innamorare

I went to Italy today. First,I went to Verona then to Rome. Well, at least sa mga pelikulang pinanood ko. Letters to Juliet and When In Rome – two rom com films that brought me to Italy and gave me an overdose of mush i’d probably not watch another love story for a year. And though i’m not a fan of cheesy films, i-review ko na rin sila just in case plano ninyong panoorin.

Unahin ko na yong When In Rome. This Kristen Bell/Josh Duhamel starrer could be the best date movie para sa mga teenager na getting to know each other pa lang ang drama. With a comedic, fantasy plot na simple lang, mae-enjoy ito ng mga kabataan dahil very light at madaling intindihin ang istorya.

Beth (Kristen) is a young curator in Guggenheim Museum. She went to Rome to attend the wedding of her sister. Na-meet nya don si Nicholas (Josh) na best man doon sa kasal. They flirted briefly pero may nangyari kaya out of disappointment, napagdiskitahan ni Beth yong coins doon sa Fountain of Love na malapit lang sa venue ng kasal.

She came back to New York with the coins not knowing na may spell na kasama yon. Then crazy men showed up and started chasing her, obviously enamoured by her. Yon na nga daw yong spell nong coins na kinuha nya don sa fountain (which, conveniently naman eh nasa New York lahat yong mga guys).

With the loonies chasing her, akala nya kasama don sa spell si Nicholas who is also ardently pursuing her. Hanggang sa bandang huli, pwede naman daw isoli na lang yong coins sa mga taong may-ari, not necessarily na ibalik don sa Fountain of Love sa Rome. Sinoli ang coin kay Nicholas pero hindi naman pala talaga kasama sa spell si Nicholas so her doubt that his love isn’t true is unfounded afterall. At syempre, kinasal sila.

With Danny De Vito (as one of Beth’s spell-bound suitor), Don Johnson (as her father) and Angelica Houston (as her boss), at least may credibility yong cast. Pero sa lead, wala akong chemistry na nakita sa dalawang bida lalo na’t pagkatangkad-tangkad ni Josh at nagmukhang midget si Kristen. At yong gumanap na kapatid ni Beth, ang layo ng mukha nila they don’t look like family at all. Whoever did this part of the casting eh mukhang nakatira ng wd40.

Nag-shoot sila sa Rome pero mostly interiors kaya parang wala rin. Except for the Fountain of Love na pwede naman kahit sa studio lang i-construct at doon sa taxi ride ni Beth from the airport to the venue ng kasal, wala na akong ibang nakitang shots that could have justified the title. Dapat When in New York or When In Guggenheim na lang ang title nito.

At yon nga, yong istorya na may kasama pang spell-spell, pang-teen ager lang talaga ito. This film isn’t asking you to take it seriously. It’s supposed to entertain you for the 1hr and 30min you’re watching it. Paglabas mo ng sinehan, kain ka ng burger sa McDo and kaput, wala nang effect yong pelikula.

Now, punta naman tayo ng Verona.

The opening credits of Letters to Juliet caught my attention coz i saw three favorite names. Gael Garcia Bernal who I loved in The Motorcycle Diaries and Y Tu Mama Tambien. I’m glad he’s now in mainstream Holywood and I do hope he’ll soon be another Javier Bardem with his talent and Latino charm. Then there’s Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero, two giants in the movie world na matagal ko nang hindi napapanood and I was curious how they look like now. Well, both of them aged wonderfully but still haven’t lost their magic in acting. So I wasn’t disappointed with the three – they’re all in their elements in this film.

In fact, maraming magagandang elements itong Letters to Juliet aside from the three supporting giants. The casting director didn’t go wrong with Amanda Seyfried and Christopher Egan who makes a good on-screen couple. Maganda ang production values, maganda ang script with some obviously well-thought dialogue all over the film. And the story? Well, I really liked it.

Sofie (Amanda) is an aspiring writer working for a publishing company in New York (again!). She’s engaged to a very passionate Chef Victor (Gael). They went to Verona (Italy again!) for a pre-wedding trip but it turned out Victor was more engrossed with meeting his suppliers (for his resto) kesa mag-spend ng time exploring the city with his soon-to-be wife Sofie.

Kakalakad mag-isa, Sofie stumbled upon the house of Juliet (Verona being Juliet's hometown, remember?) na dinadayo ng mga babae from different places, nag-iiwan doon ng sulat about their love life. She also found out na may sumasagot talaga sa mga sulat na yon, called the Secretaries of Juliet.

Sya rin ang naka-discover ng isang sulat na galing sa isang Claire written some 50 years ago. Touched by the letter, she wrote back to Claire hoping that she’s still in the same address in England. After a while, heto na si Claire (aged but still beautiful Vanessa), para hanapin ang love of her life na nakilala nya noong nandon sya sa Verona. Kasama ni lola ang apong si Charlie (Christopher) na medyo maangas ang dating kay Sofie.

Sofie’s journalistic instincts prodded her to tag along sa paghahanap ni Claire sa kanyang Lorenzo Bartolini na nagkataong mahigit 70 pala ang may ganong pangalan within the vicinity of Verona. Nakakatuwa yong mga Lorenzo na nakikita nila dahil iba-ibang karakter. Along the way, nagka-developan si sofie at Charlie. Naglitawan din ang mga kanya-kanyang istorya ng buhay nila.

Just as when they were about to give up the search for Lorenzo, eto na at lumitaw na sya (old but still dashing Franco). And Claire finally had the realization of her greatest love na tinakasan nya noong bata pa sya. Eto yong pinaka-touching part nong film. It gives incurable romantics hope that love,if it is real, knows no time and boundaries. Tulad nong nangyari kay Claire at Lorenzo na after years na nagkahiwalay pero nagkita pa rin even at the twilight of their lives.

As for Sofie and Charlie, well this isn’t a love story kung hindi sila magkakatuluyan. That’s already a given sa mga cheesy films na tulad nito. Medyo may pagka-corny pa yong ending dahil sa balcony nangyari yong usapan nila and Charlie had to climb up to Sofie which is obviously a spin from Romeo and Juliet. Pero palalampasin ko dahil minor flaw na lang ito if I look at the entirety of the film.

Mainly because para na rin akong nakarating ng Verona because of the wonderful cinematography. Ang ganda ng shots ng countryside lalo yong mga rolling greens of vineyards. Karamihan ng shots parang postcard. Complemented din ng magandang musical score na may mga lumang Italian popular songs pero may ilang songs na bago na si Colbie Caillat ang gumawa kaya lumabas na very contemporary yong pelikula.

Thanks to the director (Gary Winick) and writers Jose Rivera and Tim Sullivan who came up with a story na hindi pa masyadong bugbog sa dinami-dami na ng love story na nagawa sa pelikula. A bit predictable, but at least fresh.

So watch these films and fall in love. Whether you’d go for the light one or the heavier story, still you might be inspired to fall in love. Kaya nga Innamorare ang title nitong review ko. So cheesy!