Review Of The Film That Thing Called Tadhana

The film That Thing Called Tadhana by Antoinette Jadaone, stars Angelica Panganiban and JM de Guzman, follows two strangers learning about each other in the span of a few days, and shows the raw, unadulterated emotional baggage that comes with a recent break up. Written also by Jadaone, it is a very character centric story, which the entire film is fueled by, and it’s a very unique take on what could have been another romantic comedy in the spectrum of Filipino cinema. The aspects that stood out are the fact that it stands strong even with only two characters, and its simplistic nature from a filmmaking standpoint.

It starts with Mace Castillo (Angelica Panganiban) throwing away her clothes in the trash due to her having excess baggage at the airport in Rome. Until Anthony Lagdameo (JM de Guzman) comes up to her and offers to take her thrown away clothes because he has extra space for his baggage, she accepts and gets to board the plane back home. The entirety of the film revolves around Mace having to deal with her boyfriend breaking up with her, with Anthony listening all throughout right beside her. She tells him that the only reason she was in Rome to visit her boyfriend, but broke up with her right then and there. It’s set in a variety of places, due to Mace’s urge to forget about her boyfriend, the two of them travel to Rome, Manila, Baguio, and Sagada, as time gets away from them, they learn more about each other. The two of them are very good and relatable characters, portrayed very well by both Panganiban and de Guzman. Unlike a lot of characters in a romantic comedy, Mace and Anthony are unique in that, they aren’t stereotypical portrayals of human emotion in film. They are both grounded in their tone, which makes it much more relatable in terms of connecting with the audience, and it is consistent throughout. It is very evident that the story of the film is rooted from experience of the filmmaker, Antoinette Jadaone. The writing and dialogue is the entire energy of the film, together with the direction, everything is very deliberate, which makes it all the more engaging. How you tell the story is as important as the story itself, in this case, it is just about these two characters and their spontaneous journey while trying to mend the pain of a broken heart, and the film’s cinematography does just that. It’s simple and to the point, a lot of the film is just the two of them conversing, but it is still engaging because the cinematography doesn’t get distracting, because that’s not what the story needs. Good cinematography should be able to serve the story with purpose and not just make the film look good. Some of the most beautiful shots are the ones where it’s just the two of them, and that’s most of the film, even in silence it shows a strong connection between them, a personal favorite is when they visited the BenCab Museum and it’s the two of them, facing a painting each. This was also when Anthony tells Mace his passion for painting, wherein Mace asks him if he could illustrate her short story she wrote in the past, “The Arrow with a Heart Pierced Through Him”. This is a good example of plant and payoff because Anthony being an artist comes back at the end where he does just what Mace asks him to do; illustrate her short story. The end of the film is where most people have a similar reaction; it ends with Anthony driving, on his lap there placed a copy of the said illustrated short story, Anthony then smiles, and cut to black. It leaves most hanging because you never get to see what’s next. But because of the good direction, writing, and acting of both Panganiban and de Guzman, Jadaone trusts the audience enough to know the characters, and know what they may do next. This is a testament on how important it is to focus on character, because even when everything else falls apart, the ideas and themes the characters are portraying will stand strong. But the reaction to the cliffhanger type ending is also very telling on how mass audiences expect to be told a story.

The film is widely known as a “hugot” movie due to Mace’s emotional outbursts continuously apparent throughout. It’s popularity gained traction around the time when “Hugot Culture” became widespread online especially social media. The idea of a hugot is expressing a deep, experienced emotion, in an exaggerated manner, a way of coping with pain that perhaps is ingrained with Filipino culture itself. It is very much a way of showing your suppressed emotions comically, but it works on a level that is relatable because they are somewhat empathetic situations that we can’t help but connect with. That is where the film shines, it’s about empathy and how it helps us grow and win over a sadness we think we may never beat. Mace’s heartbreak tests our willingness to connect with an unmendable heart; is it somewhat funny when she woefully sings Whitney Houston’s “Where do Broken Hearts Go?” Or do we feel bad because she is experiencing immense pain at the moment? Do we express amusement when she ridiculously pesters a stranger who doesn’t answer their ringing phone? Or do we sympathize with the idea of her not wanting to be turned away by someone they hold dear? Does anyone?

Anthony is a good characterization of empathy because he is a good listener and finds himself telling his stories of pain in the past, but is not selfish with it; he knows what Mace needs at this miserable time and is only motivated to act towards helping her be free of this pain. That is also portrayed in the animation that comes up every now and again about “The Arrow with a Heart Pierced Through Him”. The arrow may symbolize Anthony, and the heart, Mace; and it’s about the arrow bearing the weight of the heart and all its heavy baggage. But even after their journey of looking for someone who lost their heart, the arrow still chose to leave the heart because it wasn’t his. Not until he finds himself alone and yearning for something, he meets the heart again, and feels whole. That is parallel with the story of Anthony and Mace wherein after their journey together, they find Mace’s boyfriend at her doorstep, and Anthony chooses to walk away, denying his feelings towards Mace, but found courage at the end to show her exactly that. The irony of Tadhana is the idea of “tadhana” never really comes into fruition, sure it is mentioned by Mace a couple times but due to the fact she grumbles about the misery in not achieving happiness through fate, and Anthony bluntly tells her the pain of the truth. But the film is better for that reason because it is a much more stronger story when fate doesn’t get involved, the characters grow and change in front of you throughout the film and makes you connect with them on a deeper level rather than an unknown force meddling with the capacity of human interaction and development. We always look up and hope there’s something greater than what we are that’s controlling our lives, yearning for the better. The fear of messing up and hoping that it’s all part of it, part of a plan, but what do we do when there isn’t one? Find the joy – the film says, chase it, run to it before it fades and your heart rusts.

That Thing Called Tadhana tells one of the most human stories that engages, breaks, and mends all hearts while consisting of complex characters and concepts that shows its strength in writing, and will stand the test of time or until we figure out a way to quickly fix a heartbreak, for now letting it get to you doesn’t seem that bad of an idea.