WE JUST SAW two Vivamax flicks we recommend to those who love dramas: “366” and “Habangbuhay”.
They are not flawless, but both are heartrending tearjerkers for those who want to have a good cry.
"366" is written and directed by Bela Padilla who also plays the lead role. It's about grieving over the loss of a loved one.
Bela lost her boyfriend, JC Santos, in a car crash while they’re on vacation in Turkey.
Her life stands still while mourning and Zanjoe Marudo plays her friend and neighbor who helps her get through this personal crisis.
Zanjoe and Bela have an easygoing chemistry that makes their scenes together a joy to watch, since they're both so effortless, so natural, so believable.
Bela shows so much promise as a sensitive filmmaker of tender films about women and love.
"Habangbuhay" of Director Real Florido reminds us of those young adult novels turned into Hollywood films about sick lead characters, like "Five Feet Apart' (about cystic fibrosis) and "The Fault in Our Stars", "Everything Everything" and "Midnight Sun" where the characters also have rare ailments.
In "Habangbuhay", Elisse Joson's body lacks immunity so she is very sensitive to germs and is not allowed to go out by her overprotective mom, played to perfection by Yayo Aguila.
She falls in love with an orphan boy, played by real life squeeze Mccoy de Leon, and they take the risk of having a relationship despite her limitations.
It's easy to guess where the story would go, so be sure to have lots of tissues handy when you watch it.
The most amazing thing in the movie is Elisse Joson, who looks like a young Iza Calzado and acts up a storm in all her scenes.
She won us very easily in both her babaeng bakla comic scenes and her tearjerking dramatic and seriously ill scenes.
We hope she gets more acting assignments after this film. We just wish the movie were shorter as a lot of scenes drag, specially the ones where entire songs are played needlessly.
But we like the easy listening title song by Pat Cardoza.
