Cine Sauté

⭐⭐⭐ ● 3 out of 5 stars When That Thing Called Tadhana  came out in 2014, it was celebrated as a masterpiece in clever rom-com writing and propelled writer-director Antonette Jadaone into greater stardom as an ingenious creator of Filipino rom-com films. Initially an indie film (it was first screened as part of the Cinema One Originals Film Festival), Tadhana was catapulted into the mainstream following its wide release. It was only a matter of time before other films would be written with the intent of replicating the success of Jadaone's film using a similar story formula. One such film is Crisanto B. Aquino's first feature length film Write About Love , which is TBA Studio's official entry in the 2019 Metro Manila Film Festival. The film-within-a-film tells the story of a young novice screenwriter (played by Miles Ocampo) who presents her script for a film titled Just Us , which was then rejected by the producers for being too "mainstreamish" and for h...

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ● 4 out of 5 stars I was the only one who clapped inside the movie theater when Meet Me in St. Gallen ended. The lady seated beside the empty seat next to me was visibly annoyed and impulsively said, “ Bwisit ka! ” I ignored her and just smiled on my way out. It’s very rare for me to clap and show a smile of fulfillment at the end of a romantic-comedy film, let alone a Filipino film. I remember the joy of watching That Thing Called Tadhana in 2014 and feeling genuine kilig for the nuanced story line. Just this December, Kita Kita premiered in PBO just six months after its cinematic release. I was moved by the unorthodox pairing of the two lead characters, their unique love story and the film’s setting and cinematography. Also endearing to me are two of Jennylyn Mercado’s recent romantic-comedies in the Metro Manila Film Festival— English Only Please and Walang Forever . While they aren’t as perfect as Tadhana and Kita Kita, Mercado’s commanding performance keeps the...