Cinemalaya Backlogs: Ligo na U, Lapit na Me (2011)

This was a film I wanted to watch last year but didn't (every place was sold out.) But thanks to the magic of local distribution via Regal films, I was able to watch this.

In the time between last year's festival and the time when I watched this film, I managed to read the original novel by Eros Atalia. It's a fun read, with the basic storyline plus lots of internal monologue about... anything in particular. The Filipino was conversational and not too formal like other novels I've read, making it easy for anyone to read. It reminded me a bit of Bob Ong's books, to be honest. The film eschews much of the Bob Ong-esque dialogue and the cursing and pares the movie down to a tighter, more focused story.

And the story is: Karl Vladimir Lennon Villalobos, a.k.a. Intoy (Edgar Allan Guzman), is a college student. He's all about facades, making himself out to be a tough guy. He meets Jen (Mercedes Cabral) who is the prettiest girl on campus. She approaches him and offers him to be friends with benefits. Yup, this is just like that film Friends With Benefits... no, just kidding. In the end, Intoy is left to review his view on life and being 'tigasin.'

The story focuses on Intoy, but the character of Jen is also a draw. Intoy, despite his macho demeanor, is just a kid learning to walk in the dark as he goes through life. Jen is an enigma. Her motivations for seeking out Intoy are never really explained, and her erratic, even random actions leave us as confused as Intoy is. But the nice thing about that is, it's all really compelling.

I'm going to spoil the movie a bit here so stop reading if you don't want to get spoiled. The normal review continues after this paragraph. Another theme that the novel touches upon, especially during the second half, is moving on. It's touched upon in the film but not as heavily as it was in the novel. As anyone who has experienced a broken heart can tell you, the most devastating breakups are from relationships without closure, or relationships that weren't as concrete as both parties would like. So this is for all the "forever alone" people out there - sometimes you just have to live one day at a time.

The casting is spot on, and both leads portray their characters naturally. Technically the movie is sound, but the soundtrack comes off as largely uninspired, save for a few great songs at the end. At times the soundtrack made the movie feel like a cheap comedy show on TV, and that's not a good thing.

It's a worthy film in the 2011 Cinemalaya lineup, but I'd say it falls somewhere in the middle of the pack. But all in all, it's a good adaptation that manages to avoid the pitfalls of straying too much from a strong plot.

Extra notes: Viewers may notice a connection to this novel/film and Eros Atalia's other novel, Intoy Syokoy ng Kalye Marino (incidentally adapted in the 2012 edition of Cinemalaya.) In fact, Ligo Na U... kind of serves as a spiritual sequel to that one. Also notable is the release of the sequel to the novel, entitled It's Not That Complicated: Bakit Hindi Pa Sasakupin Ng Mga Alien Ang Daigdig Sa 2012. I'll be watching out for a film adaptation of that one too. Maybe in 2013?