If you've seen the trailers for Ice Idanan's Stranded, you'd know it's based on an interesting conceit: during a particularly nasty typhoon, two strangers bond, even though they seem like polar opposites. Julia (Jessy Mendiola) seems sure of her path in life, even though it has led to her missing out on important things. Spencer (Arjo Atayde), on the other hand is aimless, and even though he's chugging along, he's doing so on the backs of his friends.
The actual stranding acts as the movie's meet-cute, though there's a catch. Julia's taken, and Spencer is smitten and somewhat flirtatious, even though he'd be shut down with just one "I have a boyfriend." It's a fine line between charming and creepy, and I think Arjo Atayde pulled it off. One would expect, following rom com tradition, that Julia would leave her controlling boyfriend immediately and take a chance on this guy, but that doesn't really happen. The film is grounded in reality and once the giddy glow of that meet cute ends, things kinda return to the status quo.
What sets Stranded apart from other conventional rom coms is that it expands on its central conceit. Though Julia and Spencer return to their lives after that event, it's clear that they have profoundly affected each other's lives. It's a two-fold expansion of Idanan's earlier film Sakaling Hindi Makarating (2016), where the romance is tangential to self-discovery and self-improvement.
Ultimately, Stranded is a pleasant experience, and fans of Idanan's lush cinematographic work will not be disappointed.
The actual stranding acts as the movie's meet-cute, though there's a catch. Julia's taken, and Spencer is smitten and somewhat flirtatious, even though he'd be shut down with just one "I have a boyfriend." It's a fine line between charming and creepy, and I think Arjo Atayde pulled it off. One would expect, following rom com tradition, that Julia would leave her controlling boyfriend immediately and take a chance on this guy, but that doesn't really happen. The film is grounded in reality and once the giddy glow of that meet cute ends, things kinda return to the status quo.
What sets Stranded apart from other conventional rom coms is that it expands on its central conceit. Though Julia and Spencer return to their lives after that event, it's clear that they have profoundly affected each other's lives. It's a two-fold expansion of Idanan's earlier film Sakaling Hindi Makarating (2016), where the romance is tangential to self-discovery and self-improvement.
Ultimately, Stranded is a pleasant experience, and fans of Idanan's lush cinematographic work will not be disappointed.
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