Moments of Love

On the television screen, Dingdong Dantes and Karylle have always portrayed the sweet twosome seemingly inseparable for the entirety of a particular show. With “Moments of Love” Dingdong is plunged into the challenging role of Marco, a suave photographer on his way to the rustic town of Sitio Verde for a vacation. Marco’s fashionable sister (Isabel Oli) and playful cousin (Jojo Alejar) add a little dazzle and humor in the apparently serious storyline.

Brushed in enchanting sceneries, only Marco seems to be mesmerized by the mysterious town’s charms. While leisurely walking around town, Marco meets an old woman in a tragic, uncompromising road accident. But when he visits the woman in the hospital, Marco is enticed to Lianne Santos (Karylle), granddaughter of the woman.

The story progresses with rapid pace marked favorably by Marco’s very first encounter with a strange woman named Divina (Iza Calzado), connected only through the telephone. In this case, the shifting spaces and classy time warps prove effective, tasteful, and veer away from clumsy tendencies due largely to the cast’s picture perfect performances. Soon enough Marco and Lianne get closer. Ironically, so does Marco and Divina. And when they decide to meet up one night, the plot thickens to a scrumptious delight brimming with more mystery and wonder.

Love beyond boundaries is the primary element of the film. Now, the boundaries of time and tradition hold back Marco and Divina from seeing each other. Time fooled the twosome twice until Marco discovered that Divina is from a different time and age did things suddenly became in perspective and ironically in confusion.

Meanwhile, Lianne’s affinity for Marco suffers a major breakdown, which made things even more complex as Marco is subtly torn between Lianne and Divina.

“Moments of Love” also involves much talked about issues in the Filipino culture like the preordained marriage arrangements where Divina finds herself trapped marrying Juancho (Paolo Contis), a clean-cut yet gruffy man with a bad temper. The plan backfires and the marriage was off but Juancho does not give in as he threatens to shoot Divina’s father. Eventually, Divina agrees to marry Juancho. However, Divina has other things on her mind.

Accordingly, Calzado’s interesting character exemplifies intricate layers of awareness and uncertainty. On one hand, she is the prim, meticulous Maria Clara evident in her following her parents’ desires. On the other, she is the confident Filipina looking out for the world’s possibilities. This is made clear in the amusing part where the film impressively exhibited vintage MMS—burying Divina’s photo and Marco’s portrait beside the distinct tree.

Instead of settling into a customary boy meets girl (well, in this case, “meet” is used faintly) love story, the film is filled with quirky tones and turns, with each support character plugging in the empty puzzle piece in Marco’s search for love. The heartbreaking revelation of Divina’s fate brings chills, not so much on the demise but more so the longing for genuine love, freedom, and acceptance.

The conclusion where Marco learns that Lianne’s grandmother is actually Divina is priceless. Soft, engaging musical scoring highlight the emotional climax of the finale. Gloria Romero’s performance is impeccable as she relives the anonymity of her disappearance. Eventually, she shares how she has survived all these years and how she met Ricardo (Ian Veneracion).

This Mark Reyes-directed film encapsulates the essence of love at its finest. “Moments of Love” VCD and DVD (which includes director’s annotation, deleted scenes, English subtitle, and music videos of the soundtrack) is released by GMA Records Home Video and distributed nationwide by Able Music International.