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HUESPAPER BY THE NEW HUE

Manila, Philippines

Writer's pictureErla Munsayac

On Vodka, Beers, and Regrets: A Piece of Reality

If you have read my previous review about Elise, you’ll know that I have not been a fan of locally made movies until the pandemic. This is an honest opinion—just black and white, no gray areas.


Light spoilers ahead!

Courtesy to Viva Films

Plot on the trend?

This is not the first time that I’ll see the Bela Padilla and JC Santos tandem. I have seen them before in ‘100 Tula Para kay Stella’. This is also not the first time to see a locally made movie where the protagonist did not have a happily ever after with a lover. They’ll either choose their career, their family, their friends, and most especially, themselves.


Just to be clear, I am not complaining. I know that movies are supposed to entertain people, to be an escape from this world. These kinds of movies show reality. These kinds of movies help us learn without experiencing the pain first-hand.


Irene Villamor helped us see reality. See the naked truth.


Alcoholism

We all know different kinds of stories about some person who is battling an addiction to alcohol. This movie is not different from theirs. It is not easy to just tell someone to stop drinking as it is bad for their health.


For this movie, Bela is a ‘has-been’ artist. She became a drunkard as she grew up from being a child actress and nobody liked her after she grew up, not even me. Bela’s portrayal of her role is so effective that she made me hate her for always sabotaging herself, for being such a stubborn person. Her acting skills do not look like she is acting.


So... we can actually relate ourselves to the main character. We have been in the worst kind of situations, we have sabotaged ourselves, we have our own problems, and we saw it in a movie.


We saw how annoying and how irritating Jane (Bela) is in the movie. After some self-reflection, we can see and act more properly in our real lives. We don't have to be a popular actor or actress to realize that being addicted to alcohol and sabotaging ourselves will only do more harm than good.


Best Musical Score

Movies that are too real feels real because our emotions are being intensified by the musical score. I don't know about you, but I cry whenever I see someone crying on the screen with sad music in the background.


I hate to admit it, but I cried in this movie. Everything worked out so great. From the casting, cinematography, screenplay, up until the musical score.


Just recently, Kean Cipriano bagged The Eddys Awards Best Musical Score for his work at 'On Vodka, Beers, and Regrets'.


Here is his statement after receiving the award:

“I would like to share this recognition with all my collaborators, Emil Delarosa, Ej Edralin and Martin Riggs. Thank you so much to Direk Irene Villamor for allowing me to be part of her masterpiece. I will always be extremely grateful to her for believing in me and allowing me to express the thing I love most which is music. Thank you so much to The Eddys for this recognition. This fuels me to keep on creating especially during this time. I will cherish this for as long I live.”

This movie did not leave me disappointed. It is a piece of reality that I'd like to see every now and then.


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