Ni REGGEE BONOAN

“MABUTI na lang guwapo ka dahil kung hindi, hindi kita pauupuin d’yan!”

Ito ang dialog ni Celeste (Bela Padilla) kay Jesse (Carlo Aquino) sa una nilang pagkikita sa coffee shop sa pelikulang Meet Me in St. Gallen na napanood namin sa celebrity screening nitong Martes sa Trinoma Cinema 7.

“So, pogi nga ako?” balik-tanong naman ni Carlo kay Bela.

Mukhang magiging paborito na naman ito ng millennials na mahilig manggaya ng dialogs sa nagugustuhan nilang pelikula.

Millennials ang target audience ng pelikula na pinag-uusapan ng dalawang bida ang maraming bagay tungkol sa buhay nila, kung bakit wala silang boyfriend/girlfriend, kung gusto nila ang isa’t isa, at kung bakit, hindi nagtatagal sa trabaho at kung anu-ano pa.

Inaabangan ng millennials ang ganitong pelikula dahil kailangan nila ng maraming paliwanag sa mga kinakailangang gawin o kung bakit hindi kailangang gawin ang iba’t ibang bagay.

“Kapag nasa edad 50 ka na, hindi mo na sakay ‘yung mga ganyang usapan, pero ‘yun ang uso, eh, so deal with it,” sabi nga ni Direk Joyce Bernal, isa sa mga kasosyong producer ng Spring Films nina Piolo Pascual at Erickson Raymundo.

“Kasi ako, (kung) gusto... gusto, (kung) ayaw... ayaw, tapos ang usapan.”

Ito na yatang talaga usong pelikula ngayon, dalawa lang ang karakter at maraming topic na pinag-uusapan. Kung sa totoong buhay, sila ‘yung sinasabing ‘may sariling mundo.’

Ang napansin namin ay napakaguwapo ni Carlo sa pelikula, mukha pa rin talaga siyang totoy, hindi halatang 32 years old na, he-he-he.

Effortless pa rin umarte si Bela, iisipin mo tuloy na baka wala nang aktingan, baka ganito talaga siya sa tunay na buhay.

May nasabihan na kaya si Bela na mahirap maging pangit dahil maraming problema? Isa ito sa mga nakakatawang linya sa pelikula.

At kaya naman pala itinutukso ulit si Carlo kay Angelica Panganiban, dahil may special participation ito sa Meet Me in St. Gallen. Siya pala ang naging dahilan kaya hindi natuloy ang relasyon nila ni Bela sa ikalawang beses nilang pagkikita.

Sa madaling sabi, we have the right love at the wrong time ang drama nina Jesse (Brad Pitt) at Celeste (Katy Perry).

(Editor’s note: May alias sila sa pelikula.)

Sa ikatlong pagkikita ay pareho na silang nasa St. Gallen at napa-wow kami dahil napakaganda ng Christmas Village sa nasabing lugar. Halos lahat tuloy ng mga nakasatabi naming manood ay nagsabi na gustong pumunta sa Switzerland, in their dreams. Kasi naman hindi naman madaling puntahan ang nasabing bansa kung wala kang budget.

Pero kahit gaano kaganda ng lugar ay nadurog ang puso namin kina Jesse at Celeste na dapat panoorin kung bakit.

Nakakuha ng Unanimous Graded A ang Meet Me in St. Gallen sa Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB) at Rated PG sa MTRCB.

Post nga ni Erickson: “We were absolutely ecstatic when we found out that #MeetMeInStGallen got a UNANIMOUS Grade of ‘A’ from Cinema Evaluation Board. Let me share with you the post of Mr Bum Tenorio, a member of the CEB:”

“As a member of the Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB), I rejoice every time a film gets a grade after every review/screening. It’s hard enough to get a grade of ‘A’ from the board members, harder it is to get a gradeof UNANIMOUS ‘A’ from the board composed of critics, journalists, cultural workers, scriptwriters, actors, cinematographers, film editors, film enthusiasts.

“Today, we celebrate again after we gave Meet Me in St. Gallen a grade of UNANIMOUS ‘A’. The film is brilliantly helmed from a script that is beautifully written, woven, welded. Bela Padilla is sterling in her attack of her role as Celeste. Carlo Aquino is incandescent in his role as Jesse.

“Hands down, Bela is one of the best in a lot of populated only by a very, very few good ones in her generation. She explodes in her silence. She lures you in her vulnerable moments.

“Carlo, on the other hand, despite his hiatus, has never lost his touch, his verve, his intensity as an actor. He has the cunning ability to make you sympathize with him or, in an instant, withdraw from him.

“Their love story has never been told the way Meet Me in St.Gallen is told. Sure the boy-meets-girl treatment is present but it goes beyond the discussion of love, beyond joy, beyond pain. Beyond reconnection, even beyond disconnection. The film questions circumstance. The film is both a friend and a friend in destiny.

“Meet Me In St.Gallen’s values transcend beyond loving -- but finding the joy and it’s antithesis in the core, in the periphery of the act of loving. A must watch Filipino film. #UnanimousGradeOfA. #CEB #MabuhayAngPelikulangPilipino.”