Isa Pang Bahaghari: A story about forgiveness and redemption

Those who think this is a reworking of Rainbow’s Sunset will be mistaken. Yes, there is an element of gay love once again, but it’s not as conspicuous as Rainbow’s Sunset. The characters are mainly sexagenarians and they are all poor, unlike the first movie where the characters are rich. The story is now more focused on the efforts of an erring father, Phillip Salvador as Domeng, to obtain the forgiveness of the family he left behind 20 years ago.

His wife is Nora Aunor as Lumen, and they have three kids: Zanjoe Marudo as Andy, a drug pusher; Joseph Marco as Peter, a waiter wrongly accused of raping his girlfriend; and Sanya Lopez as Dolly, a single mom who works as a bar dancer.

Michael de Mesa plays Rey, the mutual friend of Domeng and Lumen, who acted as a bridge in their love affair as teenagers, and now tries to be the mediator for the reconciliation of Domeng with his estranged wife and kids. He’s the typical “baklang martir” who’s been in love with Domeng since they were teenagers, continues to love him even now that they’re in their 60s, and will do everything to help not only him but also Lumen.

The film is perfect for the Christmas season as it’s about family (a very dysfunctional one), love, forgiveness, redemption. It’s a feel-good movie as all the loose knots in the narrative are neatly tied up before the film ends. The hardened hearts of Lumen and their kids all melt to give way to forgiveness.

Not only that. Zanjoe finds a legitimate job as a bus driver. Joseph is released from prison. Sanya succeeds in putting up a small lugawan business so she can stop dancing in the club. Even the young daughter of Zanjoe gets the cellphone she’s dying to have in a Christmas raffle.

So it does seem that all’s well that ends well. But the film is purposefully engineered by screenwriter Eric Ramos and director Joel Lamangan to unabashedly pull at your heartstrings, unplug your lachrymal ducts and give you a good cry. They go all guns blazing with a design to exploit every possible chance for pathos in the storytelling. And they do succeed big time.

Just don’t be surprised when something shockingly unexpected and truly jolting transpires in the final scene. Of course, we won’t even give a clue as to what happens in the film’s conclusion as it would be a big spoiler. Suffice it to say that you should keep some tissues handy in case you cannot hold back your tears. Sentimental romantics will love it, but those who prefer upbeat endings will frown because of its bittersweet aftertaste.

The film’s biggest edge is the uniformly terrific ensemble acting of the big cast. Noranians will not be disappointed as Ate Guy truly inhabits her role as Lumen, the crippled former lavandera who now earns a living by drying fish (daing) by the sea. So kawawa. And she really looks the part as you can almost smell the sea salt she got from constantly staying under the sun.

The film’s main location is an impoverished coastal town and it’s a distinct character in itself. The aerial shot showing rows and rows of fish beds drying in the sun is really something to behold.

Ate Guy sizzles in tension-filled scenes showing her seething with anger upon seeing her long-lost husband who abandoned her and their children. In the first scene where they meet again after 20 years, she even gets to deliver once more the same famous lines she blurted out in Ina Ka ng Anak Mo after she found out that her mom (Lolita Rodriguez) is fornicating with her own husband (Raoul Aragon.) You can really feel all the hatred and pain she’s been harboring in her heart all these years.

Michael has always been adept in playing gay roles and here, he entertains thoroughly as a crossdresser who sings Tagalog songs like Kung Ako’y Mag-aasawa. But he also manages to be touching in that scene where he quietly professes his unconditional, steadfast love for Domeng and they recall that unforgettable night when he finally gets to consummate his burning desire for him.

Zanjoe, Joseph and Sanya all give sensitive performances that manage to hold their own against their more seasoned co-stars. But the movie’s true fulcrum is Domeng. The film starts and ends with him. And as the father who is trying his best to right what is wrong in his life at the last minute, Phillip gets to play his best role in years.

All the sudsy melodramatic highlights in the film show him in tear-drenched confrontation scenes: with Nora, Zanjoe, Joseph and Sanya, and his poignant scene with Michael where he tells him that he also loves his gay best friend. That moving scene with Joseph in prison where they both cried buckets is the most memorable for us.

One cavil, though, is in the casting of the young actors who played Phillip, Nora and Michael in the flashbacks. Would you believe, even for a fleeting moment, that they look like Albie Casiño, Maris Racal and Migs Almendras when they were young?

The biggest disparity is in Migs (who’s moreno, to begin with) and Michael (who’s so tisoy and with hair in his arms that was not there when he was played by Migs). If you could suspend your disbelief and live with this glaring disparity, then you will love the movie wholeheartedly. Even Ryan Gosling didn’t at all look like James Garner in The Notebook (such an enormous hit), does he?