Ulan

The film was first presented as your not so typical love story, but falls under these minor segues that adds mythology and historical Philippine beliefs into the mix, which leaves the audience begging for more. The mixture of Philippine superstition and its symbolic portrayal through the films animation provokes the audience to keep on wondering how the film would all tie up together. The sequencing of the film was also a breath of fresh air in contrast to your run of the mill box office hits, which effectively captures the interest of the audience as the unravel the mysteries that the film has to offer one sequence at a time. To limit the film only to one genre would be to disregard the brilliance of the film of how not only was it able to incorporate romance into the film, but to actually complement it with thriller and horror elements, likening it to a happy accident. What is most compelling in this film is the political satire that it was able to discreetly insert while progressing the story of the film but somehow being able to integrate into the minds of the audience, the impact of the environment in this country. Finally, the personification of Philippine myths is what makes this film stand out as it brought out a sense of humanity as to the imagination of our Filipino ancestry that we are able to appreciate it more vividly than we would usually like. All in all, the film prides itself in the substance and the message that it seeks to convey to the audience and urges them to look beyond the surface and see the collateral beauty in the world

Ulan offers something fresh and original to the local industry. Weaving elements of magic realism, environmental consciousness, and the quest for a "perfect" love, Ulan brings to the table a beautifully-told spectacle that defies genres and challenges the viewers preconceptions on how stories should be told.

From a very young age, Lustre's character Maya has been exposed to and fascinated about idealized love - that love of her long-gone parents, her superstitious grandmother, the tikbalangs, of a childhood crush. As she grows older and meets (and re-meets) potential romantic partners, she grows weary and cynical about her chances of finding this love she once believed is meant for her. And therein lies the issue - growing up in a household and in a country where love is probably the central narrative, is there really any way real life can measure up to the stories that have captured our collective consciousness?

The film subverts the tropes common in the romance genre, and in doing so leads us to a conclusion that the choice to love and to find love can never be the happy endings in fairy tales and the gimmicky resolutions in rom-coms. Instead, helped by the lens of magic realism and the philosophy of a perpetually melancholic woman, we find that we are simply products of the values and stories that we grow up with; to truly love is to surrender to the forces we cannot control and to create meaning with those that we can.

Love, then, is coming to terms with the fact that disaster can strike anytime; it is also the steps we make to become resilient and reduce the risks associated with acts of nature, as bluntly pointed out by the anthropomorphic typhoon in the film. It is also the choice to not take what we have for granted; accepting the offer to finally eat some thrice-heated adobo with family. It may also be the acceptance and self-love that is often neglected, and forgiving your younger self for creating standards that are impossible to surpass. All this happens in the background of rain - drizzling, pouring, thrashing, sometimes soothing - that creates an atmosphere of familiarity and contentment.

Ulan is one film that should not be missed - it is a story that pushes the boundaries of romance, coming-of-age, and self-love, in a package that showcases the strength of current cinema and providing hope for a future generation that pays close attention to the stories they give importance to.

The movie was not what I expected it to be. I thought it would be a typical Filipino love story but to my surprise it turned out quite refreshing and entertaining.

It was somewhat disorienting at first for someone who is not a fan of such genre. Throughout the movie I often found myself confused as to the meaning behind the parts of the movie that incorporated fantasy. I was not really sure if the meaning behind those scenes should be taken literally or if one should see it as a kind of symbolism. Or perhaps both.

But that idea of not really being sure as to the meaning of the whole film actually was the refreshing part of the movie. For me, the movie gave the viewers a choice: take it as it is (that is from the view of a child's memories and perspective), or give a deeper meaning to it (that is from the view of an adult's experiences and struggles).

Ulan is a welcome treat to Filipino audiences who are looking for a new flavor on their usual local flicks as it mixes magic realism with romance. It is really beguiling. Backed-up by an extraordinary story and great screenplay, driven by solid direction and storytelling by Irene Villamor, amazing performance by Nadine Lustre and mesmerizing visuals by Neil Daza, the result is a peculiar yet hauntingly beautiful, and a fullfilling movie experience like no other. Poetic cinema at it's finest.

My first reaction after watching Ulan was that it was like the critically-acclaimed movie, Pan's Labyrinth. Both movies show the wedding between fantasy and reality within the gaze of a female character, amidst the backdrop of the prevailing social realities. But Ulan is even closer to the heart because it touches on Philippine realties.

Ulan's narrative intertwines Maya's real situation with the mythical world created by the imagination of the young Maya. It shows the innocence, imagination, and hopefulness of a child and the sadness, horrors, and hopelessness of reality as then realized by the older Maya. While the young Maya can easily solve her dilemmas with a simple work of imagination - just transforming those bullies into eggs - the older Maya has to struggle. She has to deal with small paychecks, a sexist superior, and a disastrous lovelife. The great cinematography and smooth transitions between these two narratives have helped in the realization of this poetic vision of the filmmaker. Even with two different narratives, the film is still so coherent that no scene is wasted apart.

What I really liked about the film is how it tackles Philippine social realities. It shows state neglect. It shows how the effects of natural disasters are aggravated by the lack of preventive actions and mitigating measures by the government . That beyond these concepts of forbidden love and tikbalangs, these current realities our the real hindrances in the fulfilment of our dreams and fantasies - just as how this torrential rain, brought about by anthropogenic climate disturbance as lamented by Ulan, the mythical creature, has shattered Maya's hope for a happy ever after. What I don't like though is that in the end, instead of teaching us the importance of volunteerism and collective pursuits is battling these realities, it has somehow disintegrated into mere self-love - see how Maya just held hands with her younger self in the end.

Overall, Ulan is sui generis, a class on its own. It is beyond a fairytale. It is a poem and a piece of art. It pushes the viewers to look beyond its narrative and ponder on the meaning of every scene. It encourages critical thinking, which mainstream films would normally not do in fear of loss of audience and profits. It shows us that our typical romantic movies can be turned into a piece of art where every detail has its symbol and every scene has its interpretation. Above all, it somehow teaches us that amidst the grimness of our reality, we should not give up especially on our ideals.