Milan: A learning, ‘travelling’ experience

I’ve always dreamt of going to Italy. It doesn’t matter what part of Italy, as long as it is in Italy. The classic architecture, the romantic feeling, the pizza and pasta, the slow-moving gondolas never fail to set my mind in a dreamy mood–the one I imagined as a perfect vacation place. For now, since I haven’t been to Italy, watching movies that are shot there is enough for me to satisfy my dream.

Like other films shot in Italy, Milan, topbilling Piolo Pascual and Claudine Barretto, satisfied my desire to go on a dream vacation, but this time with something extra added to it. It was quite unexpected, because the movies I’ve watched before showed Italy as a vacation place. Milan showed me much more. Aside from the sights and sounds of Italy, it awakened me to the hardships of working in a foreign land.

Lino (Piolo) is a happy-go-lucky guy who sold his property and went to Milan without any goal in his mind but to find his long-lost wife. The hardworking Jenny (Claudine) went to Milan to earn money for her family in Manila. They meet in a train station in Milan.

Lino is helpless since he couldn’t speak Italian. Suddenly, he overhears Jenny speaking in Tagalog, so he hastily rushes to her and asks for help. Jenny brings Lino to her condo unit, as Lino has no place to stay, and introduces him to many other Filipinos struggling in Milan.

Lino is surprised to see how much hardship Jenny and her friends go through just for their respective families back home.

As for Lino, he is still determined to look for his wife. So he doesn’t worry about looking for a job. After hearing his story, Jenny takes pity on Lino and helps him look for his wife. Instead of resting on Sundays and holidays, Jenny goes with Lino to different parts of Italy in search of the wife.

Before long, Lino needs work to earn money, so Jenny helps him find a job. They became good friends until they fall in love. After a long time of searching in vain, Lino accepts the fact that he will never see his wife again.

Everything goes well. Lino has a job, he’s in love with Jenny, and he gets used to life in Milan. But one day, Jenny tells Lino the truth: someone has seen his wife. She’s already married to an Italian. Lino feels betrayed. His relationship with Jenny crumbles, and they decide to cool off for a while. Because they need time to think, they go their separate ways. Jenny lives her life and so does Lino.

In the end, Lino is searching again, not for his long-lost wife, but for his newfound love: Jenny. He finds Jenny and confesses his love. Finally, they stay together in the city of Milan.

Watching the movie made me feel like a tourist, excited at every new location shown on screen. It was quite an adventure and scary in the part when Lino could not get anyone to understand him. But then as they say, Filipinos are everywhere, so Lino found Jenny.

I liked the part when they were in Venice, where Jenny and Lino rode the slow-moving gondolas. Watching old houses was so relaxing and breathtaking. How I wish I was also riding in one of those gondolas! The part where there were so many pigeons in the plaza was quite scary. But it was truly nice to take a photograph of the scene or just feed the birds.

Aside from enjoying the breathtaking views of Italy, the movie focuses on the life of OFWs in Italy. It was an awakening for me to see how much hardship OFWs sacrifice just to give a better life to their families back home. I dream of working abroad too, but after watching Milan, I want to prepare myself first before going anywhere in the world.

Watching scenes showing Jenny and her friends working made me realize that it is no joke working abroad. It takes a lot of courage and determination. We often say, "Oh how lucky you are that you are working abroad!" But we always forget to tell people that it takes courage to work in a foreign land.

Milan also taught me about happiness. "I want to be happy," Lino told Jenny. Jenny wants Lino to realize that he has to work for his own happiness. We cannot always depend on our parents, families and friends. So if we want to be happy, we have to work towards that direction.

The movie also showed how love can change a person entirely. Lino became a changed person after knowing Jenny. He turned from a happy-go-lucky guy into a responsible, hardworking man. Love can work wonders, whether you are young or old. It’s just a matter of time on when will love come to you.

Watching Milan is like eating instant noodles. You get everything in just one sitting. You get to see Italy, learn about love and life and a few words like pronto and ciao. Just a few weeks ago I rented the DVD of Milan to watch it again. Yes, just like other movies shot in Italy, I got the same feeling of being there in Italy, but this time not only as a tourist but also as someone earning a living there, falling in love and learning all about life.

I can’t wait to save and have my own video version of Milan, so I can join Lino, Jenny and their friends in Milan whenever I want in the comfort of my home. Ciao!