Isa Pa with Feelings (2019)

This is a wonderful film.

I don't feel I can adequately comment on certain points that I enjoy about this film. That's due to both the fact that I'm not a professional reviewer, and that I do not have the full perspective. I'm not a person who is actually deaf, or one that has fallen in love (Aro/Ace). This film however, has made me felt like I now better understand both. (spoilers are marked with **these**)

Story: The story, although on an objective level is really simple (it's basically an architect falling for a deaf person) feels really personal. It doesn't really feel like a standard, lazy rom-com, that I'm very much used to in my home-country. The plot addresses the issues that, based off of the many articles, reviews, and personal testaments I've seen, portray the life of deaf people pretty accurately. The writers and directors didn't treat any of the characters like they were a problem, or wrong for being different. This story of love is handled with care, when it could've so easily been pandering or portray those with disabilities as outsiders, exotic, not belonging.

In the plot, when Gali feels he doesn't belong, being left alone at a party, his reaction to this **trying to stop being around Mara** is reasonable, it doesn't feel like drama for the sake of drama. It's drama built from reasonable misunderstandings, a fear of being hurt, an outsider.

Acting: i love how the actors conveyed emotion. Emotion doesn't just come from words, it comes from actions, facial expressions. This was something that Maine Mendoza and Carlo Aquino really knew how to use to their advantage, they really could feel like Mara and Gali. When Mara and Gali are happy, you can really feel it with how their faces light up and the energy they have when they dance. That same force in emotion applies when we see them sad, in remorse, regret, or serious, loving each other.

OST: Buwan (by Juan Karlos) and Sino (by Unique Salonga) after this film are forever connected to the scenes in this film for me. That's a testament to both the songs themselves and the visuals. What they picked really works well with this movie. The OST was really used to the fullest, like when **the audio for the song Mara and Gali are dancing to is cut. And all we here when Gali dances is what he can hear, nothing.**

Rewatch Value: Rewatch value is incredibly subjective, and it's highly dependent on personal preference and mood. Personally, it's really easy to get invested into Mara and Gali's story, and cry to. I can attest to that, this is a film I love to come back to, I've already rewatched it around three times already (I cried on my first two rewatches.) There are also things like the visuals that keep me coming back to this film. **Stuff like Mara and Gali dancing at the end, the vibrant blue of them just diving into a pool together, the times where they're just texting, the Christmas lights in Gali's room.**)

Overall, this film was made with a lot of care. For those worrying that this is going to be bad, that this sees someone who's different only as that, and nothing more, this film is not that at all. It's a story of love between two people, who push past their differences and issues by talking to each other and trying to help each other. One which, if you have the chance, I highly recommend you watch Isa Pa With Feelings.

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The Only Thing that Stops Us Is Ourselves!

Point to anyone on the planet, and you will find a deluge of problems, obstacles, challenges, disabilities, and differences. When our attention is on any of these things, we lose sight of what is truly important and beautiful. We lose the ability to maximize the potential of something wonderful.

Most people do not realize that we are NOT our problems, obstacles, challenges, disabilities or our differences. What is needed is the correct perspective about who we are and the ability to communicate. Most relationships fail or struggle due to lack of communication.

This is a story that challenges the idea that two people from two different worlds (in this case, hearing and those who can't) can be together. Yes, the challenges might be more profound, but does that make any less worthwhile?

Mara is a young woman who has just failed to acquire her degree to become an architect. She begins to question whether or not it something that is even right for her.

Living down the hall in the same apartment complex is Gali. He is a young man who just happens to be deaf. He has a gift for teaching and working with deaf children. He aspires to go to the US to study so that he can return to educate more children and people due to a lack of facilities in the Phillippines.

What starts out as a wonderful friendship, soon turns into romance. Of course, it doesn't take a genius to know the challenges that are on their way.

Mara makes the mistake of leaving Gali alone at an office party. He quickly finds himself unable to communicate or even know what to do. Of course, the other people at the party have no idea about his disability, and he soon feels like a fish out of water.

Gali, on the other hand, has a troubled past where the woman he loved--a woman who could hear--broke off their engagement. Despite his best efforts to prove otherwise, he soon believes that his relationship with Mara will follow the same path. He comes to believe that someone who is deaf cannot be with someone who can hear. And so, he suddenly ends it. In short, Gali believes that his disability is who he is and that it cannot be dealt with by someone who doesn't have it.

The beauty of the story is how Mara and Gali come to realize that ANY relationship is work! And that it takes communication and effort. If two people want it badly enough, there is nothing that can stop them.

The best version of this type of story for me comes from the old TV show, "Life Goes On" which came out in the early 90s. It eventually takes on the question if a young girl can be in a relationship with a boy who is HIV+. Since then, we've seen a number of wonderful stories like this film that endeavor to tell people: don't give up on something just because it's hard! The rewards can be well worth it!

The performances from Carlo Aquino and Maine Mendoza are first-rate, and nobody can deny the chemistry between these two actors. The movie is moving, heartfelt, and profound. Anyone who questions being with someone they love because it might be too difficult, should give this film a look! And even if you're just looking for a beautiful and inspiring story, you can't go wrong with "Isa Pa, With Feelings."

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