Nope, this is not a Magnolia ice cream flavour of the month. UNBREAKABLE is an epic-length Filipino-style melodrama about female bonding and friendship as it stands the test of time. The plotline is engulfed in tragedies and plot twists that encapture you as an audience despite the uneven subtlety at some points of the story. Nevertheless, there are enough dramatic moments and conflicts peppered throughout the film to keep you involved through its climactic end.
Mariel Salvador (Bea Alonzo) and Deena Yambao (Angelica Panganiban) have been best friends since college. The film starts on a rainy night when Deena attempts suicide by jumping into a pool to drown herself. Mariel is hurriedly driving to reach her before it is too late. This is a flash-forward scene that flashes back to the start of their friendship.
They meet in college where Mariel defends Deena in a school fight altercation, an ominous metaphor of the relationship they will have as adults. Deena is the easygoing clingy type while Mariel is the more protective serious of the two. Mariel’s strength and responsible behaviour stem from being eventually the main breadwinner of her family which includes her doting mom (Rosanna Roces) and unfaithful dad (Allan Paule).
The first half of the film is treated as a comedy-drama but then takes a turn for the serious midway when Mariel and Deena marry wealthy brothers Justin (Richard Guttierez) and Bene (Ian Veneracion) Saavedra with the mixed approval of their domineering matriarch mother-in-law (Gloria Diaz). The plot thickens at this point and tragedy upon tragedy strike that brings us back to the rainy night beginning of the film.
Director Mar Cruz-Alviar and writer Vanessa Valdez expertly navigate through the heavy emotions of the plot to distill a movie experience that is both involving and affecting. Both Alonzo and Panganiban deliver authentic nuanced performances in roles that require natural chemistry from the actors. Gutierrez and Veneracion give good male support to what is mainly a female-driven film.
UNBREAKABLE is, as the title suggests, the everlasting friendship between two women that will remain solid and strong despite the tragedies, confrontations, and conflicts within their lives. It is a relationship that will never break despite the odds.
UNBREAKABLE (4/5)
There is a lot of trepidation in Hollywood in handling unsure material as CRAZY RICH ASIANS can attest. The last time an all-Asian cast modern-day Hollywood film was made was 25 years ago in 1993 with THE JOY LUCK CLUB, earning modest critical and box office success.
The 27th Japanese Film Festival (JIFF) Australia 2023 is back, starting with film screenings in Canberra (30 September – 15 October), Perth (16-22 October), Brisbane (6-22 October), Melbourne (23 October – 5 November) and Sydney (23-31 October). The theme for 2023 tackles the continuing connection between past and present.
