MATTEO GUIDICELLI was a no show at the presscon of his new movie with Regal Entertainment, “Mina Anud”. Nor was he present at the special premiere night of the film at the Cultural Center of the Philippines as closing film of the Cinemalaya, where it got a thunderous applause from appreciative viewers. So why would Matteo not cooperate in promoting the film?
There are several speculations. First, he plays a drug pusher in “Mina Anud”. As Paul, an aspiring celebrity host, he is the contact of the characters played by Dennis Trillo and Jerald Napoles in selling the high grade cocaine they found on the beach to his wealthy high end showbiz clients in Manila.
Matteo is now officially with the Philippine Army. He took their month long leadership development scout ranger course at a military camp in San Miguel, Bulacan. There were 76 soldiers in their class and he graduated with the highest grade of 95.20 percent, making him the most outstanding student in their batch. His role as a reckless drug pusher in “Mina Anud” will definitely run counter against the image of a clean law enforcer that he cultivated from his recent military training.
Second, he plays a bad boy in the movie who figures in a sex scene with a girl who is shown seated on his lap and pumping him. Maybe he’s afraid that this will not sit well with his girlfriend, Sarah Geronimo? Matteo is also shown cursing, using foul language, drinking alcoholic beverages and sniffing cocaine. Definitely a far cry from his erstwhile very wholesome image and his loyal fans might just get too shocked with and alienated by his daring acts in the movie.
But in all fairness to Matteo, everyone who has seen the movie praises him for accepting such an offbeat role, where he no doubts manage to shine compared to his lackluster roles before. The story is based on a real life story that happened in Borongan, Samar in 2009 and was transferred to the big screen quite convincingly.
“Dapat nga matuwa siya kasi nagawa niyang very credible and persuasive ang acting niya sa kakaibang role niya,” says one writer. “Wala siyang dapat ikatakot kay Sarah dahil sure namang maiintindihan nito na ginawa lang niya sa movie what is expected from him as an actor.”
Debuting director Kerwin Go has succeeded in making a very watchable movie showing what happened to the inhabitants of a small coastal village when the huge package of illicit drug gets washed away on their shores and they try to make a profit from it. “Mina Anud” will open in theaters nationwide on August 21.
