March 24, 2026
Candy (Arci Munoz) was a Manila-based doctor who was involved in a case that led to a career-ending legalities and getting pregnant by guilt. Dave (Kang Dong-gun) was to be the heir to a leading chocolate factory in Korea, but his foolishness led to his being disowned by his CEO father. One day, the paths of Candy and Dave met in Bohol when they joined the same snorkeling tour. By coincidence, they were both renting rooms in the same rest house.
Dalareich was a chocolate shop near the house that Candy and Dave rented. It was owned and run by Fred (William Lorenzo), his daughter Bel (Matet de Leon) and her single but pregnant daughter Nat (Ayeesha Carandang). Business was not doing very well, but Candy and Dave expressed interest to learn about their business and help anyway they can. Candy and Dave began to develop feelings for each other, but their pasts were getting in the way.
This is not the first film directed by Rommel Ricafort that had a Fil-Korean connection. His second feature film "You With Me" (2020) had a Filipina leading lady (Devon Seron), two Korean leading men (Hyun Woo and Jin Ju-hyeong) and was actually shot in Seoul. Both screenplays were written by the director's wife Shine D. Ricafort, about lead characters trying to escape from stressful circumstances that limited their freedom.
The film uses the picturesque scenery of Bohol -- mostly the beaches and the Chocolate Hills -- as the backdrop of this story. I have to commend the house they have chosen as the AirBnb Candy and Dave shared. It had an open railing-less terrace with a floor made of bamboo that looked out into the ocean. Those romantic scenes of Candy and Dave lying down looking up the starry sky shot by drones above looked great on the big screen.
Arci Munoz was an in-demand leading lady since 10 years ago when she starred in "Always Be My Maybe" (2016). However, during the pandemic after news of her plastic surgery surfaced (which she did not deny), her career had been lower key. As Candy, she did have light moments of cute rom-com, as well as heavy moments of dark drama. I believe Munoz deserves a comeback vehicle soon as leading lady, and this may be the first step.
Not much information is available online about the career of Kang Dong-gun as an actor, but if this was indeed his first feature film, he was actually quite good as Dave, despite some awkwardness in English. As exemplified by that sunset scene by the beach, he had romantic leading man charisma. As exemplified by that tense confrontation scene between Dave and his father in Korean, he can definitely deliver in the dramatic scenes as well.
This film tackles some pretty heavy themes of medical malpractice and abusive parenting -- things people would keep as skeletons in their closets. Nevertheless, the overall mood is light and engaging, with some commentary about the difficulties of local businesses and the gossip culture in small towns. With all the coincidences in the story, the romance angle can be rather predictable, but the final resolution still manages to spring a surprise. 7/10
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