Where hope douses heartaches in rain, love warms with its wishful memories. So if lovers do not happen yet, how could they recall a future that they are happy to share? In “Meet Me in St. Gallen,” clearly, reincarnation is not their option. They only gaze through a plethora of possibilities merging with the seams of their painful realities, thus, letting them taste a fresh dose of borrowed timelessness.
Celeste and Jesse, respectively presented by the eccentric duo Bela Padilla and Carlo Aquino, define and defy such notion. They, too, are paradoxes as namesakes of the romantic comedy movie "Celeste and Jesse Forever,” thus becoming sweepingly interchangeable with their screen counterparts.
Padilla continues her evolution through her versatility; commencing fear, angst, and sweetness into a single being, while Aquino is as real as it gets. He naturally blossoms like he is living between film and reality. As Celeste and Jesse, their chemistry is prevalent while they frolic through picturesque scenery and craft romance from velvety breeze.
The actors' ardent connection seethes from the screen to the supple skin -- their sentiment for each other is as essential as breathing air. Adapting Murphy's law, 'Meet Me in St. Gallen' exhibits instances where anything that could go wrong definitely will. Meanwhile, the lovers yearn to collect the pieces of their past to ultimately assemble a delicate future that is almost promised.
Seemingly star-crossed, Padilla and Aquino are avatars of desire that cannot ever be quenched. Celeste especially ponders their limited forever as she apparently draws bridges to meet her dream (Jesse) and passion (visual art). 'Meet Me in St. Gallen’ masterfully encapsulates the drama in each frame that the lovers are in. Steady as the camera rolls so their emotions are locked in place because if it ever attempts to move, then the couple's love will be scattered. Nevertheless, the lens begins its motion to stimulate atmosphere before the film freezes its own bloodstream. As Jesse puts it, the camera "breathes life into life."
Elements of theater are also contained in the picture, using the actors' blocking and attentively choreographed body linguistics to narrate their true mutual earnestness. Throughout, Celeste and Jesse playfully spar ecstatic stories, dance like crazy, appreciate art, kiss torridly, repeat, then the latter’s phone rings...breaking the tender silence of their moment. It is a tense scalpel to slice their craving from the acceptance that they cannot settle timelessly without shattering their time at once.
‘Meet Me in St. Gallen’ conjures its own unique happiness. The sheer delight is enough in experiencing the lovers have some milestones; sharing it with fresh eyes that believe in their good faith. It may not be the ideal love story because the movie is a loving art that molds hearty ideology for the hopefuls to see and feel forever.
Director: Irene Villamor
*Trailer © Cinema Bravo; YouTube.com
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