Diane Ventura's "Mulat (Awaken)" - Eyes Wide Open

Despite her mother’s appeal, Samantha Manuel (Loren Burgos) will not be stopped from marching down the aisle with reluctant fiance Vincent (Ryan Eigenmann) who’s given an ultimatum to propose or risk losing her. When Vincent finally acquiesces, the struggling artist couldn’t contain her happiness. On their way to a prenuptial appointment, Sam is awakened by a disturbing dream that seemed so real. She realizes that hot-tempered Vincent is unfit as a husband, so she walks away. 

In the succeeding days after her breakup, jaded Sam meets charismatic and sensitive Jake Inigo (Jake Cuenca). Before long, the adorable couple start spending more time together. Whenever Jake asks about her past relationship, they end up arguing. But all is not well with Sam who develops recurring nightmares with visual and auditory hallucinations. Jake decides to take Sam to see a psychiatrist to address her concerns.

The story is told in two constantly shifting timelines: one that involves Vincent, the other Jake. Newcomer Burgos confidently plays the befuddled protagonist. But Cuenca runs away with his superior performance. He evokes empathy though almost nothing is revealed about his past.  

In mid-chapter, the script tends to dwell on rebarbative arguments that intermittently annoy. “What do you want from me?” asked Jake. A second later, you hear Sam ask the same. Most of these arguments are too petty to be life-changing for the characters. But just when you dismiss the whole caterwauling, a final twist will shake your consciousness.

One realizes that the mind has potentials that defy confinement or limitations. Reason, author Christopher John Murray argues, becomes the weaker concept when imagination takes over. Imagination is able to move beyond the limits of the natural, i.e. physical world. Murray adds, "The mind can make itself sensible of the sublimity of the sphere of its own being, even above nature."  This could explain how Sam tries to rectify a discordant situation in her life that somehow reaches over to Jake. It’s all inexplicably bizarre but if you open your mind, you can’t resist the possibilities. As psychological dramas go, Ventura’s “Mulat (Awaken)” is a gem that shouldn’t be missed.  

I want churros, implored Loren to annoyed Ryan.