Exes Baggage

One of the most interesting concepts in Dan Villegas' Exes Baggage is the idea of space: as in, the spaces we live in. Because it is in these spaces that relationships are formed, nurtured, and lost. It also helps that the two protagonists of the film are involved intimately with these spaces: Pia (Angelica Panganiban) works in real estate, while Nix (Carlo Aquino) makes furniture for a living. They are complementary in a sense, Pia providing the space, and Nix filling it with life. Yet their opposite personalities are also reflected in the spaces they live in: Pia's condo is clean and spartan, while Nix's workshop embodies chaos. Their relationship is revealed to us slowly and deliberately, as we come to understand the reasons why they broke up.

The actual breakup may seem abrupt, but the seeds of this breakup were sowed even from the very beginning. It manifests itself in small, subtle things, character quirks or offhand remarks that build up over time. The breakup is not one big failure, it is a cascade of failures, one borne out of neglect, or a lack of communication, or of simple incompatibility. It is made even more real thanks to the quirk of casting real ex-lovers Panganiban and Aquino in the lead roles.

This movie exists as a stark contrast to Star Cinema's The Hows of Us, which also portrayed a breakup. Exes Baggage is clearly the superior film, opting to let the threads of this relationship  fray, break and intertwine organically. Nothing is forced, and there are no sidekicks urging the two to get back together. Like I said in my review of the Hows of Us, there's a reason why people split up, and it's not always a good reason. Breakups are also rarely clean; they're usually messy and full of awkward shit that both parties would probably rather forget.

There is no subservience to a loveteam here; we are offered the possibility of something greater, but it is up to us, the audience, to decide whether that space where a relationship once stood deserves to be filled again.