Is love still love when it challenges what most people expect of gender, time, and connection? That’s the question Adolf Alix Jr. poses in Unconditional, a quiet but bold romance set against the sun-drenched backdrop of Siargao.
Timed for Pride Month, the film stars Allen Dizon and Rhian Ramos as two strangers whose paths cross just when they need healing most. On the surface, it plays like a typical island romance: Anna (Ramos), a social media marketing professional fresh out of a toxic relationship, finds herself whisked away by her best friend Uly (Rico Barrera) to escape the noise of Manila. But what follows isn’t your usual rebound story.
Anna is left in the care of Greg (Dizon), a soft-spoken barista living in Siargao with his sister (Lotlot de Leon) and mother (Elizabeth Oropesa), who suffers from dementia. From the outset, we learn Greg is a trans man, and Alix doesn’t hide this. The choice to reveal this early, rather than turn it into a dramatic twist, shifts the film’s tone from surprise to understanding. We’re not asked to react to Greg’s identity, but we’re invited to feel his hesitation, his fear, and the quiet yearning he tries to suppress.
As Greg, Dizon takes on one of his most nuanced roles to date. His performance is measured, grounded, and deliberate. He plays Greg as a man who’s long since made peace with who he is, even if the world hasn’t. While some might argue for casting a trans actor in the role, Dizon’s portrayal—particularly in a brave, unflinching gender-reveal scene—brings a subtle vulnerability that earns attention.
Ramos matches him with a performance that sits between strength and confusion. Her Anna is guarded, still haunted by her ex (Paulo Gumabao), but slowly letting her walls down.
The film leans heavily on Siargao’s beauty as a backdrop and as a symbol of duality: a place where tourism meets local life, where change coexists with tradition. Alix’s use of the island mirrors the film’s theme of how different identities and pasts can live side by side.
It’s good to mention that Unconditional isn’t loud or flashy. It doesn’t try to push boundaries with force. It lets the story unfold gently, allowing its characters room to breathe and its audience space to think.
From BR Film Productions, Unconditional is now screening in cinemas nationwide.
