ULAN (Movie Review)

I’m going to try and write a movie review. Even though I miserably failed a movie review exercise for an English writing class but whatever.

This Sunday, I went out with a friend to watch the movie “Ulan”, literally Rain in English, directed by Ms. Irene Villamor and starring Nadine Lustre and Carlo Aquino. I came in the cinema with no expectations, but the movie was interesting that it got me and my friend pondering with so many things in the movie and in life.

I expected a fantasy love story based off the trailer but surprise bitches! I was in for a treat. The movie started with a scene that was raining (of course. Duh!) introducing little Maya. She was a curious and imaginative kid. She’s my favorite character. Nostalgia hits me every time she comes up the screen. I miss the province life. You’ll miss the old kwentos from lola’s and lolo’s, uncle and aunties about the mystical world at the backyard. The tikbalang story from her lola made her believe that there is “bawal na pag-ibig” or a love that is unapproved by God. But when she met the tikbalang who were getting married while raining, real of just an imagination, they thought her love will conquer all.

Nadine Lustre comes up to the scene as the young adult Maya. There we see her love life journey as she juggles finding her passion and niche in life too. Unrequited love slash the one that got away was there. The love that makes you believe in Prince Charming and happy ending was there too. The comedic touches in these scenes were great. When the latter love ended, she vowed that she will never fall in love again.

Scenes of little Maya would come up from time to time showing us her coping mechanism by escaping to the world of fantasy. We even got a glimpse of how she does it when classmates taunt her in school or with her lola not really letting her play. But don’t you feel kilig reminiscing your first or childhood crush through Jose Albert and little Maya’s scene?

Then comes in Carlo Aquino’s character Peter. He came in and made me think that he will be the kind of love that you never expected. They started out as friends to both having a mutual understanding. They made me kilig with their cute banters. It’s not pilit and their chemistry was good. Seriously, we’ve been watching Nadine with James Reid on and off screen for too long that you might question if she would have good chemistry with other male actors. But boom! Nadine Lustre can work it girl! I love the fact that Carlo’s character made Maya’s life more meaningful and interesting. He made her see what she could pursue, and he supports her. You know like James do for Nadine in real life. Anyway, all the signs were pointing that Peter is the “One”! Even the kiss in the rain was a sign but alas their love turned out to be the “bawal na pag-ibig” kind. Peter was her greatest love of all.

I apologize that I totally forgot what the exact quote was but I remember Maya saying a line that goes like “palagi na lang may nangyayari sa akin kapag umuulan”. Rain is there because of science. However, it teaches us a lot about life. Well, for others rain symbolizes pain, sadness, and melancholy. If you also remember the first scene where her lola told her not to play in the rain because she might get sick or hurt. She did oblige what her lola said. But at the end of the movie, you will see that Maya have totally embraced herself and she was happy she took a risk at love. She learned to not be afraid to love even though it will hurt. Like the rain, love will come and go. Rain kisses the earth, fills and nourishes it. The earth is us that needs the rain. We need to fill ourselves with love before we can even share it. Self-love and that might be enough. See love do conquers all. The rain at the end was a blessing and a sign of new beginnings. That scene was really stimulating as you hear the splashes of raindrops and water. It was perfect. It felt that I also find my inner peace like Maya did.

A pet peeve of mine however is how librarians are portrayed in movies. They are stereotypical old women in modest clothes, hair in a tight bun, and wearing big glasses. It was a minor thing in the movie, but it irks me. It’s a minus point five for me (lol). Seriously, it’s 2019 and Librarians doesn’t look like that anymore. Overall, I would give this movie an 8.5/10 rating. The storytelling is great. The soundtrack and musical scoring were perfect. The cinematography is superb. The casting was well done put together and their acting is no doubt good. Something fresh to watch. You will go out of the cinema enchanted and mystified. I recommend that you go and watch “Ulan”. Let’s support this kind of local movie.

Disclaimer: Images used in this review are not mine. They belong to their rightful owner.