Baron Geisler and child actress Althea Ruedas deliver heartfelt performances
Mavx Productions has mastered creating heartwarming films, showing Filipino values in a foreign land. Take Finding Agnes (2020) starring Sue Ramirez and Jelson Bay, shot in Marrakesh, Morocco, and A Faraway Land (2021) with Paolo Contis and Yen Santos, filmed in Faroe Islands, part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Last week, Doll House directed by Marla Ancheta rose to the number one spot in Netflix’s Top Movies in the Philippines. The film’s destination: Rotterdam, Netherlands.
A mature Yumi (Mary Joy Apostol) visits a nursing home looking for her “best friend”—a wheelchair-bound Rustin (Baron Geisler) suffering from the effects of a stroke and forgetfulness.
The film, which runs from one hour and 46 minutes, is a series of flashbacks documenting Rustin’s life struggles. Rustin at the top of his prime is the lead singer of a rock band. From his carefree attitude, booze and drugs are not far away. Rustin’s enlightenment to “correct” his past mistakes happens when his bandmate, Diego (Alwyn Uytingco) ODs.
A general’s son, Rustin gets scot-free and flies to Rotterdam. We meet Sheena (Izah Hankammer), a nurse with whom Rustin falls madly in love, offering her marriage. The two become a couple until we get to see the true color of Rustin.
Rustin adopts a fake persona and changes his name to Clyde when he stumbles upon Bok or Ganda (Phi Palmos), who needs help carrying boxes. The two click as they discover they come from the same country. Clyde is introduced to a young Yumi played by promising child actress Althea Ruedas.
Clyde becomes a “babysitter” as the delightful character, Ganda, has a lot of errands for him. He auditions for a band making Yumi promise that their gig is a “secret.” Why? If Yumi’s family gets hold of the trip, he will be banned from seeing her.
Yumi and Clyde form a bond. “My dream is to become a singer,” says the child. She asks him to go to the school’s audition. This is music to Clyde’s ears even if she sings off-key. They train hard, even copying the Songbird’s (Regine Velasquez) water drum regimen in a cold continent!
Things go on a crisis when Ganda discovers that Clyde is the same badass, irresponsible, drug addict, and no-good Rustin who left Sheena during her pregnancy and was even absent during her funeral.
Yumi is ordered by Ganda and her aunt Mommy, not to be with Rustin. The stubborn Yumi becomes a “stowaway” and even knocks on Rustin’s door. Surprise! The vice-filled Rustin takes the opportunity to “kidnap” Yumi but promises to bring her to the school audition.
Rustin confesses, “Tomorrow, after the auditions, that might be the last day I’ll see you.” He wishes desperately that Yumi won’t ever forget him. “But I don’t want tomorrow to be our last day,” Yumi replies.
Yumi goes on with the auditions singing “Pangako” (music and lyrics by Ogie Alcasid and Manilyn Reynes), but the results did not favor her. The juxtaposition of Yumi singing in an ideal dreamy situation and the reality coming in creates an impact that life is not a bed of roses.
How can a damaged father redeem himself? No matter what Rustin has done, through the eyes of Yumi, he is still the very best friend she longs to be with. But in the adult world, a man’s pleas for a second chance sometimes fall on deaf ears.
Do you need a box of tissues in this film? Yes, Baron and Althea’s performances would give you both heartfelt pain and joy as the two try to mend and reconnect their broken relationship.
Rustin’s predictable fate lands him in the hospital, unresponsive. Yumi visits him crying and sad that her best friend is not waking up. Years pass and we see the adult Yumi in the present time. “Hindi mo ba talaga ako naalala (Don’t you remember me at all)?” she asks an old man.
Yumi sees a room full of dollhouses in different shapes and sizes. “Gawa ko yan para sa best friend ko (I made all of that for my best friend),” Rustin explains.
That is all the closure Yumi and the audience need. Do you need a box of tissues in this film? Yes, Baron and Althea’s performances would give you both heartfelt pain and joy as the two try to mend and reconnect their broken relationship.
Doll House is streaming on Netflix.