Second Chances

she may have captured the imagination of broadway, but as a film actress, Lea Salonga has the habit of using her theater skills to get her point across. you can see it here in her hamming. in the film medium, she has the habit of using a sledge hammer rather than the subtle strokes of a brush to paint a character. a film career in hollywood would elude her, although she may still be bankable in her own country given the dearth of half-decent actresses in the philippines. other than that, she can only take on what broadway has to offer . this would explain why she never really was able to break into hollywood. sure, she'd had her chance, starring in a tv movie with jeff daniels. but that was it. even her guest appearance in e.r. was forgettable, given her ability to overact and ham it up for the tv screen.

When I first viewed this film, I threw all of my expectations in the back seat, assuming that it would possibly turn out to be another of those mushy Filipino romantic films that would just make me cringe. However, the B rating (considered excellent) given to it by the Film Ratings Board spurred me into rushing into the movie theater to figure out what was causing all the acclaim. Interestingly, I came out of the movie not only pleasantly surprised, but also awe-struck with the beauty of the film. From the performances of Muhlach and Salonga (their best acting to date - Muhlach won Best Actor awards in this film), to the story line (grandslam screenplay awardee), cinematography, editing, soundtrack and so forth. Everything was crafted seamlessly and masterfully. I was left breathless and impressed. It deserved to win the Best Picture Award from the URIAN (Critics Awards). This was one of those rare films that were both successful commercially and critically. Has potential to go down in Philippine Cinema history as a film classic. Kudos to Olivia Lamasan for directing such an exemplary movie!

10/10