INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE

Sacrifice is a prominent theme throughout May-December-January, a melodrama with a central love story that you won’t soon forget. Writer Ricky Lee, newly conferred with the Order of National Artists of the Philippines for Film and Broadcast Arts, has given us a sweet story of second chances in the unlikeliest of places.

Migoy (Kych Minemoto, ImageOut 29’s Audience Award winner Gameboys: The Movie) spends a lot of time with his best friend, Pol (Gold Aceron, ImageOut 29’s Metamorphosis), since his parents’ favorite pastime of late is arguing. Pol’s house is more peaceful to finish their studies together, but Migoy also is in love with Pol’s mother, Claire. At the age of nineteen, Migoy carries a confidence that only comes with being young, and when he confesses his love to his best friend’s mother, they begin a sweet, secret affair.

When Pol, who is also secretly in love with Migoy, discovers that his mother and his best friend have been sleeping together, he is surprisingly supportive. He knows that his mother has been lonely since her husband walked out on the family, but Pol may not be ready to see his close buddy become his stepfather.

Thanks to Lee’s screenplay, May-December-January provides a few emotional twists that keep the characters grounded in their connection. A lot of melodramas are so grand or over-the-top that they make you roll your eyes, but this film about moving on and giving someone you love the permission to love someone else is well-written, well-acted, and well-edited. As Claire, Andrea Del Rosario gives a guarded performance as a woman who has put her needs on the back burner to make sure her son has the care and guidance he deserves. Both Minemoto and Aceron deliver sensitive and assured performances as teenagers falling in love for the first time against all odds.

May-December-January is delicate and earnest proving that everyone deserves to love and be loved in return.

~ Joey Moser