April 27, 2023
Pep (Xian Lim) was a popular novelist who had written two best-selling romance books, both of which had a sad ending where the leading lady would die. At a book signing at an Art Fair, he caught a glimpse of a young lady Elly (Ryza Cenon), who was in a rush to leave after she shoplifted a book from a stall. When Pep saw Elly's face clearly for the first time when they sat across each other, tears uncontrollably fell from his eyes.
Pep befriended Elly and convinced her to go along for a road trip. In an old house in Taal, Batangas, he told her the ill-fated love story between Aurora and Victor from the year 1900. In an old church in Tayabas, Quezon, he told her the ill-fated love story between Belen and Nicolas in the year 1950. Pep intimated that he was the reincarnation of Victor and Nicolas, while Elly was the reincarnation of Aurora and Belen.
Writer-director Fifth Solomon brought us along to two Southern Tagalog towns plus Manila, as well as to two years in the past plus the present. This varied time frame of this story gave Solomon's camera, production design, costume, hair and makeup crews golden opportunities to recreate those periods realistically to draw the audience in. Later, there would even be an epilogue that would propel the story 40 more years into the future.
There is no doubting the dramatic chops of both Xian Lim and Ryza Cenon. They looked good together, especially in the two past time periods they appeared in, and pretty much nailed their period styling and romantic scenes. The present day scenes tended to more awkward because of some comedy had been forced in to liven things up. While Cenon is more at ease with quips, Lim had to resort to distractingly cheesy, out-of-place gimmicks.
The script can sometimes feel over-wrought especially in the over-long third act, which felt like Solomon was at a loss on how to end it. Furthermore, he used a staring contest to bookend the story did not feel realistic at all. Was this ever a thing? What was the point of this activity anyway? How could it supposedly "inspire" someone? This was a major plot element yet so contrived. Solomon could have elaborated on it more to make it more relatable. 6/10.
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