This review may contain spoilers
This is a wonderful film.
I don't feel I can adequately comment on certain points that I enjoy about this film. That's due to both the fact that I'm not a professional reviewer, and that I do not have the full perspective. I'm not a person who is actually deaf, or one that has fallen in love (Aro/Ace). This film however, has made me felt like I now better understand both. (spoilers are marked with **these**)Story: The story, although on an objective level is really simple (it's basically an architect falling for a deaf person) feels really personal. It doesn't really feel like a standard, lazy rom-com, that I'm very much used to in my home-country. The plot addresses the issues that, based off of the many articles, reviews, and personal testaments I've seen, portray the life of deaf people pretty accurately. The writers and directors didn't treat any of the characters like they were a problem, or wrong for being different. This story of love is handled with care, when it could've so easily been pandering or portray those with disabilities as outsiders, exotic, not belonging.
In the plot, when Gali feels he doesn't belong, being left alone at a party, his reaction to this **trying to stop being around Mara** is reasonable, it doesn't feel like drama for the sake of drama. It's drama built from reasonable misunderstandings, a fear of being hurt, an outsider.
Acting: i love how the actors conveyed emotion. Emotion doesn't just come from words, it comes from actions, facial expressions. This was something that Maine Mendoza and Carlo Aquino really knew how to use to their advantage, they really could feel like Mara and Gali. When Mara and Gali are happy, you can really feel it with how their faces light up and the energy they have when they dance. That same force in emotion applies when we see them sad, in remorse, regret, or serious, loving each other.
OST: Buwan (by Juan Karlos) and Sino (by Unique Salonga) after this film are forever connected to the scenes in this film for me. That's a testament to both the songs themselves and the visuals. What they picked really works well with this movie. The OST was really used to the fullest, like when **the audio for the song Mara and Gali are dancing to is cut. And all we here when Gali dances is what he can hear, nothing.**
Rewatch Value: Rewatch value is incredibly subjective, and it's highly dependent on personal preference and mood. Personally, it's really easy to get invested into Mara and Gali's story, and cry to. I can attest to that, this is a film I love to come back to, I've already rewatched it around three times already (I cried on my first two rewatches.) There are also things like the visuals that keep me coming back to this film. **Stuff like Mara and Gali dancing at the end, the vibrant blue of them just diving into a pool together, the times where they're just texting, the Christmas lights in Gali's room.**)
Overall, this film was made with a lot of care. For those worrying that this is going to be bad, that this sees someone who's different only as that, and nothing more, this film is not that at all. It's a story of love between two people, who push past their differences and issues by talking to each other and trying to help each other. One which, if you have the chance, I highly recommend you watch Isa Pa With Feelings.
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This review may contain spoilers
The Only Thing that Stops Us Is Ourselves!
Point to anyone on the planet, and you will find a deluge of problems, obstacles, challenges, disabilities, and differences. When our attention is on any of these things, we lose sight of what is truly important and beautiful. We lose the ability to maximize the potential of something wonderful.Most people do not realize that we are NOT our problems, obstacles, challenges, disabilities or our differences. What is needed is the correct perspective about who we are and the ability to communicate. Most relationships fail or struggle due to lack of communication.
This is a story that challenges the idea that two people from two different worlds (in this case, hearing and those who can't) can be together. Yes, the challenges might be more profound, but does that make any less worthwhile?
Mara is a young woman who has just failed to acquire her degree to become an architect. She begins to question whether or not it something that is even right for her.
Living down the hall in the same apartment complex is Gali. He is a young man who just happens to be deaf. He has a gift for teaching and working with deaf children. He aspires to go to the US to study so that he can return to educate more children and people due to a lack of facilities in the Phillippines.
What starts out as a wonderful friendship, soon turns into romance. Of course, it doesn't take a genius to know the challenges that are on their way.
Mara makes the mistake of leaving Gali alone at an office party. He quickly finds himself unable to communicate or even know what to do. Of course, the other people at the party have no idea about his disability, and he soon feels like a fish out of water.
Gali, on the other hand, has a troubled past where the woman he loved--a woman who could hear--broke off their engagement. Despite his best efforts to prove otherwise, he soon believes that his relationship with Mara will follow the same path. He comes to believe that someone who is deaf cannot be with someone who can hear. And so, he suddenly ends it. In short, Gali believes that his disability is who he is and that it cannot be dealt with by someone who doesn't have it.
The beauty of the story is how Mara and Gali come to realize that ANY relationship is work! And that it takes communication and effort. If two people want it badly enough, there is nothing that can stop them.
The best version of this type of story for me comes from the old TV show, "Life Goes On" which came out in the early 90s. It eventually takes on the question if a young girl can be in a relationship with a boy who is HIV+. Since then, we've seen a number of wonderful stories like this film that endeavor to tell people: don't give up on something just because it's hard! The rewards can be well worth it!
The performances from Carlo Aquino and Maine Mendoza are first-rate, and nobody can deny the chemistry between these two actors. The movie is moving, heartfelt, and profound. Anyone who questions being with someone they love because it might be too difficult, should give this film a look! And even if you're just looking for a beautiful and inspiring story, you can't go wrong with "Isa Pa, With Feelings."
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This review may contain spoilers
A movie that is definitely worth watching. The story was so beautiful.
As someone who writes narrative, I really liked the plot structure in this movie. I would only evolve Mara's internal conflict a little more, and I would give Gali a more closed ending after his realization.But other than that, this movie was so worth watching. The acting was great and beautiful (my eyes were teary most of the time), the actors portrayed the characters' feelings so well. The special effects as in Gali's POV were so good. I think it is very important to be empathetic with the people around us, you won't ever understand their personal struggles, but you can choose to be a kind and understanding person to them (which is actually what we all should do), this movie also promotes that.
And, oh I desperately need to look for the movie's OST, it was just so perfect!
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Fluffy Romance with Screaming Silence
This movie is pretty much the typical, girl has a bad day, meets a cute boy who helps her up and they start spending more and more time together and just like most rom coms end up falling in love.The girl seems to have good hearing while the boy is deaf, leading to the people around them being skeptical towards their love , add to that how society often teaches people to pity the deaf resulting in hearing people either feeling sorry for them, getting annoyed/ showing 0 consideration or having hearing people only come near them to make them selfs feel good... Leading the male lead to be scared and scared shitless when facing the possibility of falling in love with a girl who can hear. This was done pretty ok.
What was done well was turning the sound as well as translation of sign language on and off giving us a window to how it can feel to not understand what people are saying.
The leads had really good chemistry, with great (HOT) dance scenes. The over all focus was on finding solutions to the problems deaf people face in their day to day life. The male lead is also shown as a competent human being which is always a plus.
It does still ave some issues but it was a decent movie, with a lot of cliches and pretty shots.
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Excellent chemistry and pacing - A lovely romance that stirs up many emotions within me.
I seem to have seen quite a few dramas lately with sign language - Chinese, Japanese, Thai and now Filipino. Most of the stories have a very similar plot. We will see the romance of two individuals, one is usually deaf and the other hearing. We follow the story of how they meet, fall in love, face life's cruel challenges, and how they can or cannot overcome these challenges. "Isa Pa with Feelings" pretty much follows this storyline as well.The reason for my high rating is not necessary the plot per se, but the sum of many good parts. The two leads are lovely and easy on the eyes. The acting is good and they have excellent chemistry together. ML looks so smitten from the first scene he was introduced. I also like that they both have a cheery personality, thus their falling in love story is adorable with many heart-fluttering moments. That's why it becomes so heartbreaking when they are faced with life's challenges. The contrast between the beginning & middle of the movie and the end brings up so many emotions within me. The pacing of this movie is excellent as well. The movie is able to tell the story of the two leads (background and falling in love) in many great montages and flashbacks. I never felt like it's rushing or trying to jam pack many things into a movie. It has a start, a middle and an end, and closing out with a beautiful dance.
If you are in the mood for something cute and heart-fluttering with great music and dancing, I strongly recommend this movie. This is what I need at the moment when I am somewhat in a drama slump. The 9.0 rating is very subjective as it reflects how I feel during and after completing this movie.
Completed: 6/19/2023 - Review # 320
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You're hearing, I'm deaf. We're different... Then I'll be deaf for you.
This is truly a wonderful movie!I waited so long to watch this as it was not available for the international audience until two weeks ago when they released it on YouTube.
From the beginning to till the end you are going to feel a lot of things that you have never felt before. Because if I be honest I would say we, who can both hear and talk can never truly feel what a deaf/mute/ mute & deaf person really feels. We can try to understand but its far from being felt like one. The mature people can decode the silence but when that silence becomes your life then it's hard to understand spoken words. Which is why this film excels in portraying the message clear and loud. They made you feel those complicated emotions with silence and stares.
Now the most important thing that holds everything together is the leads acting and their insane chemistry. Oh my my I could feel the love from the screen! From hesitant gaze to slow stare I fell in love with the characters. Their chemistry was chemistring >.<
The OSTs and the music just hits the spot! I can definitely listen to them all day. They're so melodious and meaningful. From the trailer it's the first thing that made me want to watch the movie.
This movie is highly recommended if you want to let go of stress and those pent up emotions, then this is for you. It has fluff, a bit comedy, romance and a door to the wall of silence.
After finishing the movie now I can understand why is it named "One More Time. With Feelings"!
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This review may contain spoilers
Once More, With Feeling
When I read the title in english, it made me immediately think of the famous musical episode of Buffy though this movie has nothing in common with it except for the title. And dancing!Mara is a trainee architect successful in everything she does. All of a sudden she fails an important exam everyone though she was going to ace. Ashamed, embarrassed and depressed she meets her neighbour Gali who happens to be deaf and whose attentive behaviour helps her out of her misery. Even though they fall in love can their two worlds meet?
This is one of the rare movies/dramas dealing with handicap and how the society perceives it.
Gali is at ease with his deafness, he's got dreams and works towards achieving them. But unfortunately most of the people do not know how to deal with sensitive situations like this and are either aggressive (car driver) or dismissive (delivery guy) and sometimes even Mara, when surrounded with her friends, forgets about him.
Mara is someone who does not know the meaning of failure and when it hits her, she latches on a first person showing her kindness, understanding and asking nothing in return. That is Gali.
The romance was nice but I was not convinced of Mara's sincerity. She seems to love him but only when they are just the two of them in their bubble. That's where the movie is lacking as well: apart from one scene at a party at her work, Mara does not introduce Gali to her family. This is actually good material for a drama in which we could see the development of their relationship and the impact it has on their respective surroundings. Because, while Gali's deaf friends accept he and include her, her friends do not know how to address him so they pretend they do not see him. That party scene at Mara's work was painful when she abandoned him.
Carlo Aquino who plays Gali was outstanding showing kindness, sweetness, understanding and optimism of that character. Maine Mendoza was just the right amount of smugness and the incredulity when she was cut to size by destiny. Or more likely, by her own shortcomings.
The cinematography of this movie is rather good: playing a lot with lights and shadows and soft lighting and water. The effects are calming, fluffy, feeling good. The sound editing was extraordinary too often showing us the silence Gali lives in and how uncomfortable it makes everyone feel when they do not understand what is going on around them. Mara had the same experience when she went to the silent birthday party barely knowing sign language. But she felt welcome. Not Gali, rejected because of the silence.
Kudos for giving us a movie with an amazing character such as Gali showing us the daily struggles of non hearing individuals fighting for acceptance.
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