Vilma and  Christopher take the feel-good route in 'When I Met You in Tokyo'

CEBU, Philippines — The last time Vilma Santos and Christopher De Leon were paired in a movie was in 2004's “Mano Po III: All My Love”, their 25th film together.

Nineteen years later, they reunite in “When I Met You in Tokyo”, which is one of 10 entries at the 2023 Metro Manila Film Festival opening on Monday, December 25.

The Philippine film industry has changed since they last worked together, which is reflected in their dynamic in their latest project.

“In this movie, it’s very obvious that our love team has evolved. Our approach is much more mature when we did something new together with Boyet (De Leon) which is improvisation,” Santos shared during a press conference at NUSTAR Resort and Casino with fellow cast members Kakai Bautista, Lynn Cruz and John Gabriel.

Written by Suzette Doctolero, “When I Met You in Tokyo” focuses on OFW workers in Japan, Azon (Santos) and Joey (De Leon), who meet in a chance encounter and learn that romance knows no age. Unlike their past pairings, this is more of a feel-good flick.

“If you have seen our movies before, we are always hyper. There’s a broken marriage, a third party, there’s always slapping, shouting or fighting,” said Santos.

“But here, there is no shouting, no third party, not even a kontrabida. You will feel happy when you watch this film, you will feel kilig.”

De Leon added that their approach for "When I Met in Tokyo" was more organic, natural, and not having "much precision."

“The ending is so natural. Everyone was crying inside the cinema, yet the movie was not traumatic. We did it because we love the story, we love the characters. Everybody was in tears because they were happy and emotional,” said De Leon, who also serves as associate director to directors Rado Peru and Rommel Penza.

But there was one thing about their pairing that remained constant: their chemistry as a loveteam, which is still felt among the Vilmanians who were at NUSTAR to support the reunion between the Star of All Seasons and the King of Philippine Drama.

“They have that chemistry that cannot be easily explained. It’s innate, not learned or being taught. There is that natural reciprocation between the two when they act together and that chemistry comes out naturally,” said Ed Santiago, a Vilmanian since the '80s who is currently the adviser of Vilma Santos Friends Forever International.

Professionalism and respect

Santos and De Leon were first paired in 1975's “Tag-ulan sa Tag-araw” where they played cousins who fall in love. The forbidden pairing scandalizes their entire family.

Since then, they have spawned classics such as “Imortal”, “Dekada ‘70” and “Ikaw Ay Akin”, the latter of which also includes De Leon’s former wife Nora Aunor. Working with influential directors such as Ishmael Bernal and Marilou Diaz-Abaya, this was the time when movies were still shot under intense lighting equipment.

“We used to have one camera and you do the same scene again and again. Now we have three cameras to use every shooting day, which is easier,” De Leon shared of how things were done during his younger days.

“It’s funny looking back because when you are acting and you are using film reels, the producers at the back would pray because of how expensive film stock is.”

With a chemistry so strong that it spawned over 20 films, the public can’t help but wonder if they fell for each other at one point.

De Leon admitted, “Maybe I was attracted to her. But you have to respect,” noting that both of them were married, and Santos’ partners would sometimes visit the set of their films.

“We are always professional. That’s evident in our work together. We would do our best in our roles, the characters, and the job at hand. We are serious about our work,” he added.

Santos shared, “If I am single, he is not single. If he is single, I am not single anymore. Our relationship lasted that long because we respected each other. If Boyet is in a relationship, I don’t bother him and I give him that respect.”

To illustrate their deep friendship, they shared of that time they were shooting a film in San Francisco, USA, where Santos’ now ex-husband Edu Manzano visited and they would secretly marry in Las Vegas after, which De Leon wasn’t aware of at that time. When they arrived back in Manila to shoot additional scenes, De Leon was among the first people Santos told of her pregnancy.

She described their relationship as “platonic love” that expands to their respective families, stating that “it’s important that we are both professional with each other.”

Loveteam is not forever

Santos and De Leon are no strangers to  public breakups. De Leon and Aunor annulled their marriage in 1996 while Santos and Manzano dissolved theirs in 1982. Santos would later marry her current husband, politician Ralph Recto in 1992.

With the recent showbiz breakups, the actors sounded off their thoughts on how celebrity couples should handle such a personal crisis in public.

“When you are part of this industry, you are public property and your life is like an open book. Everyone wants to know everything about you. That’s the problem with love teams, when something goes wrong, you will have to deal with all the bashing on social media,” Santos remarked.

“One thing I have learned is to let it be. It will die a natural death. What we can do for those couples is to pray for them.”

De Leon stressed professionalism over all else, especially if they are still working together.

“It should be professional-based. If you are filming a movie or teleserye and suddenly there’s a squabble in the relationship, how will you do the scene?,” said De Leon, who worked with Aunor post-marriage in “El Presidente” and the TV5 teleserye “Sa Ngalan ng Ina."

Santos also added that actors should prioritize how to establish themselves outside their loveteam as longevity is an important currency in show business.

“As an artist, you have to grow. There comes a time when you have to take a risk if you want to talk about longevity. When you are in this business, when you fall in love with your love team, you have to be careful. You have to be strong. If not, be professional,” she advised.

“Love teams may be important, but it’s not forever in this industry. You have to grow and continue to hone your career if you want to stay longer in this business.”