The first local film to successfully combine dance and poetry, it’s a rare love triangle story with gay overtones that is beautifully understated and handled with much subtlety. It starts with with Paolo Avelino stalking his literature teacher, Jean Garcia, who also teaches dance. He then meets his classmate, Rocco Nacino, who tutors him on dancing so he can get closer to Jean. The undercurrent of Rocco’s sentiments for Paolo is very palpable but never articulated. You can feel the electricity between them when they dance and even Jean herself observes this, but it is never fully defined. That deeply moving but wordless scene where tears start to well up from her eyes while she watches Paolo and Rocco dance together is marvelously executed and extremely well acted by Jean who gives an exquisite, relaxed but very authoritative portrayal her seemingly simple but actually complex role. She even dances so well.
Rocco and Paulo sizzle in their respective roles. They’re a pleasure to watch, especially Rocco who has such an expressive pair of eyes and shines in his solo number where he gets to express in dance his internal turmoil that is not allowed to surface on the exterior. GMA-7 is lucky to have such fine young actors. The ending showing Paulo shedding a single tear while dancing with Rocco will blow you away. The use of the poems of Ophelia Dimalanta (SLN), Ruth Elynia Mabanglo, Benilda Santos, Joi Barrios and Rebecca Anonuevo is perfectly suited to the material, some of them beautifully set into music. This is an engaging and compelling piece of local cinema that should not be missed.
