UnTrue is a risqué film by Sigrid Bernardo, but it’s still worth catching in the cinemas. Cristine Reyes and Xian Lim are the lead stars in this psychological-thriller-drama story by Bernardo and shot in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Bernardo, a risk-taker filmmaker, takes pride in the film since her stars delivered what she required of them to complete the project.
Watching the film is like transporting the moviegoers to that mysterious-looking place. Its location is at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. The country’s boundaries are the Black Sea (west), Russia (north), Turkey and Armenia (south), and Azerbaijan (southeast).
According to the director, the place is just perfect for the milieu of her story. Reyes and Lim play as a Filipino couple who tied the knot after a whirlwind romance and eventually had domestic violence.
Both characters claim that their spouse is a lunatic. Such a great way of telling a mystery, but when a third character named Anna–it somehow loses the chaos between Mara and Joaquim. The attempt may be novel by injecting Anna in the story, but it somehow diminishes the curiosity of the audience.
What I like about the film is Bernado’s courage to tell this kind of story, differently–the ‘he said, she said’ approach.
The filmmaker succeeded in getting the audience to invest who they want to root for between the two violent characters. Its cinematography is beautiful. The images, the sound, and the music evoke fear.
Between Reyes and Lim, the former stands out. Lim is effective in his playful persona, not the dark kind. Reyes tackles both personalities with ease and can easily snitch a nomination in award-giving bodies next year. Rhen Escaño‘s appearance is both bold and notable. She knows when to steal the thunder and have her moment in a scene.
This convoluted couple story is still showing in cinemas and presented by Viva Films and The Idea First Company.
