On December 18, Primetime actor Dingdong Dantes highlighted the grit of the Filipino adaptation of A Hard Day.
During the media conference for his Metro Manila Film Festival movie, A Hard Day, Dantes highlighted the realistic quality of the crime-action film.
“‘Yung setting natin ay mas grit. Mas pinapakita natin ‘yung kung ano talaga ‘yung kung ano talaga ‘yung mayroon dito sa atin, dito sa Pilipinas. Kumbaga it’s very now, it is very realistic and therefore ‘yung natural reaction mo talaga ay patungo kung sa ano ‘yung katotohanan.”
He clarified that they kept his character’s motivation similar to the Korean version of ‘A Hard Day.’
“Pero hindi nagbabago doon ‘yung intention ng character kumbaga ‘yung pinanggagalingan niya very much similar to the original.”
He then cited the cultural differences between Filipinos and Koreans, as shown in the movie.
“Kung ihahambing mo ‘yung dalawa, makikita mo ‘yung diversity noong dalawang kultura. Halimbawa, ‘yung kabaong doon, iba pala ‘yung proseso ng paglibing ng mahal nila sa buhay doon versus dito.
“Happy ako at the end of the day, we still have a product that is still very, very Filipino, in terms of–visually. At siyempre pati sa puso kasi hindi naman pwedeng binase nga natin sa pelikulang ‘yun pero ‘yung core noong pelikula ay galing sa dayuhan pero inspired by their story.”
Dantes also shared what it was like working with director Lawrence Fajardo, lauding the filmmaker’s diligence to his craft.
“First time ko siya makatrabaho, sobrang, sa tingin ko, sobrang perfect, sobrang nagtugma kami sa ganitong klaseng proyekto dahil si Direk Law ay kumbaga he’s a very realistic actor. Kumbaga ‘yung impulse niya ay kinukuha niya kung ano ‘yung katotohanan.
“Nababagay siya doon sa script, kaya siguro naging maayos ‘yung collaboration namin dahil pareho kami ng interpretation. At kung ano ‘yung tungkulin ko bilang actor ay mas napagaan dahil sa kanya.”
A Hard Day is a Filipino adaptation of the 2014 Korean movie of the same title.
Viva Films serves a crime-action thriller, directed by Lawrence Fajardo, as their official entry for Metro Manila Film Festival premiering on December 25.
‘A Hard Day’ stars Primetime actor Dingdong Dantes and the 2021 Venice Film Festival’s Volpi Cup Best Actor John Arcilla.
