I'd like to praise the director, Jason Paul Laxamana, for creating such an interesting romance film. I went to the theaters expecting some cliché teenage romance film again but thankfully, that was not the case. Though, I wouldn't go so far saying that the idea is unique. There are other films where one of the main characters has a disability (The Fault in Our Stars, A Walk to Remember, Me Before You, 50 First Dates and many more). I'd also like to acknowledge the cinematography of the film. The composition and framing of most parts of the film are well done. Actually, I liked most of the camera work. There were only 2 scenes where I had a problem with the camera because it was unnecessarily shaky. There was also one continuity error but that's all. The cinematography made me really pay attention to the story and for that I believe it should be praised. Some also say the poems were "cringy" but I don't have the same opinion. The first few poems, I believe, were intentionally bad but over time grew to have much more meaning. The poems were, with Fidel, growing as time went by. The soundtrack and the score of the film were also good. However, I'd also like to point out the different problems I had with the film. First, but this is the last thing I noticed, is the acting. JC Santos and Bela Padilla were the only ones who I thought to be the great actors in this movie. Von, who I thought was going to rape Stella because of the way he delivered his lines, Danica, who was just okay, and most especially the supposed 'nakatuluyan' of Fidel was bad. I'd like to forget her name because her acting was so stiff and awkward that I was almost embarrassed for her. The way Von and Stella ended up together is so unbelievable for me. I really thought when Danica was breaking the news to Fidel that she was raped and carried their child that's why she can't be with Fidel. Also, the way Danica told the news that Stella was married was bad for me. I felt as if the scene was trying to be suspenseful but it felt, to me, just dragging. Though, I'd like to make it very clear, Fidel and Stella were really good. They really held up the acting in the film. Whenever they were together, the film just works. The next problem I had with the film is the pacing. The film sometimes feels too slow but then it jumps forward in time so fast. I was saying "What?" every time there was a jump in time. It had me confused as to how fast the film jumped from one time to another. I cannot offer a solution on how to solve this problem but I wonder how much better the pacing could've been if the story had not spanned for four years or if the run-time was longer. The dialogue and screenplay itself suffered some problems too. It may be nitpicking to some but I believe it should still be pointed out as the film establishes itself to be set within 2004 and 2008. But some minor characters seem like they're not from 2004-2008. What I still couldn't believe is how Von and Stella ended up together. A friend told me that there are things missing in the part where Stella falls in love with Von. To me, I felt the two were just forced. I really can't decide whether it's the delivery of the line or the screenplay itself, though. However, I did expect it somehow that Von would be significant as there were some instances where Von was specifically shown in the scene. It's actually good storytelling. The camera focusing at Von was actually significant. However, during the last scene with Stella and Fidel together, I found the dialogue to be lacking. The emotion was there but I did not feel it in the dialogue. What carried the scene is JC Santos' brilliant acting. Another problem I had was during the opening credits, but this is more on the technical side of the film. It was really weird that Stella's voice was really loud before the opening credits then when they started playing it sounded like they were in a studio. It was hard not to notice because Stella's voice on the microphone before the opening credits had some reverb and sounded like we were in the gymnasium. But once they started playing, I heard the difference. There was also a part where the camera pushed in to Fidel inside the crowd and I could notice that the extras were really trying to move out of the way for the camera. Sometimes, the entire band was not in sync with the music playing and Stella's voice sounded as if she was in place even though she was moving around. I know this is a simple matter but it really bugged me. Lastly, one pet peeve of mine is unnecessary dialogue in film. When someone says something in a film, I should be able to learn more about a character. There was one line in the movie, in the pool party scene, where one of the extras says "Di naman politically correct yang sinasabi mo". Yes, you could say that the audience could learn that that particular character was socially and politically aware but was the character essential to the story? Was the line he delivered essential to the plot? I don't think so. The film, in totality, is just an OK film. It's not a masterpiece but I did enjoy watching it in theaters. I also liked the cinematography in the film and I'd like others to draw inspiration from it. However, the film is not something I'd go see again. Maybe if it's shown on television, I would, but it's not something I'd go to the theaters again to watch. 6/10
Review of 100 Poems for Stella
