Starring: Angelica Panganiban, JM De Guzman
Release Date: February 4, 2015
Genre: Romance
Movie Info: A story about a broken-hearted girl who meets a boy in a not so normal way. Together, they go to places and find out "Where do broken hearts go?". - IMDb
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That Thing Called Tadhana is an indie film that has been the crowd's favorite since it's initial release last November 2014 and it had been picked up by Star Cinema for nationwide release on February 4, 2015.
Since then, I've been seeing a lot of teasers of this film and after a few months of waiting, it's finally here! Just that this review took a while for me to finally get it done. Eeee. Almost a week pending in my drafts, damn it's really hard to write this..ugh. I feel my heart is pierced in some kind of an arrow. Ohh well.
Where do broken hearts go...?
Can they find their way home back to the open arms of a love that's waiting there? And if somebody loves you, won't they always love you?
For me, I guess broken hearts don't go anywhere else unless they're ready to leave. They may try to run away or hide but still they end up staying in the same place where they were left off, savoring the pain and misery of losing the one they've loved so much. Even waiting for whoever left them to come back again and hoping for that stupid second chance that don't usually happen. Ugh. The hearts stay there for the longest time until they decided to finally let go and move on with their lives even that means being alone.
Well in some cases, broken-hearted people can be travelling around places, hanging out with friends, getting drunk or even consider dating someone new. Yes, it could help a lot to divert your mind and make way for positive emotions but when it happens that you're too broken, even after all the attempts you may have done, in the end you're still gonna be the same person with the broken heart. Even the mightiest glue can't fix a broken heart. Only time can heal all wounds and mend what has been lost. Don't rush, it's not a racetrack anyway. Be more patient and wait.
"Ako nga pala si Anthony Lagdameo......"
How surprising could it be when a stranger suddenly walked in the most unexpected, quite distressing moment of your life?A sweet hello in the most bitter days of your life, a blessing of a new love in disguise and a second chance to forever.. I guess we all have our own kind of stranger whom we end up with..or maybe, lost.
You might probably think that it is destiny and serendipity combined, wherein you found someone special without even looking for him/her and out of the billion people in this world, there is this one person whom you will meet, mend your broken heart and eventually change your life like no one else had ever done. Too dreamy..ikr! Whatever it is, it's something out of your control, because some strangers have that familiar feeling and sudden intimate closeness on you that they've entered your heart already even before you know they are in there. You never really cared at all but then, after a while you two had that undeniable attraction, like magnets so inseparable and that certain stranger turned out to be the only person you ever imagined to be with you for the rest of your life. How could that be?
Just like in the movie, I can't imagine being in love with someone in such a short time of knowingness. But I believe it could really be possible. It is. I just don't think it will last or maybe not, especially if it ends right where it's just about to start. Hmm. Strange feelings like love grow in such amazingly strange way..isn't it? That's just it. There's no clear ending in the movie, it claims to have a sequel though. But I'm quite sure that Mace and Anthony's wishes in the shooting star had come true and the love they've found is bound to last forever.
Well I'm quite certain they got together, who would want that they didn't..right? Anyway, if there's really a sequel, that's surely something to look forward to and right at this moment, I'm so damn curious about the twist and turns of Mace and Anthony's tadhana.
Ultimate Hugot Lines + Thoughts
The luggages serves as a metaphor for the weight of pain that Mace and Anthony are both carrying from their past. Mace, trying to get rid of the excess weight on her baggage, she had a heavy heart throwing off some of her things just to reach the allowable weight limit. Then there goes Anthony, with an innocent gesture of kindness, where he willingly offered to carry some of Mace's things, in spite of the fact that, he also struggles on getting over the love he thought would last a lifetime, yet he still manage to share his extra load for Mace. They helped each other deal with the weight of the baggages all through out the trip. In the end, you may notice that none of them aren't carrying anything. They accidentally left their baggages in Baguio. But I guess that's a clever implication that, they had learned to let go of the burdens they have and eventually ready to move on from their past's heartbreaks.Buong buhay talaga dinala mo? Maeexcess ka talaga niyan.(You packed your entire life? You’ll really have excess baggage.)
The film clearly implies the real picture of having someone who will help you lighten your load and might as well help you unpack with your burdens. Someone who loves you enough to carry your excess and won't ever leave you no matter what the circumstances may be.
Naaalala ko siya sa lahat.
(I remember him in everything.)
We can forgive but most of the times, it's really hard to forget. Especially when the person gave you too much memories to remember. It's funny when Anthony jokingly told Mace, "Pati sa ketchup naaalala mo siya." and then he even test Mace with certain words if she have a good memory of her past..and amazingly she did. Anthony just said, "Wow. Naaalala mo talaga siya sa lahat."
When the one we love decide to break up and leave us, there's the bitter fact that we remember them even to the tiniest bit detail of a place, thing, food, songs, or even with the color of the car that passed by. Every place we go, every thing we do, every food we eat, everywhere we look, we see them, everything reminds us of them. We can't forget that easy, it's like trying to remember someone you've never met and memories you've never had. But like they always say, time will only tell when - When you will get tired of loving the person who doesn't love you anymore and when you will eventually forget the person who, at some point, had already forgotten about you.
Yet the sad part is, sometimes, the more you force yourself to forget, the more it fuels your mind to remember.
“Pano ba makalimot?”
(How to forget?)
The quote says, "There's really no shortcut to forgetting someone. You just have to endure missing them everyday until you don't anymore." True, isn't it?
My way of forgetting someone is a bit simple yet painful. It's like remembering all the memories we once had until it naturally goes away in my mind and hopefully lose all the residue of emotions. It wasn't all that easy coz it's something that needs to be done every minute of every day. It sucks. Only time can tell when are you going to get tired of playing the same old memories in your head like a never-ending videotape.
But then, actually, I don't believe that we really forget, especially the ones we truly love. We just have to learn to live without them. Our minds can't be like a hard drive that when it gets corrupted, you'll just need to reformat it and it's as good as new. Not a single memory file from the past. Well how I wish it could be easy as that. The irony of it is that we mostly remember the people that we're supposed to forget. No matter how many other people we meet along the way, we can't deny that some are left engraved in our minds and much more deeper in our hearts.
So how to forget? I know one thing that's for sure. That one day, you will wake up and tell yourself, "Tama na, pagod na kong isipin ka. Ayoko ng mahalin ka. Gusto ko ng makalimot."
And that's how and when.
Hindi. Na. Kita. Mahal. Makakaalis. Ka. Na. Seven words.
‘Yung 8 years namin, kinaya niyang tapusin in 7 words.
Mace's 7 words is also Popoy's 7 words in the movie, One More Chance.
“Bash, 5 years.. itatapon mo lang lahat?”
When the day comes that someone tells you they'll love you forever, do not let it consume you. Because there will be a day that will come, when they will tell you that they dont anymore, and there will be nothing left of you.
I can no longer add anything more to this. Next!
“Bakit, kapag sinabi ba niya kung bakit, may magbabago? Ang bottomline, hindi ka niya mahal.”
(Why, if he told you the reasons, will it change everything? The bottomline is he don't love you anymore.)
It usually happens that when relationships end, those who are left behind always ask the question, "WHY?" Unstoppable tears and endless whys, it's painful that sometimes the answers are unsearchable or not quite acceptable for every broken heart.
Like the bungee jumping incident in Mace's dream. They were already in full gear, holding each other hands very tight. Suddenly, Mace felt her boyfriend was slowly letting go of her hand, until she realized that her boyfriend jumped off without her. That's it. When people leave, there's nothing you can do to make them come back. Or even if they do, it will never be the same as before again.
So what's the use of knowing the reasons of why the person decided to unlove you? Sometimes, it doesn't need an explanation for a closure. When it's over, it's good as gone. Case closed. The mere fact that the person didn't make an effort to save your relationship is a clear implication that it's not worth keeping for and not even worth going back for anymore.
For a love that's true or long term relationships that failed in the end, it's never easy at all. When you had the mindset that both of you will be together forever but then it didn't worked out just the way you thought it would be. All the effort, time and love had been gone to waste.. just like that, such a terrible feeling eh? Anyway, like they always say, everything happens for a reason, whether you know it or not, it's like a pill you need to swallow. You may get high and dizzy for a while but time will come that you just have to stop asking yourself a lot of whys, just accept everything and move on. Moreover, these pains aren't suppose to make us weak rather it should force us to be stronger than ever. Hopefully, when it all had passed, you'll surely consider that you deserve someone better..and who knows, that someone might be just around the corner.
Wala naman pala ‘yun sa tagal ng relasyon. Kung hindi ka na nya mahal, hindi ka na nya mahal.
(It doesn’t matter how long your relationship was. If he don't love you anymore, he don't love you anymore, and he probably mean it.
Time is not a measure of quality, of infatuation or of love. It doesn't speak of substance or endurance. Time is either well-spent or damn wasted. But how could you possibly know if you're not wasting your time and that you're spending it with the right person? That's quite the tricky part. I don't know either. When we fall in love, we fall in love. We're lucky if the person we love won't change their minds loving and wanting us to be in their lives even after a few months or years later. That's all we could hope for, we can never control people's feelings. If they've fallen out of love, there's no way to get it back.
Damn horrible truth which is more scarier than any monster in your nightmares huh?
Aren’t we supposed to be great by this time?
This reminds me of that very popular essay question way back in highschool days, "How do you see yourself 10 years from now?" Like would you imagined your current status, present job, life's never ending dramas, the chances you didn't take, that waiting game for le beau to come by? Of course, what was written back there is quite different from what had actually happened to you.
The truth is, every day is the most perfect time for you to show how great you can become. It's a long process. Your talents may rust but it can never be unlearned, it will only get better in time. The choice is always yours. You can dream all you want or you can dream, wake up and work hard for all your heart's desires to come true. You just need to make an effort to push hard and learn how to stand firm in your goals and aspirations in life. Coz if you don't, you'll lose it or someone else will take that chance from you.
In the movie, Anthony lost her girlfriend because he didn't tried harder to win her back. He didn't chase long enough to catch up with her. He got tired easily. Instead, he clung to what people say, "If it's meant to be, it's will be. Let fate or whoever do the work." So it's all up to the wind? To destiny? Some vague force that doesn't show you the future with someone you really love? I don't really think so. Destiny bring people together but it isn't responsible for anyone's forever. It's still up to them to make it last, for them to do the hard work. Just like for Mace, it shouldn't be that way. She said, you should go after the one you love, fight for him. Don't wait for the wind to blow him back to your direction. Pull him back. As much as you can. Don't give up. Don't let go.
Hmm. It not all about love and romance, it also shows on how we should act to make our lives worth living and live without any regrets. Anyway, still believe that like the magical force of tadhana of bringing two people together, there's also some kind of a force that will push you towards the rightful choice in life and love, and the path where you're simply destined to be.
Kasi ‘yung ganyang kalaking pagmamahal, ganyang overwhelming love, imposibleng walang pupuntahan eh. May mababalik sa’yong pagmamahal. Not necessarily sa taong pinagbigyan mo, pero sigurado ako, mababalik ‘yan sa’yo.
(It's impossible for a love like yours, that overwhelming kind of love that flows out from you, to not catch on anywhere, or with anyone. It's bound to be reciprocated, not necessarily by the person for whom it was intended, I'm sure it'll go full circle back to you.)
Maybe that magical moment you've been waiting for all your life will happen someday. That the love you gave away some time ago will be returned back to you and it will be more than what you expected it to be. Also, the love that has been stuck in your heart will eventually find someone who rightfully deserves it.
No one can tell when. Maybe sooner or later. When you're ready for it.
My Review for ThatThingCalledTadhana
That Thing Called Tadhana is a Filipino romantic independent film that depicts the reality of undergoing a total heartbreak, dealing with the pain of letting go and how surprisingly someone will be there for you to help you move on. The film had showcased an extraordinary story, through the metaphorical signs and the ultimate hugot lines that surely will bring the feels to people who is burdened of their past.
Angelica Panganiban and JM de Guzman portrayed their role character in a very realistic way. The scripts contained true-life conversations and the exchanges of dialogue were expressed naturally that it all felt so real. Angelica as Mace, she delivered her lines in such powerful way and it all appeared so natural coz that's at least how every broken-hearted girl would feel and rant about.
While JM as Anthony, he was kind of meek but a man with a very deep perception in life. He portrayed the character of what a man should act and think like. I suppose. The sweetness of his glances to Mace and shy smiles in some scenes definitely made the spark of kiligness way beyond expected. Yiii. His acting was simple, not as strong as Mace's character but that made the overall performance so genuinely perfect.
I so love the simplicity of this film. How could be a film so wonderful with only two people talking all through out the whole time? How could so much words be striking enough that it almost felt like being pierced by a dozen of arrows? How could it be that saying bad words sounded so cute eh? I'm not really used to those kinds of words but upon watching it I was kinda amused. I can't remember how many times I've heard them blurted out "Tang***" etcs,, i guess it's like a flavor in every lines. So really cute. It was such a relatable movie, you'll cry and laugh at the same time. Maybe you'll even say, "I've been there, I felt that, I said that same line a few months ago!"
What more could I say? The cinematography is spectacular for an indie film, no doubt that it breached the gross revenue of 120M three weeks after it's nationwide release. The film's success was a visible indication of the peerless talents of its cast. Hats off Direk Antoinette Jadaone and to everyone who made this film possible.
My Final Thoughts
People fall in love and fall out of it, there's nothing permanent in this world. Everyone else have the right to change their minds, plans and even the partners they want to be with. Just that, in every course of action, there's a reaction we can't control. We lose something hoping that we would gain something much better. We just have to deal with the complications whether we like it or not. We can never run from the past, we should learn to completely let go. We can never control a heartache, we should endure until it stops aching. We can never ask anyone to stay if they've already decided to leave. We can only accept that some things happen in such ways they're supposed to happen. It's not all bad at all. Love hard, just don't lose your identity trying to give someone else everything they need.
I believe, there are three kinds of Destiny:
The one that come true ^_^
The one that had been lost -_-
And the one that ended right before it even started because of some kind of complication of a regrettable mistake. x_x
There are all kinds of love in this world,
but never the same love twice.
All images belong to it's respective owners. No infringement intended.
Hi Maria! I just watched the movie yesterday and yeah we have the same thoughts. Nice review!
ReplyDeleteThank you Miss Layne! ^_^
DeleteAgree, very nice review Maria, mega tango ako habang binabasa :)
ReplyDeleteNice and cute movie, pwede ding title nito ay #Hugot hehe :)
Thanks Zai!
Deleteworth watching over and over again. ^_^