January 9, 2025
The Loboc Children's Choir (LCC) from Bohol was founded by its musical director and conductor Ms. Alma Taldo (Morissette), a regular language, math and home economics teacher at the local public school. In 1980, Mrs. Equet Butalid (Rachel Alejandro), the wife of the governor of Bohol and a classically-trained musician herself, became their patron in their quest to win the finals of the National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA).
Herbert (Noel Comia Jr.) and Jackie (Krystal Brimner) were among the new members of the choir in 1981. From good childhood friends, puppy love was blooming between them as they attended the daily choral practices. Herbert's attention would be distracted because his father (Floyd Tena) had not been coming home from Manila. On top of that, the spoiled city-bred Timmy Butalid (Tommy Alejandrino) had his eyes on Jackie.
This charming and humble little film was written by renowned writer Sarge Lacuesta, his first completed screenplay. He would then go on to write "An Errand" which was released first, as an entry in the Cinemalaya 2024. It is directed by King Palisoc, whose first two films were "Tandem" (2015) and "Kampon" (2023). Compared to their past filmography, this film was very different -- much lighter in tone, positive in vibe and inspirational in intention.
This is the debut of pop singer Morrisette as a film actress, and she is immediately thrust into the lead role of Alma Taldo. She only has one solo full-length inspirational ballad, and she did not need her multi-octave belting prowess nor her whistle notes. As an actress, her acting felt tentative and self-conscious. But then again, Ms. Taldo also felt out of place and insecure as a teacher with no formal training in the midst of bonafide music professionals.
Equet Butalid was portrayed with a rather confusing sentiment by the writer and director. In the very first scene, she immediately got into a conflict with Alma. For the rest of the film, we do not really know how she really stood for -- was she a generous benefactor or an insidious credit-stealer? Nevertheless, Rachel Alejandro was always elegant playing her, and the duet she sang with Morrisette while playing the piano was a major musical highlight.
Aside from Comia and Brimner, who were both professional theater actors, the rest of the children were actual members of the real LCC. Some of them proved to be winsome natural actors, like Khian Carl Donasco (as Herbert's buddy Buboy), Grey Danielle Dialogo (as Jackie's buddy Stella), and Angel Alcala (as Fe, the girl who could not hit the note). Comia and Brimner bonded well with their choirmates, as friends and language coaches.
The primary highlight of this film is the angelic choral singing by the LCC (as well as the other children's choirs featured) rendering lilting folk songs, classic ballads and religious hymns in Filipino, English or even Latin. Musical direction was by Krina Cayabyab, with original songs composed by Ryan Cayabyab, Louie Ocampo, Raymond Marasigan and Jazz Nicolas. We'd welcome a soundtrack album to revisit these beautiful songs over and over again.
The production design team kept the locations, props and costumes consistent to the early 1980s period when the story was set. We even see how the town of Loboc had grown from back then to the present. Boomers and Gen X will feel the nostalgia of seeing 1980s Manila again via newsreels integrated in the narrative. The languid cinematography of Pong Ignacio also adds to the gentle, calming rural vibe that envelopes this heartwarming film. 7/10
***** SPOILER ALERT:
The story of Alma, how she trained the children, and the journey of the choir to the National Finals of the NAMCYA was straightforward enough. However, after all of the buildup, the ending was rather anti-climactic, because we do not see the winners' announcement per se. We assume that they won, but did they? Articles about NAMCYA history stated that LCC won first prize in 1993, 1995 and 2001, but not in 1981 as depicted in the film.
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