Movie Review: That Thing Called Tadhana (’15 Antoinette Jadaone)

That Thing Called Tadhana is simple, honest, straightforward and indulgent. It successfully shuts down the common conotation on a Filipino Indie Film where explicits involve same sex encounters or frontal nudities. In here, director Antoinette maximizes her actors and the powerful writing of the script. One could easily relate to the narrative of the film. As the scenes and sequences progress, one could identify him/herself with the character and it leads to a wonderful journey with the film. Angelica Panganiban was superb. Her natural ability to deliver lines for both humor and dramatic scenes were precious. She managed to show the vulnerability of the character but still market it as someone genuinely true. Of course, it is the same with JM De Guzman, which proves that such material is his best vehicle for a comeback. The film successfully check all the marks of a good film. The film was crafted nicely. The actors were stunningly brilliant. The writing was spot on. This is a surprisingly strong showing for a Filipino film and proves that there can be more than explicits scenes or tired same old story lines. Plus, I’m glad talented directors like Antoinette Jadaone was given a chance to showcase what she can do.. and she delivered! 8