Film Review - Don't Give Up On Us

Don't Give Up On Us
By: Rianne Hill Soriano

Star Cinema brings to life a story of love, differences and priorities with "Don't Give Up On Us." The charisma of the more matured Piolo-Juday tandem travels the mountains of northern Luzon to recreate a poignant love story filled with the kind of chemistry they have already estaablished for years..

The story gets into its turning point when Abby (Judy Ann Santos), a domineering advertising executive who always want to be on top of all things, goes to Baguio in search for her brother's (Marco Alcaraz) supposed bride Sabina (Cheska Garcia). With only a cassette tape with a mystery singer’s voice as clue, She meets the folk singer Vince (Piolo Pascual) in a series of 'Serendipity-inspired' scenes and the long-haired 'probinsyano' becomes the key to unlock the whereabouts of Sabina. The search for Sabina takes them to the mountains of Banaue and Sagada where the cosmopolitan/ city girl Abby clashes with the simple/laid back personality of Vince in the midst of the cold and yet romantic sceneries of mountain ranges and terraces. As the search for Sabina progresses, so is the bond between them developing even deeper. The two strangers' clashes slowly transforms into heartfelt romance, unpredictable and magical. The conflict comes when their extremely different outlook in their lives shatters the temporary magic of their togetherness. The reality and the possibilities of the two of them trying to live a life together becomes a matter of settling differences and priorities.

The panoramic shots of the seemingly hand-painted beauty of nature add up to the romantic mood of the movie. The scenes and places become great inspirations to shoot such magnificent places as backdrops to a developing love. The well-developed story gives enough dimensions to create the right taste in romantic, comedic and dramatic elements. The storyline focuses on the reality of such relationships becoming complicated.

The presentation of the story shows the maturity of the roles portrayed by Juday and Piolo. Their cinematic charm complementing their image as a love team aflects the engaging series of romantic scenes filled with the right mood and temperament. They explore new characters and experiment on their interactions keeping that 'kilig appeal.' Their minimal and yet highlighted love scenes try to convey a more matured Juday and Piolo in the big screen. The treatment given to their characters depicts their rapport and natural pacing. Even the cliche romantic moments seem to work. It could have been corny, or maybe too cheesy and mushy, but rather, it becomes 'kilig' especially to the raving, die-hard Juday-Piolo fans.

Some minor booboos can be seen by the keen-eyed. During the raining scene where Vince follows Sabina to a nearby restaurant, there is a noticeable background talent who walks out of the door. The shot cuts to a medium or close-up shot of Vince reaching the front of the restaurant, then it cuts to another shot of the door of the restaurant in another angle. And here, we see the same background talent walking out of the door of the restaurant all over again. In short, it's a problem with continuity and editing. Some may say that the said girl is 'just a semi-conspicuous background talent who is not as noticeable and not as important...' but it's still a booboo and is quite distracting if noticed. I also wonder why the rain effect of the intimate kissing scene of Abby and Vince inside the car seems to be coming from various directions. And instead of an authentic-looking heavy rain effect, if the viewer is also concerned of other elements in a shot and not just the engaging kissing scene, it is quite noticeable that the rain effect is coming from a sort of fire truck hose raised in various directions and uneven paces or some other means of creating a rain effect and just making fun out of it - without considering how a real rain normally falls. At some point, it seems like somebody is enjoying throwing water in the front of the car similar to a gasoline boy cleaning the wind shield.

Vince's character as a simple, loving and mysterious artist is quite okay. But on a personal note, I am somehow looking for a bit more depth in his characterization, his back story and some important what's and why's about his background - whether he is a pure Ilocano, a bright and responsible music student who is good in English and intellectual talks, or maybe at some point he has lived with his relatives somewhere in Manila before, or he has gotten his singing talent from his mother, father or any other relatives? Vince is just the Vince who takes life in simple terms, and adores spontaneity. He lives in a house in Baguio with his loving mom whom he loves so much as well. He sings, he is sympathetic and he is romantic. He speaks Ilocano and Tagalog. He has long hair and drives a pick-up truck. That's about it for him.

If your goal is to be entertained and feel good after walking out of the moviehouse, this movie gives a certain 'kilig factor' that the hopeless romantic type can enjoy. For Juday-Piolo fans, this movie reaffirms the solidarity of their tandem.