December 21, 2025
Jessica (Krystel Go) is a 28-year old lady with Down's syndrome. She lived with her mother Norma (Sylvia Sanchez), a seamstress who raised Jessica single-handedly since her father Arman (Joey Marquez) left them behind when she was born. She enjoyed keeping herself pretty and had won several awards in beauty pageants. She was quite independent as she rode the tricycle on her own, worked as a waitress at a cafe and cooked a mean sinigang.
Jiro (Earl Amaba) is a 29 year old young man with Down's syndrome. He lived with his parents, Lizel (Lorna Tolentino) and Dan (Tonton Gutierrez), who were both physicians. He had a younger brother Ryan (Zaijian Jaranilla) who was taking up pre-med, but would rather be a musician. Jiro was an excellent swimmer and he made windchimes as a hobby. Because he was homeschooled, Jiro was shy and aloof, so others thought he was grumpy.
This unique film written and directed by Sigrid Andrea Bernardo dealt with Down's Syndrome (DS), a condition which many people recognize, but really do not know much about. Most people think of them as children because of how they look, and treat them as children even when they are of adult age. Bernardo tells us that persons with DS are actually capable of feeling romantic love and all the complicated thoughts, acts and emotions that come along with it.
Watching this film is an eye-opening experience. It was heartening and educational to learn about DS from the point of view of people who have it. It is normal for us to feel protective about them, but they would rather that we put more trust in them, that they can be independent and think for themselves. Seeing and marveling at how Go and Amaba was able to portray Jessica and Jiro so well is the first step to this process of understanding them better.
While this film celebrates what persons with DS are able to do, there are also scenes in this film that also show how vulnerable they can be when they attempt to do activities regular people do and take for granted. While Jiro and Jessica were somehow able to do it, it can be too idealistic to think that everyone they encounter along the way would be kind, helpful or accommodating to them, especially there was no family or friend around to defend them.
That a film like this was even produced and filmed at all was already a very remarkable feat -- the very first Filipino film where the lead actors were persons with DS. It was inclusive, supportive and all sorts of positive for the most part. Go and Amaba shone brightly, holding their own beside their veteran co-actors in challenging bittersweet scenes. That is why I must admit it was difficult for me to process why the ending had to happen that way. 8/10
No comments:
Post a Comment