Hope springs in the first trailer of Paul Soriano’s film, ‘First Love.’
Starring Aga Mulach and Bea Alonzo, the film seems to tell the journey of a dying woman to finding her ‘first love.’ Ali (Bea Alonzo) has this heart condition called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), which is not rare but could be fatal to someone who has it. In the trailer, it is revealed that Ali needs a new heart, and she tries to make the most of what’s left while she can.
Nick (Aga Mulach), whose idealistic notions about life may potentially make him the worst specimen of a hopeless romantic, believes that he’ll be off to a better place—in space, to be exact—when he just disappears, one day. His first encounter with Ali is viewed by the latter as a serendipitous event, something that brought them together to witness a rare miracle—the miracle of first love.
It is interesting how the film suggests that true love occurs at the moment when you meet that someone you will last fall in love with, and not the first person you’ll have your heart beating for. It is a tricky suggestion, but it provides a hopeful reminder about the magic of true love, and how it just arrives unannounced.
From the first few moments, the trailer bears a melancholic tone that seems to suggest that the film will tear hearts apart. ‘Someday, I’ll just disappear.’ Nick says in the beginning, and Ali is a hopeful believer who tries to live a normal life before her condition takes that life away.
It is easy to be swayed to believing that Ali will be the one to die, given her condition, but it could also be Nick, whose very first line conveniently suggests he may be the one. But who knows?
‘The heart knows what it wants,” Nick says. “No one can stop it,” he further claims, while Ali declares ‘carpe diem,’ when the universe itself shows the door to opportunities. For Ali, them being together, all universe’s work, that all they want to do is just…Believe.
Produced by Ten17 Productions, Star Cinema, and Viva Films, ‘First Love’ is directed by Paul Soriano, and stars Bea Alonzo and Aga Muhlach. Also in the cast, are Edward Barber, Sandy Andolong, and Albie Casiño. The film opens October 17 in cinemas nationwide.
