Metro Manila Film Festival entry ‘Tagpuan‘ is different from other romantic movies of the past. The movie which is melancholic based on its trailer offers a taste of what’s to come.
Here are 10 reasons Tagpuan‘ is definitely a movie to watch in MMFF.
Not just love, but also social and economic topics
‘Tagpuan’ is not purely about the story of love that we usually see in Philippine romantic movies. It also tackles social and economic related topics that revolve around the real-life situations of adult love. According to its director, love is affected by several factors that shape the relationship of a person. With this in mind, the movie focuses on these factors as well. What’s interesting is that those topics go hand in hand and blend well into the movie’s storyline.
A love story that touches the diaspora, the OFWs, and immigrants
And just like its rival ‘Coming Home’, it also talks about relationships between Filipinos working abroad. Unlike the other movie which is about a father who abandoned his family, ‘Tagpuan‘ focuses more on the current stage of love where both lovers lost their passion. This is where another character played by Shaina Magdayao comes in, to give life and meaning to the male lead’s character.
It also dives into diaspora and immigrants as well as their struggles to find love in a foreign country, like the character of Iza Calzado.
A movie about crossroads
The movie means to be a crossroad of different ethnicities. The locations where the story takes place included New York, Hong Kong, and Manila where a variety of nationalities meet and co-exist. The movie’s plot emphasizes this message as the leading man, played by Alfred Vargas gets to meet his past and present lovers in different countries.
The reality when it comes to love
What separates this movie from other romantic movies is that it really talks about real-life applications when it comes to intimacy. It is not your typical romance where some situations were derived from fairytales. ‘Tagpuan’ focuses on what is the meaning of life, philosophy, and pain. It is something that grown ups would really understand and relate to.
Directed by a brilliant director
The movie is directed by Mac Alejandre who wanted a story where adults have fallen in and out of love or fighting for love after the romance has gone. With his prowess in directing, and the brilliance of Ricky Lee, they were able to create a movie that whenever a question is answered, another dimension is opened that would lead to more questions.
Beautiful lines that only Ricky Lee could make
Aside from its brilliant director, the script was written by none other than Ricky Lee. The way that the famous writer wrote the story of ‘Tagpuan’ was solid and had his own way to tackle any subject matter.
What’s interesting here is that the lines thrown by the actors have deeper meaning. Viewers must think harder in order to get a sense of these lines.
A movie for broken people
The movie is not your typical love triangle where characters always get into a shouting match. ‘Tagpuan’ tries to connect to broken people by empathizing with the pain that they’ve been through. The reason that this movie is for people with broken hearts is that the realism of events, as they unfold in the story relates to how a they get hurt and able to find love again.
You will be surprised that the characters are pretty much calm unlike other movies where there are more than two people in love. It also sends a message that whatever choice you make in life, it will be on you as the movie is also about real love that transcends conventions and judgments.
A daring role for Shaina
For the fans of the actress, this will be the first that they see her do a daring role as the movie involves a lot of sex scenes. In ‘Tagpuan’, Shaina is introduced as a steamy and carefree type of girl.
Only 3 characters
Another interesting take about the movie is that they only have 3 characters. Usually, a movie consists of a lot of characters to give life to the story. However, ‘Tagpuan’ only has the characters of Shaina Magdayao, Iza Calzado, and Alfred Vargas. So it is interesting to see how the story will unfold with only just 3 characters.
Different sides of famous cities
This is not your typical movie where most of the time shows the beauty of each city featured in the film. In ‘Tagpuan’, they focused not on the bright light and extravagant lifestyle in New York, but focused on the starting point of Filipinos who just started working there. For Shaina’s character, instead of having the best life in Hong Kong, she is in Hong Kong’s cage houses where residents could barely move because of how small the space is.
‘Tagpuan’ tells the story of Allan (Alfred Vargas), Agnes (Iza Calzado), and Tanya (Shaina Magdayao) are three people who are trying to find themselves and who are looking for second chances.
Catch ‘Tagpuan’ in Upstream on December 25.
