Based off of Juan Miguel Severo's Virgin Labfest play, Hintayan ng Langit takes place in "the Middle," a purgatory-like space where the souls of the recently deceased wait for their eventual entrance into heaven. Manolo (Eddie Garcia), who has recently arrived, is roomed in with Lisang (Gina Pareno). It turns out that the two were ex lovers, and old feelings begin to surface once more.
The film expands the play and tries to establish the world it is set in, showing the various things souls-in-waiting do in the afterlife. The film also tackles issues of death and dying, of moving on from the perspective of both the bereaved and the departed. It leads into several poignant moments, including a rumination on one's second death: that moment where one is forgotten by the living.
Yet all that is secondary to the central love story, a story of two people who missed their chance to be together in life, now reunited, exploring that single, nagging question: "what if?" It's an opportunity that I don't think either character would have seriously considered in their lives, but now, in the afterlife, all bets are off. The film is carried by the excellent performances of Eddie Garcia and Gina Pareno, full of humor and charm. The film posits a choice between heaven and something far less perfect, and the outcome of that choice may not resonate with everybody. In fact, it is during the denouement where the film stumbles a bit: it hurries towards its conclusion, leading to implications that end up poorly explained and are prone to be misunderstood. Thanks to the strong performances, it ended up having an emotional impact on me anyway, even though I'm not completely on board with how the film sorted itself out.
Hintayan ng Langit is charming, well acted, and awfully sweet, but one's mileage may vary.
2 comments:
I strongly agree with this one. The ending is unclear, and we don't know if they just delayed their stay in the middle by sneaking out of it, or they remained outside of it for good. And I'm not really sure if their decision is the best decision for their situation.
just my thought. on the first part of the movie, may sirang wall. may nagwala daw, at malamang ma delay daw ang stay duon sa GITNA. So, assume, lisang and manolo ay nanadya mag basag ng wall, with the intention na. ma sanction ng mas matagal pa sa Gitna. doesnt mean na lumayas sila sa Gitna. kasi saan nMan sila pupunta. i think that is only maging heavy yung sanction nila. so that we xoukd stay sa Gitna a lil more. Since theyve decided to be together pa.
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