No ‘hysterics,’ just sweet, simple love story for comeback of Vilma-Christopher teamup
MANILA, Philippines — Vilma Santos and Christopher de Leon are happy to veer from the epic and explosive dramatic showdowns of their past films, embracing a tender and feel-good love story in the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2023 entry When I Met You In Tokyo.
The OFW-themed film that explores why love knows no place, time and age, is the latest project of the teamup that has spanned 48 years now, withstanding different circumstances in their lives and careers.
They first worked together in Celso Ad. Castillo’s 1975 romance drama Tag-ulan sa Tag-araw with the late Eddie Garcia. Their pairing became so formidable that they subsequently starred in 20 more films together. These included Ishmael Bernal’s Relasyon, Ikaw Ay Akin and Broken Marriage; Elwood Perez’s Masarap, Masakit... Ang Umibig, Nakawin Natin ang Bawat Sandali, Pinay, American Style! and Magkaribal; Eddie Garcia’s Imortal, Sinasamba Kita and Paano Ba Mangarap?; Marilou Diaz-Abaya’s Minsan Pa Nating Hagkan ang Nakaraan; Laurice Guillen’s Ipagpatawad Mo and Dahil Mahal Kita The Dolzura Cortez Story; Jose Javier Reyes’ Nag-iisang Bituin; Chito Rono’s Dekada ‘70 and the last one was almost 20 years ago, Joel Lamangan’s Mano Po 3.
What made their “loveteam” a success, despite never developing into a real romance off-screen as hit pairings usually do, was attributed to respect.
Vilma said, “The main thing for us, right from the start, is respecting each other. When we did our first movie, Tag-ulan sa Tag-araw, he was already married.”
“Imagine, when I first worked with Yetbo (Vilma’s nickname for Christopher), it was before I became pregnant with Lucky (Manzano), who is now 42.
“There was even a scene where I was eight months pregnant, and we had to do a kissing scene. He joked, ‘Why am I kissing someone who’s eight months pregnant?’ I was 27 then, so kaya pa ng mukha even if you’re pregnant because bagets. We went through all that.”
Aside from respect for each other as persons with individual loves and lives, they also have deep respect for their friendship. Vilma further shared, “We really took care of that.”
Though falling in love could happen anytime between co-actors, Christopher believes that having a romantic relationship might negatively affect the working relationship.
He said, “I think, okay, diretsuhin ko na ‘pag na-in love kayo with each or let’s say, na-in love ka, pero ‘pag nagkaroon kayo ng relasyon, masisira eh ‘pag nagkaroon kayo ng away. Let’s say, you’re fighting, you have a personal squabble, and then you work together, wala na, sira na.”
They were also very aware of their boundaries and there wasn’t any chance to turn it into something more.
Boyet laughingly recalled that Vilma’s boyfriends would also often visit their movie sets, especially during shoots for intimate or love scenes that he would jokingly appeal to her to send them home.
Vilma also said, “Boyet and I are both Scorpios. Pareho kaming scorpion ni Boyet. Lagi kaming may boyfriend-girlfriend. Alam ko ang nangyari samin before, when I was free, he wasn’t. When he was free, I wasn’t.
“If Yet had a girlfriend, I knew where I stood, you get my point? May girlfriend siya, respeto ko sya. ‘Pero ‘pag may eksena tayong mag-asawa, asawa kita. But after the scene, you are in a relationship and vice versa.”
But beyond mutual respect, it’s also about professionalism. Vilma said that it’s their responsibility to immerse themselves in their roles, making the scenes as realistic as possible.
“You don’t play around with the character; you take it seriously. Yetbo is also serious about acting. That’s why every time he acts, I don’t know, but I just respond to him, and vice versa. We just look at each other, and the chemistry comes out,” she noted.
“(We’d tell ourselves) let’s not play with the movie. Let’s not play around with the idea that we are in love, we’re not. Let’s do our job. When we portray a couple, we respect each other’s talent, and it’s like we challenged each other more on our talent. We took care of each other as co-actors,” she added.
Their onscreen chemistry is also regarded as the secret to their tandem’s enduring appeal.
“Perhaps, the most beautiful thing about my working relationship with Yetbo is that… the chemistry is there,” Vilma mused.
“With Yetbo, it’s because of the magic of chemistry that we have up to this day. I don’t know where the magic is coming from but kilalang-kilala ko si Yetbo and maybe vice versa.”
Owing to this effortless chemistry, Vilma recalled that there came a point, especially during the time of Bernal and Guillen, that directors would leave the scene up to them, instructing them to just improvise and create it themselves.
“And we brought that here in When I Met You In Tokyo,” said Vilma, adding that they had a lot of scenes in the film that had no rehearsal beforehand.
They also have their many great directors — some of them National Artists — to thank for taking this chemistry to its full potential.
“What we learned all throughout these years, when we were handled by big-time directors, was how to be partners, how to be like as if we’re in love. ‘Look at her eyes, look at her face, embrace her, I want this, I want that,’” Christopher said.
“We would learn the techniques, until we became very accustomed to the process. Perhaps, we have carried that art until now,” added the veteran star.
In When I Met You In Tokyo, now showing in cinemas, they got to try something different and refreshing by moving away from the signature intense drama of their previous works.
Vilma said, “This is one movie that I can say we both have matured, Yetbo and I. There are many things we’ll show here that you’ll see for the first time in our team-up.
“It’s a love story — very, very simple. If you’re looking for hysteria from us, you won’t find any. Because you’re used to it, there’s always a third party, Yetbo and I arguing and shouting. But this movie, it’s very endearing. You’ll be happy watching it, you’ll feel giddy, and at the same time, you’ll experience emotions. I’m very proud of this movie,” she stressed.
For Christopher, he felt proud and fortunate to be asked by Vilma to also serve as the film’s associate director to directors Rommel Penesa and Radu Peru with Suzette Doctolero as screenwriter.
“They (directors) also requested my help because, you know, Vilma is the Star for All Seasons, and it would be challenging for them to approach her and give directions for some scenes. So, that’s the biggest difference,” he said.
“What’s great about Vilma is how quickly she absorbs information and understands what you tell her — whether it’s for emotions, a light scene, a heavy scene, or a romantic scene. She immediately knows how to approach it. If you tell her what’s needed, the flow of shots, and emphasize ‘less is better,’ the result is different from our previous movies.
“Before, our scenes were very hyper and high-strung. But now, it’s more raw, organic, simple, realistic, and we don’t exaggerate. Since we read the story and with some suggestions from Vi on the material, it became very pleasing, light, and enjoyable to watch. It’s very simple but very touching,” Christopher stressed, echoing Vilma’s earlier description.
“Our goal was to achieve something different from the melodrama that makes you cry… It’s very different from the movies we did before.”
Meanwhile, the rest of the cast expressed pride in being part of When I Met You In Tokyo, but perhaps nobody said it better than Lotlot de Leon, also the daughter of Christopher.
“It’s a Vilma Santos-Christopher de Leon movie, that’s what we have here. These are the legends in the industry, give them credit, they will not make movies that you will not love. That’s why it was chosen for the Metro Manila Film Festival because it deserves to be seen and the story to be told,” she said.
“I’m just so proud to be part of it. Of course, we want the Philippine film industry to regain its magic. That’s what we want. If that happens this Christmas season, then maganda yung future, not just for the actors, but for all of us in the industry.”
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