January 27, 2023
Bela Castro (Angeli Khang) wrote scripts for movies. She was romantically involved with film director Arnold Santos (Kiko Estrada). Desperate for funding for his next film, Arnold was pressuring Bela to concede to the wishes of producer he was trying to convince. Mr. Dizon (Francis Mata) wanted a lot of sex scenes included in the film to make more money, but Bela did not feel that her story needed those scenes at all.
Luna (Angeli Khang in a dual role) was a lonely bespectacled school teacher who was trapped in a loveless marriage to contractor Abe (Julio Diaz). She was forced into the arrangement because of a major debt their family owed the older man. One fateful day, Luna just stepped out of the campus when she was taken hostage by a robber Diego (Mark Anthony Fernandez) who was running away from chasing cops.
This Vivamax movie is most remarkable because it had a complex story concept that intertwined two stories from different but connected worlds, one based in reality and another one only imaginary. It was no surprise that the writer of the screenplay was no less than Mr. Ricky Lee, National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts. Director Mac Alejandre was able to connect the two stories in a way that was subtle and not immediately predictable.
Angeli Khang had long been showing promise as an actress in all her past Vivamax starrers. She more than proved her thespic worth in this film, nailing both her characters -- the confident and feisty Bela and the mousy and timid Luna. Her portrayal of Bela was so natural and realistic, especially in that carefree scene with Nicco Manalo as her gay friend Ganny. It was a very refreshing change from all the victim roles she played before.
The combination of Lee, Alejandre and Khang made a big splash last year with "Silip Sa Apoy," which had generally good reviews (not from me unfortunately). This new film, especially the Bela part with its meta approach seemingly criticizing the very core principle of Vivamax itself, was more interesting for me. Lee's line questioning why every scene had to have sex was so on point, and having Khang herself deliver it was gold. 6/10.
No comments:
Post a Comment