Last July 11, I attended Loyola Film Circle's Film Symposium. Invited were the casts and crews of the film, Tuhog, to talk about their upcoming movie. I just want to disclose that I am not promoting this film, simply sharing my experience.
These were some of the things that I got from the film's trailer, which is due for release on July 17. There are three main characters, Fiesta, Caloy, and Tonio, each one having a story of his/her own. Fiesta is someone who is alive but not really living. She seems hostile as if it's her against the world. She mentions, "ito ang impiyerno ko," referring to what she goes through everyday. Caloy, on the other hand, is a virgin who feels that he is being left behind by all of his peers around him. His friends are enjoying their young lives, losing their virginities, while he deals with his long distance relationship with his girlfriend. He feels lost and doesn't know anymore what to do and what not to do, amidst all the pressure. The last is Tonio, a retired worker who wakes up one day and decides to gamble all he has in order to pursue his passion and dream of being a "panadero." The focal point of this film is the lives of these three different characters are suddenly intertwined by a freak bus accident that leaves them all skewered through a single steel bar.
Basically, what I just want to share is that I believe this film captures what we have been talking about recently in our Philosophy class. First, as what Fiesta's life story makes us realize, we must not just be alive and simply exist, we must live. We must live our life now and live it to the fullest. It is in living that we experience and hopefully, we get to experience the best things in life.
Second, we must follow our passions. Sometimes, we feel that as we get older, the less chance that we will be able to do what we really want to do, not just what we need to do. But, it is always never too late. It is better to try and pursue our passions than not at all. In Tonio's case, he didn't mind what his family was telling him and what kind of risk he's getting into, all he knows is he wants to be a "panadero." Another dilemma in these kinds of situation is that at times, we may feel that our passions only hinder us from our ultimate aspirations in life, which may not be in line with our passions at all. But if our passion is what's going to give us our happiness, if pursuing that is what's going to bring us closer to our ideal self, then we must take it. It's all about focusing on what really matters for you.
Lastly, I think what the story of Caloy tell us is, if we feel lost or in doubt, if we feel that we are being left behind by everything around us, we must strive to find ourselves. We must search for what we truly believe in and stand our ground. Eventually, everything falls into their place.
Now as I said earlier, their lives were intertwined by a bus accident. This is where the twist comes in: two must die in order for one to live. At the end, death is inevitable. When we encounter death, in any way, we realize that we want to live more. Now as death looms, which may be sooner for some people, it all becomes a matter of how we lived our life and if we lived it to the fullest.
In the end, I suppose a question raised by the director still lingers in me: if we get a second chance in life, will we love, dream, or live more?
You may watch the trailer here:
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