It is almost certain that director Paul Soriano would outdo himself when the soaring waves of “Siargao,” his previous opus, washes the film industry clean of the drowning cinematic formula. Alas, “First Love” keeps the faith, if not doused under the beauty of Soriano’s earlier surf-culture motion fest. Though it seems a first for him as the movie feels pristine perhaps due to its lead character — the water. Set in picturesque Vancouver, Canada, “First Love” is the initial on-screen pairing of Aga Muhlach and Bea Alonzo. Muhlach is Nick, a self-professed businessman who is tenacious to reset his life after an awry venture supposedly ruined another family. In a bizarre albeit scripted twist of fate, he bumps into Ali (the always charming Alonzo), in a bookstore where she is a staff plus a postcard-maker which she limns with her photos of landscapes. Nick and Ali dive in the dialogue-driven storytelling as if “First Love” is a spiritual successor of “Before Sunset” by Richard Linklater. Much like Ali, who infers destiny, the film calls for a cosmic reinforcement of personal tropes. Just rely on the power of love and fate which kindle her to extreme living despite suffering from cardiomyopathy. Filmmaker Soriano begins “First Love” fading into the full shot of a serene lake. It is apparent, since “Siargao,” that his main muse in his art is the water, trickling his filmography closer to being an auteur. His latest film is swilled with panning towards the wet element, and even juxtaposes it onto scenes to show life’s uncertainty and eternal flow. Author Neil Gaiman interprets such, “People change as much as oceans,” in his novel “The Ocean at the End of the Lake.” The director's wife, actress Toni Gonzaga, even provides evidence for his artful affair with water when she reveals a moment when the he tells her of his concept for “First Love.” Its inception is, of course, vague and distorted like water. Nick and Ali grips firm in their faith of healing, because they may or may not be dying. So their amour becomes the boat for sailing in search for a miracle. Hopefully, their tenacity lets them attain the extension of their horizon. “First Love” is a stage for Muhlach’s rousing talent for acting. One of the final sequences of the film depicts him and Alonzo amidst a sweet dance in a costume party. They come as an astronaut and as a National Geographic photographer, their distinct childhood fantasies. Nick confesses his astrological dream to her during their trip to Vancouver’s space museum — to become a spaceman. Back in their dance, Nick careens out of control like an astronaut hurling in deep space, at the mercy of gravity, then crashing on the ground. The film entails a cosmic sequence where he, now a spaceman, visits Ali (the carefree chuckles hint that she imminently captures the faces and phases of people who have had the same inspiring escapade as her) before jetting to the stars in a love note to “La La Land." Soriano feasts in his cinematic homages: he inserts an extra zesty waltz in Ali’s bookstore whilst “Itanong Mo Sa Akin” lovingly drips from the shelves; a more musically-twined version of the famous “I’m just a boy” moment from “Notting Hill.” The segment is a mini-silent movie too, advancing the story plus its quaint aura through sound and song barring the normal chatter. Then the film drowns with heartbreak, but the coast meets the sky. “First Love” floats toward the prevailing hope of a renewed beginning. Maybe it intends to splash the screen with reverence, teaching viewers to swim the depths of devotion. Lovers submerge deep in adoration. They need to emerge and catch their breath before swimming back to shore like its their first time.
Director: Paul Soriano
Trailer © ABS-CBN Star Cinema; YouTube.com
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