Certified Ace Movie Review : Halik Sa Hangin

Halik sa Hangin, a chilling love story

Genre: Romantic Horror
Country: Philippines
Studio: Star Cinema
Release Date: January 28, 2015

Director: Manny Palo
Starring Julia Montes, Gerald Anderson, and JC De Vera


Star Cinema, Philippine's leading film company opens 2015 with one of their most unique movie experiments in recent memory. A weird mash-up of the romance and horror genre, Star Cinema dares audience's taste for the usual romantic comedy genre that Filipino viewers are already accustomed to.
Known for releasing mostly rom-coms all throughout the year, Star Cinema experiments with its media, fusing together two unlikely genres, which turned out to be one of their best works to date.


They have tried the same experiment with Nasaan Ka Man, a 2005 dramatic love story thriller film penned by Ricky Lee, starring  Claudine Barretto, Jericho Rosales and Diether Ocampo. But this time, the studio decided to push it more into the romantic side, with elements of the supernatural in it's story. This creates a gothic feeling that shares similarities with movies like Twilight (2008) and Let Me In (2010), minus the vampire mythos.

So how did the movie fared? Let's have a breakdown of the film to see.



Story

The film centers on Mia (Julia Montes) is a troubled young girl. She is still having difficulties accepting the death of her father and the marriage of her mother to his stepdad whom she despises. She is also being bullied by a trio of boys at school. Despite all of these, she tries to live as normal as she could, with the help of her friends, especially Alvin (JC de Vera) who harbors a secret feelings for her.
During a birthday party held in an abandoned house around their town in Baguio for one of her friends, she finds an old guitar which catches her attention. The guitar reminded her of her late father, who used to be a songwriter. She requests a guitar for her own as a present for her upcoming birthday but her stepdad refuses, since it will just trigger old memories of her late father. so she decides to sneak out of their house one night and steals the old guitar from the abandoned house and have it fixed. Little did she knew that original owner (and previous occupant of the house) was watching her all  the time.

After this, she sees Gio Brauner (Gerald Anderson) a young man clad in a black hoodie, who loves playing guitar. The two of them became close after meeting again in a party. Soon, he starts teaching her how to play the guitar she secretly stole. As time passed by, the two of them soon falls in love with each other.
But after Gio reveals his secret to her, Mia's love for him is tested. Is she willing to go with him to be with him forever, even it will cost her own life ?

The film's story is not exactly unique, with one character hiding a dark secret about his real identity (Twilight, anyone?) Yet this proves to be a refreshing idea for Filipino viewers because his type of storyline is not commonly used in movies being produced in the country nowadays. Because of this, a lot of people became curious with the film, most especially in social media where a lot of them shared their reaction with the film.
The film, of course has it's flaws. Some plot holes and inconsistencies were present in the movie. On good example would be the part where Mia is seen waiting for a taxi to ride in a deserted road. Here she is assaulted by the trio of boys who bully her at school. Luckily, Gio arrives to help her. But all throughout the film, we see her driving her own scooter. I mean, why would she go somewhere late at night without using her own scooter, if she knew that it's hard to get transportation at that time?
Another thing also that bothered me was the fact that during the climax of the film, her parents left her little brother (and went to a hospital after Gio had her stepdad burst into flames) with a priest, who later brings the boy to the abandoned house for a ritual, putting the kid in further danger. Little kids being threatened by dangerous forces are so cliched, okay.
Another thing is the film's twist. Before Mia even met Gio's character, we already knew his secret, which serves as the story's biggest twist. Seriously? How could you call it a twist if it was already very obvious during the trailers for film?


Acting

This is where the film stands out the most. Julia Montes is the prefect choice for the role of Mia. I've been following her from her first stint as the antagonist Clara in the remake of the teleserye Mara Clara which made her a breakout star alongside Kathryn Bernardo. I've also seen her in more mature roles from other series like Walang Hangagn (2012) and Ikaw Lamang (2014). So I know that she will be the best to play the character with a troubled background.
She shines the most during the time after Gio has revealed his true identity. She is confronted by family and friends, telling her that Gio does not exist and that it's all in her mind. she breaks down, trying to prove her sanity.
Gerald Anderson also shines as Gio. He plays the part very well, and turns out to be so creepy at times. He reminds me of Edward Cullen from the Twilight saga, only less serious and minus the fangs.

JC De Vera plays Alvin, Mia's best friend who secretly loves her. His role isn't given much to do in the film. Especially during the film's climax, where he just became another instrument used by Gio to convince Mia to go with him. Yet he tries his best to be convincing and have chemistry with Mia.
Other good additions to the cast includes Yna Reymundo and Edu Manzano as Mia's parents.


Direction

Manny Palo was successful in creating a gothic feel all throughout the film. He was able to pump up the chemistry between Julia Montes and Gerald Anderson, creating more sweet 'kilig' moments whenever they spent their characters are together.
Director Palo was also successful in setting up scary scenes in the movie.


He tossed in a few jump scares in the film, making it way more enjoyable and entertaining.
Thus, he was able to fuse together the romantic side of the movie with the horror genre smoothly.


Technical Aspects

One of the best things in the movie was it's cinematography courtesy of Mo Zee. The film takes advantage of the gloomy backdrop of Baguio, which I must say was a great choice. Most of the scenes are also covered with mist, adding more creepiness to the locations.
I also like to commend the film's soundtrack, featuring the song with the same name written by David Dimaguila and performed by Ebe Dancel. The song's theme about a short-lived romance matches the film's story. It is sweet yet haunting at the same time.
One thing that I really dont like is the computer generated effects which is way too laughable. The film's use of CGI effects in scenes such as the part where the arm of Mia's stepdad burst into flames looked so fake. Even the ghostly apparitions of Gio's family attacking Mia's little brother during the climax was also laughable to look at.


Overall

I hope Star Cinema would continue to experiment more in their filmmaking craft just like this one and explore more new ideas in the future. Because despite some flaws and inconsistencies, Halik sa Hangin proved to be entertaining and enjoyable.
The film was a success in fusing two different genres together, creating a whole new moviegoing experience for it's Filipino audiences.

I'm giving this film 4 out of 5 stars.