The Movie: My Love Will Make You Disappear
The Director: Chad Vidanes
The Cast: Kim Chiu, Paulo Avelino, Wilma Doesnt, Lovely Abella, Benj Manalo, Nico Antonio, Rocco Gonz, Martin Escudero, Karina Bautista, Jeremiah Lisbo, Melai Cantiveros
The Story: A woman who believes she's cursed meets a troubled landlord while fighting community displacement. As they grow closer, her fear that all her lovers disappear threatens their connection.
The Rating: 8 / 10
The Review:
Okay, so romantic comedies from the Philippines, and in general really, are usually pretty cheesy with lots of overacting and storylines that you don't try to apply too much logic to. For the most part, the movies just exist so audiences can have some easy entertainment and a few laughs which is a very much needed segment of the cinematic landscape. I think, especially here in the US, the rom com has almost become a lost art form so it makes me happy when one comes along that hits a nice balance of whimsy and emotional storytelling and this movie does that perfectly.
As a director, Chad Vidanes has mostly worked on TV shows that fall into the same type of romcom category so I think he was a wise choice to bring this movie to life. The story doesn't need big special effects and it's pretty contained to a few locations so the focus here is on having both Kim Chiu and Paulo Avelino as the main characters Sari and Jolo respectively are where you want the focus to be. If you didn't know, "KimPau" has been a thing for a while now and their offscreen relationship adds a lot of sparks and energy to their performances.
The last time I saw Avelino was in Antoinette Jadajone's Fan Girl (the embedded link includes my review of that movie and my podcast interview with the director) alongside Charlie Dizon which was a much darker and more dramatic story than what we have here. It was really nice to see the actor in a much more charming and likeable role and it's pretty clear that he had a great time playing the part. I mean, who wouldn't have fun playing the love interest of the woman being played by your real life love interest!
The love interest, as I mentioned is the one and only Kim Chiu who has been a major star in the Philippines for many years although this movie is the first time I've had the opportunity to see her work. After watching the movie, I can see why she is so universally loved in the Philippines, she has that charm and charisma that gives you that unmistakable kilig feeling whenever she's on the screen. watching her do her thing, the world just feels like a better place and once you pair the two leads together, that's where the magic really happens.
Yes, at its core, this is a light hearted rom com, but what really sold me was how the filmmakers weren't afraid to take a few big swings with some emotionally impactful themes as well. The story deals a lot with suicide, childhood trauma, and dysfunctional family dynamics and all of it was woven into the narrative with a lot of care and attention to detail so special shout out to the writing team of Prime Cruz, Patrick Valencia, and Isabella Policarpio.
Using a literal thunderstorm as a trigger for Sari's childhood trauma was so visceral and gave an opportunity for the filmmakers to show just how debilitating the ongoing impact of that experience can be. Having such a fully realized emotional journey ultimately lead to an ending that was both inspiring and very satisfying and I'm not afraid to admit that I had to brush away tears, from both heartbreaking and joyful emotions. I'm also not afraid to say that this movie will stick with me and will most likely end up somewhere on my year end favorites list by the time it's all said and done.
Also, look for a super cute behind the scenes moment that plays on screen while the credits are rolling. #TeamKimPau
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