“Way Back Home”

It has been a long time since I watched a Pinoy film with a family theme. The last great drama would probably have to be “Ama, Ina, Anak” which tells the story of a young girl (Angelica Panganiban) adopted by a wealthy couple who later on were able to have a child of their own. Seeing the newborn infant as attention grabber and the reason why her foster parents suddenly paid her little attention, the adopted daughter once tried to kill the baby. The father (Edu Manzano) was of course enraged when he learned of this. The movie ended with a lot of drama and I think it’s the first Pinoy film to ever make me cry. 

“Way Back Home” stars Julia Montes and Kathryn Bernardo as sisters Jessica and Joana Santiago respectively. While young, Joana was separated from the family by accident while on vacation at a beach resort. She was finally adopted by a poor family in a coastal area and grew up to be a bubbly girl. Jessica, on the other hand, suffers from guilt and rejection from her mother (Agot Isidro) who regarded her as the primary reason for the disappearance of Joana. This in turn made Jessica bitter and envious of the attention their mother lavished on Joana when the latter was finally found. 

Both girls do well in school and are excellent swimmers. Now Jessica has always been popular in school. That is, until her sister attended the same school and beat her in academics. Joana, being her adopted town’s top swimmer, also emerged champion in a swimming contest thereby ruining Jessica’s winning streak. To top it all, Jessica’s friend (Sam Concepcion) whom she spurned as a lover has been paying more attention to Joana. Feeling that Joana has returned to snatch away all her happiness, Jessica can’t help but feel more annoyed at her younger sister. 

While on a retreat, Jessica dared Joana to a race at the sea. She almost drowned were it not for her younger sister who obviously won the race. After that, they patched things up and everything turned out well when everyone found forgiveness. For instance, their mother finally realized her negligence toward her elder daughter.

This movie has a lot of tearjerker scenes. For instance, the flashback scenes of the two sisters’ childhood in a heavy contrast to the present them would certainly tug at one’s heartstrings. Also everytime Jessica attempts to gain her mother’s affection only to be shown coldness and indifference is something every unfavored child would certainly relate to. But the most touching scene of all is towards the end when everyone finally finds peace and acceptance.

Like all supposedly heavy drama, this film does not lack a witty humor. Fish jokes are central to the movie mainly because Joana sells fish when she’s not in school, and also because living in a coastal town entails fishing as the main source of livelihood. One particular joke I like is during the swimming competition when Joana tells her friend (Enrique Gil) that she’s dying, a pun to daing (dried fish), because of extreme nervousness. I also like the inclusion of the chubby Clarence Delgado who plays the foster younger brother of Joana who extremely idolizes her.

Another thing I like about this movie is its usage of a poem with double interpretations to illustrate the state of the two sisters. On a literal level, Jessica’s teacher and classmates read it as her expression of her desire to find her long lost sister. But AJ (Sam Concepcion) tells her that she’s actually talking about herself in the poem and what a hypocrite she is. Literature is rarely used in Pinoy films and I must commend this movie for doing so. 

Concerning Bernardo and Montes, who also starred in the TV series remake Mara Clara, I must say that Julia Montes indeed is perfect to play the troubled kontrabida with her mestiza looks and her seemingly snobbish charm. Bernardo, on the other hand, has improved a little in this movie. Though truth be told, I feel that they still hold the remnants of their Mara Clara days which make it easier for them since Bernardo plays the aping bida for the second time.

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Regarding Julia Montes, she will be starring in another primetime series on ABS-CBN with Coco Martin in Walang Hanggan. Coco Martin, whom I fondly call Kukurukuku, is also one actor I admire for his thespic talents especially after Minsan lang Kita Iibigin where he played dual roles. Walang Hanggan will surely not to be missed. (And if ever I do because of work, I’ll just ask my sisters for summaries since I’m racing against time to finish many things.)