‘Andrea,’ soon to be a movie, will tug at your heartstrings

Filmmaker and artist Rom Factolerin’s first novel, Andrea: Oyayi sa Daluyong has been described variously as a work of Philippine noir, a transgressive novel, and urban literature. It is all these, but also, at its core, it is a work of love, longing, and loss.

At 30, Andrea has felt more heartbreak than most. Her life is a web of conspiracy, betrayal, and cruelty spun from the hard choices she’s had to make to stay alive in a ruthless, competitive world.

Her heart aches to see Sinta, her five-year-old daughter, deal with a facial disfigurement caused by congenital syphilis. With her partner Naldo, Andrea tries to dig her way out of the morass she has sunk into, but instead, he pushes her down further into a world of disgrace and shame, where she meets “halimaw ng lipunan” in the form of a brutal retired general, an avaricious congresswoman, and other dregs of society.

‘Andrea: Oyayi sa Daluyong’ is filmmaker and artist Rom Factolerin’s first novel

Andrea hopes the child she carries in her womb will be her second chance at a new life, but first, she must free herself from her various entrapments before seeking revenge — and salvation.

The underlying theme of the novel is the war on drugs that has claimed many innocent victims. (Do not forget Kian delos Santos). In his acknowledgments, Factolerin says this work began as a screenplay he wrote in 2017, during the height of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s Oplan Tokhang campaign. A producer asked him to write an action story on that theme, with a woman as the main character; this was a first for the author, who agreed.

The script went through seven revisions before it was deemed ready for shooting. The director was to be Christopher de Leon. Then the pandemic happened and all plans shut down. During the extended lockdown, Factolerin turned the script into a novel, about which De Leon said: “I fell in love with the protagonist Andrea. You will empathize and get hooked by this reluctant lady assassin’s journey. It’s an emotional roller-coaster action-packed character-driven story. A picturesque novel fit for a film.”

Some of the action takes place in a squalid urban setting that the residents of the area call “Baryo Matae,” and Factolerin says that this is based on an actual location in Pasay City, where he grew up. In fact, many of the scenes in the novel are taken from real life – his own and our fellow Filipinos’.

Factolerin’s skill lies in creating realistic characters in authentic settings and situations. This is no surprise as he says he thinks carefully about the “psychological underpinnings” of each character. There is a scene where Andrea witnesses Naldo shoot a couple of men in the meat section of a public market. She is so close to the victims that their blood spatters on her face. She slumps to the ground in shock. Back home, Naldo explains his reason for the shooting (no spoilers here!), and it leaves Andrea numb and shaking.

The scene was so well-written that I also felt Andrea’s terror and dismay. I had to put the book down several times to recover after reading this and a few other intense and violent scenes. The narration unfolds like a movie – understandable when we remember that the novel began life as a script.

‘Andrea’ masterfully tackles themes of love, longing, and loss

The book itself as an artifact also has special surprises, like pictures and words emphasized in different colors and fonts (it reminds me of the children’s series Geronimo Stilton). In terms of book design (likewise by Factolerin), it’s also a winner.

For a teaser of the book’s contents, find actress and model Andrea del Rosario’s vivid reading of the book’s fourth chapter on Youtube, recorded at ‘Andrea’s’ virtual launch. I for one can’t wait to see this book made into a film.

But more than that, this book is documentation of this particular period in our history, as it deals with subjects that affect our daily lives and fill our newspapers – drugs, corruption, poverty, impunity, and political power and violence wielded for personal gain. ‘Andrea’ is a mirror of our culture and society as it is, and this novel will not allow you to look away.