Daniel, Charo take a gamble on timely movie
DANIEL Padilla and Charo Santos Concio both take a gamble in ‘Kun Maupay Man It Panahon (Whether the Weather is Fine)’. The movie is about the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda in 2013 and all the lines are in Waray. Both DJ as Miguel and Mam Charo as his mom, Norma, had to learn speaking it fluently, including Rans Rifol, a total newcomer who was recruited from auditions and is being introduced here as Daniel’s girlfriend, Andrea.
“Shooting the film on location in Tacloban with the real victims of Yolanda is so memorable for me,” says DJ. “Doon sa scene shot in Tacloban Astrodome na naging evacuation center, I saw in the eyes of the survivors who played extras that they had to relive their experience. They weren’t acting. The fear in their eyes is real.”
“All our co-stars are locals who experienced Yolanda and we have to thank them for being so cooperative,” says Mam Charo. “Some of them thanked us for making a movie about their experiences. They want to help to make sure na matapos namin ang movie nang maayos.”
DJ admits he was initially reluctant to accept the movie. “Medyo takot ako, napakalaki ng project at mahirap ‘yung role. But I realized we should welcome challenges and when I want to do something, dapat, walang takot. This is a movie so very different from anything I’ve done before. It’s an eye opener for all of us para lagi tayong maging handa sa ganitong disasters.”
Mam Charo says she was also hesitant to accept the project. “Kasi mahirap siya gawin, mag-aaral pa ako magsalita ng Waray. But I’m glad I went out of my comfort zone and did it. I learned something new, not only Waray but pati ‘yung kultura nila. What happened here is a reflection of what is happening after another typhoon hit us, the wrath of nature and the devastation and trauma it brings to our people. Dito rin natin makikita ang tibay ng loob ng ating kapwa Pilipino, our resilience and our readiness to help our afflicted countrymen.”
But she enjoyed working with her younger co-stars Daniel and Rans. “It’s fun to work with them kasi their energy is infectious. Kaming tatlo ang laging magkaeksena. I was able to identify with my character, Norma, in her journey as a wife and as a mother. Nagkahiwa-hiwalay kasi kami rito and all throughout the movie, I’m looking for my missing husband.”
We daresay that Mam Charo deserves to win the Metro Manila Filmfest best actress award. As Norma, she’s so desperate to find out where her husband is. When she learned that he’s injured and is confined at the Tacloban Astrodome, she wants to get inside but only patients are allowed to get in. So she asked her son, DJ, to intentionally injure her by hitting her with a rock on the face repeatedly so she would also be confined in the Astrodome.
The next time we see her, her face is badly disfigured, swollen from her wounds. She’s wandering around the astrodome searching for her husband. When she finally sees him on a small bed, her face lights up and you can see she is so happy. But when the man turns and faces her, it turns out it’s not really her husband. You can see all the emotions Norma is feeling being registered on Mam Charo’s face. It is a wordless scene, but she showed all her feelings through her acting. For that scene alone, she deserves to win.
The film will be shown just when our countrymen in the Visayas and Mindanao have been victimized by another killer typhoon, Odette. “This is really very timely. Kasi parang never ending ang state of emergency dito sa atin and we should be more aware of how to cope with and prepare for disasters para hindi laging helpless ang ating mga kababayan. We need to be aware how to cope with the calamities brought about by climate change,” adds Mam Charo.
