Cross-country film Under Parallel Skies hit the Philippine cinemas last Wednesday, April 17, starring Thai actor Win Metawin and Filipina actress Janella Salvador.
The film delves into the story of a bachelorette Parin (Win), who’s looking for his mom in Hong Kong. From there, he crossed paths with Iris (Janella), an OFW and hotel receptionist struggling to make ends meet.
Years after the film was announced, fans, like me, couldn’t help but feel excitement as this is another Suddenly It’s Magic or might be another Kita Kita moment, as it would be helmed by award-winning director Sigrid Andrea Bernardo.
I was ready to immerse myself in the film. I was ready for it as I waited almost two years for this film.
However, watching it during its premiere night felt like I was in a love-hate relationship. It was a bit lacking for me and to be honest, cringy, maybe because: first, as someone who had watched several Filipino romantic movies, especially when it was also written by Bernardo, I already knew how the story would unfold and would end—a sad ending you wouldn’t want to see.
Secondly, watching it with fans might be a bit of too biased for me. With an audience full of Win and Janella’s fans, most of them might find the movie as a perfect masterpiece – ignoring scenes that could be improved and would only remember how Janella gave justice to her character and how Win could simply make the audience gush effortlessly.
There was a particular scene, the core of the film in my opinion, where Win finally found his mom. He had the chance to confront her for leaving the family, to express his anger and judgment for choosing another man. However, he surprisingly chose to forgive her easily.
But, I knew I had to watch it for the second time. Fortunately, I got to see it once again during another block screening hosted by the Hong Kong Tourism Board. And guess what, I enjoyed watching it more with an intimate audience. Not saying that it’s not fun watching it with fellow fans, but this time, it’s consisted of a more balanced audience.
I shared these sentiments with one of the film’s producers, Richard Juan, who also emphasized that watching it more than once would make you understand and feel more of the “parallelism and connections in the story.”
As I continued to watch it, I came to understand the whole movie – the message it wanted to convey, the purpose of each scene, and the decisions each character had made in a situation they faced.
Now watching it the second time, I still love how the movie was able to use four languages within the story – Thai, Filipino, English, and Cantonese. But that’s not what made the story powerful but it showed how “love” is still the universal language – it can connect people, it can heal pain, and it can make people happy.
Going back to the scene I mentioned above, I realized now why Win’s character forgave his mom that easily. He had learned that true happiness comes from forgiving and letting go.
The movie also made sure that the cultures of each country made their way to be emphasized in the film.
Nothing but praises on how Janella brought Filipino traits to the film – from the way she speaks to how hospitable she is to someone who is in need. I got to love those I thought “cringy” lines which made the story more relatable. And, oh, the Filipino humor incorporated in the film.
Win also made sure that he could keep up with his co-star as he used his charm to deliver his lines, may it be in Thai, Cantonese, English, and even Filipino.
The two actors also really did a great job working on their chemistry together as every scene that requires them to be sweet gave me butterflies in my stomach. The movie proved that scenes didn’t need to be sexy or very intimate just to give that kilig.
Lastly, it also made me realize that Under Parallel Skies did not have a sad ending but it gave the audience the reality of life – that just like the sunrise and sunset, “good things may come to an end, but good things will arise from endings.”