Film Review - Moments of Love

When love blooms through the wires of time
By: Rianne Hill Soriano

Starring: Dingdong Dantes, Iza Calzado, Karylle
Directed by: Mark A. Reyes

Reminiscent of the film ‘Il Mare,’ ‘Moments of Love’ has an intriguing story that dares to defy the barriers of time and space for love to flourish across an old-fashioned telephone. Its sentimental appeal is greatly supported by its title track ‘Moments of Love’ performed by Janno Gibbs and Jennylyn Mercado. However, it is very ironic that the said song has carried the movie across love's lasting promise but the sound mixing, dubbing, musical scoring and the rest of the sound elements are very frustrating.

From the very start of the movie, the sound mixing is really bad. It has uneven paces and levels that may hurt the ear of music experts and sound-sensitive audience. Sometimes, the musical score tends to promote a horror/suspense movie rather than a melodramatic-romantic story. The heavy scoring even gets to the point that it doesn’t really match the visuals at all. There are minor inconsistencies in the use of orchestrations and seemingly MIDI music. There is also one scene where Divina (Iza Calzado) plays the piano and the musical scorer with me in the moviehouse complains with the electronic sound of the piano while a supposedly 1950’s piano is being played by Divina.

The film lacks technical competency as compared to its picturesque movie poster. To the keen-eyed, it is noticeable that one particular close-up shot of Marco (Dingdong Dantes) is out of focus. There are inconsistencies in the production design as well. Although some props and sets are convincingly 50’s, the ferry doesn’t look too old for 1957. And the huge tree, the supposed meeting place of Marco and Divina, is quite insulting for the viewers. In my personal opinion, it hits me as if the movie tries to make the viewers dumb enough to just take things as fantasy by simply planting obviously fake flowers a few inches to the ground during the 50’s era – and this is done in the same way during the 2006 setting. In terms of kind, number and habitat, the impossibly, sporadically growing flowers may look colorful but absolutely not realistic at all.

Some minor elements render a sense of creativity as the parallelism seen in the use of cellphones on a number of scenes in par with the old-fashioned telephone where Marco and Divina communicate. The concept, though it is contested to be a rip-off while some defend it as homage, depicts an explorative story that can strike the interest of viewers. The idea that love, a passionate miracle that has swept humanity off its feet since the beginning, surmounts all the limitations of time as the great mystery of how the lines of Marco and Divina ever crossed. A story about a man of the present and a woman of the past falling in love, they meet some mysterious twist of fate and ends their story with the fulfillment of their destinies. However, how the story is handled is not so exceptional. The storyline is very much predictable. The way scenes and events are presented become pure giveaways to what’s in stored for the entire picture. From the role of Gloria to Karylle to Valerie in the story of Dingdong and Iza, everything is fed to the audience without much room for the mind’s eye to work gratifyingly. It lacks the mystery that can coincide with its mystifying theme. Other than their mysterious phone communication with a half a century gap, the plotpoints give nothing new and impressing. Moreover, the unnecessary and uninteresting subplot involving the love flourishing between Dion Ignacio and Isabel Oli is nothing more than a cliché to extend a love story into a feature.

Iza Calzado fits her role very well. She is beautiful and graceful. From her movements to her words, she justifies the role with her effective performance as Divina Buenacer, a true beauty of the 50’s. However, Dingdong Dantes’ acting looks very much like an acting performance – without much heart. Like how the other characters have been treated, he lacks emotional buildup to create a true magic on screen. He seems there, almost, then he seems there, but not quite…It’s like he just reacts to what he is directed to do for the scene. But where is Marco’s essence? It lacks the love and intimacy as much as the sense of loss and pain. He doesn’t create any magic, just a pretentious bond of flourishing love. Gloria Romero as Rosa Santos proves she is indeed a veteran actress who knows her craft well no matter how shallow the treatment of the movie maybe. Karylle’s characterization and performance is similar to her true-to-life sweetheart Dingdong. Dion’s acting is dull. Valerie has a very dry characterization. Isabel is so overacting and the dubbing of her lines is pathetic. Paolo has a very black character and very cliché. There is no attempt to recreate such a role. The actor playing the role of a past matinee idol gives a really entertaining comedic performance. Although the story can run without him, he is the only one who makes some sparks of humor for the movie. Overall, the movie doesn’t mainly utilize the supporting and minor characters’ roles for the betterment of the story. The script is weak and thin that it seems to give importance only to the major characters. The rest are like props.

The roles of Gloria and Karylle look too obvious from the very beginning. The audience can readily know what’s going to happen. With the blooming love story of Dion and Isabel, when you remove them in the story, it can still stand on its own. With regards to their mainstream value as love team, their ‘kilig moments’ are not ‘kilig’ after all.

This movie explores the idea that love transcends through the wires. And the movie could have been deeper, more magical and more cinematic…