February 10, 2023
Joel (Arron Villaflor) was a Chinoy young man whose mother wanted him to marry a Chinese girl. One day, in front of the Rizal Monument in Luneta Park, he met and fell in love with Maria (Angela Morena), a history major who was working on her thesis. They decided to live together, but Joel was annoyed that Maria was always meeting with her ex-lover Javy (Josef Elizalde) who just so happened to be her thesis advisor.
Wealthy shipping magnate Leo (Jay Manalo) was married to Grace (Yda Manzano) and had a daughter Aira. Leo kept a mistress on the side, Connie (Mercedes Cabral), while Grace had sessions with her boxing coach Donnie (Jiad Arroyo). One day, while on a secret tryst with Connie in a beach resort, Leo had to make a hasty trip back to Manila because of a family emergency. Left on her own, Connie reevaluated what she had been doing with her life.
The casting of the actors were done very well for the believable execution of the plot. Villaflor, Manalo, Cabral all did very well in their roles, as did Irma Adlawan (as Leo's mother Daisy) and Aurora Sevilla (as Connie's mother Amelia). Angela Morena's best scene had to be that confrontation between Maria and Joel, where even her teardrops were on point. This should be one of her best work in Vivamax, save for some awkward delivery of Spanish lines.
The setting of several scenes in Rizal Park and Intramuros, and the inclusion of Rizal lore in the lines were interesting touches. Maria's father Eduardo (Rey PJ Abellana) was supposed to be born in Spain, which required him to deliver his lines in Spanish. This inclusion of Spanish lines was also done in order to accommodate the differing connotations of Spanish word "querida" and the Filipino word "kerida" which the script highlighted and played with.
Writer Eric Ramos and director GB Sampedro told these two parallel stories of forbidden love, with no clear connection at first. Only in the last thirty minutes was it eventually revealed how the they were related, but some smart viewers will likely be able to figure the link out before this. This storytelling style makes for a thought-provoking viewing experience, with those notorious Vivamax-signature sex scenes taking a back seat for once. 6/10.
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