Ayala Onstage Cebu was packed as I frantically lined up to get a good seat to watch this critically acclaimed European film that I had heard about. I was surprised to see a lot of people there and then it hit me: Could it be because it was free or are Filipinos catching up in appreciating foreign films, other than those produced by Hollywood?
I think the latter. I was truly amazed of the Cebuanos’ enthusiasm to watch a film that was not only in pure Spanish but was not filled with known actors. Thank the Lord for subtitles.
“El Viaje de Carol,” one of the films screened at the recently-concluded Cine Europa Film Fest, is a beautiful film of love found, love lost in the midst of a devastating war. Carol, a young Spanish-American girl, is brought up by her parents in New York, the so-called “City of Lights” that thrives in a fast-paced environment set amongst towering buildings, and wherein the demands of life can be a hassle.
Carol has to leave this busy city though for picturesque Spain with her beautiful mother Aurora whom she doesn’t know is dying. Aurora never told her but she has come home to Spain to die. Don Amalio, who is Carol’s grandfather and who is described by his comrades as a free thinker, welcomes them in his house. He deflects Carol’s constant questioning with the answer that there are things that children just don’t understand.
Carol makes an acquaintance in the form of a little rough Spanish boy named Tomiche, who is naughty and rascal-like in manner but very good-looking. They start out as enemies at first but call a truce and end up as young sweethearts.
Ah, young love oftentimes starts in the weirdest of places, as what Juliet says, “My only love sprung from my only hate.” We often times think that we can’t stand the person or we can’t love that person because we are from different worlds—but somehow love becomes the bridge that unites all impossibility.
Maruja, another important character in the film, is responsible for Carol’s education. She also serves as her mentor on many facts of life like having to deal with her mother’s death and becoming an instant adult in the process.
Carol begs Don Amalio not to tell her father of her mother’s passing because she wants to spare her father of the grief and burden while he is fighting at war. Carol then coaxes Maruja to write to her father, signing as Aurora so as to make him believe that she is still alive.
Adrian, another significant character in the film, volunteers to take care of Carol when Aurora dies; he is Aurora’s ex-fiancée and good friend who had married Dolores instead, Don Amalio’s other daughter.
As Tomiche and Carol’s young love blossoms, the reality of an imminent war draws close. Carol’s father Robert, who is considered to be a foreigner and an enemy of Spain, escapes and tries to visit Carol.
Adrian and other Spanish officials try to capture him in Don Amalio’s home. Tomiche intercepts to help Robert and is killed in front of Carol. The father is saved but poor Tomiche lies dead in the river. Overcome by emotion, I hid my face as I felt tears rolling down. Why does love have to end in tragedy? I am always easily satisfied with happy endings, but endings like this mean something more to me. It makes me appreciate the value of life and how fleeting it is. Love blossoming despite the cruelty of war is not only rare but diminishing. The film was moving and the effect it had on me was indescribable. I recommend this movie to help us appreciate not only the memory of our first love, but also the essence of life.