screams, which is awkward, her action feels deceitful. You don’t feel her pain, but you see her lurid facial contortions. Her character grasp is too loose to derive sympathy. This is what theatrical experience taught her? And what are the odds of finding your lost child in a swimming contest? Moreover, that this particular child still sings the same lullaby that was once taught her as a three year old. Serendipitous affairs can only go so far in the natural scheme of things.

Then there's this lump-on-the-throat idea that Montes and Bernardo (as Jessie and Joanna) are actual sisters. The purview of such all-encompassing artistic freedom to make them blood sisters is too far fetched. It is more believable to quaff Montes as Lotlot's daughter. After all, both Lotlot and Kathryn have Caucasian blood. Otherwise, we heavily rely on suspension of disbelief with the narrative at hand.

The movie is beautifully photographed (Julius Villanueva); the screen glistens with postcard-pretty locations and sanitized camera work. Even the derelict kubo (hut) in Anna’s fishing village looks like a little piece of heaven. One is reminded of Romy Vitug's work back in the days. Enrique Gil registers well, his “fish jokes” provide momentary diversion but it also dispenses unnecessary off-kilter detour to an already overwrought narrative. Ditto Sam Concepcion who plays AJ, Jessie’s love interest (a character that pays homage to AJ Perez). Lotlot de Leon brandishes a perceptive, if a tad underwritten part as Joanna's adoptive mother. And I like Ahron Villena who plays Joanna and Jessie's brother (he looks so clean and good looking).

DISTRACTIONS

Since we’ve mentioned about distractions, let me just point out the character of the maid who’s made out to be a Visayan character. Though she was designed to provide humor to this sullen story, she was distracting and downright annoying. We have had Visayan maids yet they never speak like she did, exaggerating every syllable with quasi-delivery and hard syllabication. Let’s take the following examples: People in Visayas and Mindanao pronounce “tulog” (sleep) the same way. It doesn’t become “to-log”. They say “ligo” (bathe) the way Tagalog folks use it. It’s never “le-go”. “Three” is never “tre” which is exaggeration spilling over. Other words: “pizza” as “pet-sa”, “evening” as “eb-neng”, “kuya” as “ko-ya”, etc. I wanted to practice my dart target shooting every time that maid appeared on screen. Supporting characters are supposed to strengthen stories, not provide annoying distractions. Whoever thought this was funny should be fed to the giant ants of Madagascar.

Another distraction was Angeline Quinto’s faulty elocution while singing Odette Quesada’s “You’re My Home”. It goes: “You’re my home, and together we share this love for us… You’re my home and together we’ll strive to make this world a better place to be.” If felt like needle pricks every time she would repeatedly lash out “to-ged-der” with inspired bravado. It’s a “th”, girl – not “d”. There’s a difference.

For those partial to their Pink Films, there are a couple of characters that would tickle their fancy: Josh Ivan Morales of the notorious “Ang Lihim ni Antonio” does a cameo as Tiyo Dado, Anna’s “uncle” (mother Lerma’s brother). Ray-an Dulay (“Kambyo”, “Ang Laro sa Buhay ni Juan”, “Ben and Sam”) also cameos as Anna’s adoptive father Berto, though he’s been relegated to flashbacks. This is a heads up to the men who made their cinematic splash from exploitative gay-themed films. Director Sineneng surely has an eye for such studs. These may be bit roles for Morales and Dulay but they render their profession legitimacy and provide avenues for future mainstream appearances.

Bernardo and Montes have a bright future ahead of them. They are watchable and hold such promise. They could be the next big thing. But longevity in the business doesn't rest on mush and sentimental schmaltz. I may have cried buckets over such clutter, but those tears would have evaporated long before the next promising stars make their mark. They could do better with non-manipulative stories and perceptive directors.

Sam Concepcion as AJ, Julia montes as Jessie, Kathryn Bernardo as Joanna, Enrique Gil as Michael.