Thursday, May 1, 2008

When Love Begins....in Boracay


May 1, 2008. Labor Day. I did not resist a girlfriend's invite to go and watch a movie together. After all, when was the last time I went to a movie theater? ~~April 2007~~"Premonition", a Sandra Bullock film and another one , the title of which, escaped me at the moment. At 1:00pm, the movie was already into its first 15 minutes of runtime.

"When Love Begins" ~ a local film starring the Philippines' long-time heartthrob (now older, and I would say, minus several "pogi" points) Aga Muhlach opposite Anne Curtis, the half-Aussie, half-Pinay, sophisticated beauty who is, in real life, almost half Muhlach's age. The team-up is because the storyline is about a lawyer in his 40's falling for a girl in her early 20's. Wading through the plot of the movie, you could right away guess where the conflict will be. He is an environment activist. Her dad is a subdivision developer/magnate. A vertex somewhere. End of story.

Not being a film buff and having no knowledge whatsoever of the promo blitz used for this movie, I have no imaginations of the movie being something like Erin Brokovich. Because it is not. I maybe biased because I don't usually patronize films, (in general,not specifically Filipino films) but the seldom times that I go to watch, ~~always leave a lot to be desired.

If the intention of the film is to send romantic shivers, sorry but I think Aga (Ben) and Anne (Mich) didn't cut it~~kissing scenes and a subtle bed scene and all. I don't think I need to be a movie fan to spot a supposed-to-be romantic scene. Vilma Santos and Christopher de Leon did so much better together in their numerous movies in the 80s-90s. Incidentally, Christopher de Leon starred as Anne's dad ~~minus the specs to achieve the dad-look, Christopher could so easily win a "pogi" and "kilig" contest against Muhlach. (I asked 22 year olds about this, it is not only the 44 year old me talking , but then again....I am biased)


But the movie is a nice advert for the island of Boracay~~it briefly transported me to the paradise resort island down South of the Philippines~~imagining things to actually see there--and experience. Novelty shows by the beach, disco beats in the air, native recliners on the pristine sand, bean bags on the sand! ( yes! on the sand!!!!) ~~nice place to be exchanging notes about past relationships and counting them~~Mich had had 2 boyfriends and a half~~search me!, I don't know what half a boyfriend is -- maybe a gay guy or a lez (just my thoughts).

Over-all, it is a mix of clashing principles, love for parents, love for family, happy family, broken family. Two lovers holding back, trying to force the principles of non-commitment, no expectations, no responsibilities~~the perfect breeding ground for doubting the real feelings. Strange though that Mich was portrayed as non-committal, it was Ben who seemed to be more transparent~~(normally the guy would be the one scared to commit) I hope the movie did not create an impression in young Pinays that it is okay to live a perfectly liberated life -- to appear spoken for for someone, yet go out drinking with other guys and raise her voice when "interrogated" about it. Ok, I know it is 2008, maybe it is just me.


There are nuggets of wisdom thrown in though -- "when you know what would make you happy, go grab the opportunity~~sometimes there are no second chances" . (I must remember to bring my digital voice recorder next time so I could "take down notes". The memory -gap syndrome has set in )


A movie that opened simultaneous with 'When Love Begins" from the rival movie outfit is getting rave reviews. "Ploning" starring Judy Ann Santos, is said to be entirely shot in the beautiful island of Palawan. I am thinking of watching that too (while I am on movie-watching mode). 'Am expecting to see some comparative shots between the islands of Palawan and Boracay (eenie-meenie-mynie-moe)

same time tomorrow, girlfriend? We'll go dutch!


PS - the movie theme song is a local version of Randy Crawford's "One Hello" (...love begins with one hello....did it strike a bell?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VIuIGZk6MU


j

1 comment:

  1. It was interesting to read this Jeanie, as I had just read a story on Boracay in the Asian Pacific Post. It seems that development and tourism are taking over the island and it is losing its pristine lustre. I guess that happens with every desirable place. Hope to visit it someday. (They are looking for journalists HERE by the way...but I don't know why they wouldn't want another stringer locally based in the Phils.

    Take care.
    Chris

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