Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 02 September 2021

Romantic movies are what I have always avoided since I was a teenager and now that I am a priest: it is so nakaka-iinggit (so tempting)! Mahirap na. That is why I have always gone for action and comedy films and series, as well as documentaries.

But sometimes, the soft side in me prevails that I give into some love story flicks especially in Netflix since this surge in COVID-19 cases.

Two movies I highly recommend catching while still in Netflix are The Upside and The Last Letter From Your Lover; the former is an old remake based on a true story made to look modern while the latter is a modern one set in the past.

What I like most with these two movies is the strong emphasis on the value of respect, something that has become rare these days.

The word respect is from two Latin words “re” (again) and “specere” (to look/see) that literally mean “to look again” or “see again”. From specere came the words spectacular and spectacles or glasses to see and read. When we look at another person again and again especially when we are not actually together, that is when we not only respect them but also become faithful and loving with them because that is when we recognize their dignity as persons. That is one good thing with our wearing of face masks this pandemic when we rediscover the value of looking again closely at the face of the other person we meet – hopefully, not only to recognize who is he/she but to respect most of all!

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Going back to The Upside and The Last Letter From Your Lover ….

The Upside is about an ex-con being chosen by a paralyzed billionaire and best-selling author to be his personal nurse despite the long list of better qualified applicants.

It is a third remake of a French movie said to be based on a true story. Though many critics find it short of making a better version than the previous ones, we find it very good.

Because it teems with a lot of respect!

The ex-con turned caregiver is played by Kevin Hart as Deli while Bryan Cranston plays the quadriplegic billionaire Philip Lacasse. It opens with Deli driving Philip around New York City in his Ferrari when they were stopped by cops. They duped the cops into believing they were on a medical emergency but after being escorted to the nearest ER, they sped away and the film switches to the past previous weeks.

Philip had lost his wife in a hang gliding accident in the mountains of New York that left him paralyzed. He had wanted so much to be dead after losing his wife that he kept on reminding his secretary Yvonne played by Nicole Kidman to “don’t resuscitate” him in case of another accident.

Then came Deli who was recently granted with a parole from jail and the exact opposite of Philip: he was desperately trying to pick up his life by reconnecting with his wife and son as he tried his best to find a job to no avail until he tried his luck to apply as Philip’s caregiver after seeing the long queue of people leading to his penthouse in an exclusive section of the Big Apple. He was the exact opposite of Philip but they clicked – because they had respect for each other.

It was their mutual respect for each other as seen in the various scenes in the movie that they both found their self-worth as persons.

Deli found direction in his life after Philip taught him to “just do what you like best” which he did by doing a painting which Philip was able to sell for 50 grand which he gave Deli as his “seed money” for whatever undertaking he was planning. First thing Deli did was find a better apartment for his wife and son with the remaining money he invested in a business manufacturing motorized wheelchairs.

The most beautiful part is how Philip regained his self-worth and confidence – and new love – with a lot of respect given him by Deli, from smoking weeds to going on a date again and returning to the site where he and his wife last went on a vacation.

This is when the movie switched back to the present when they were escorted by the police to a New York City ER but Deli sped away and drove Philip to the mountains to enjoy hang gliding again. They later checked into the same hotel where he and wife last spent their vacation and the following morning at breakfast, Deli led Philip to a table to meet his new love, his “boo”.

The last scene is very short but got a very strong impact, even romantic. Very simple yet lovely. And filled with respect. Find out who that woman is!

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Truly a British movie released to Netflix this year, we find most striking with The Last Letter from Your Lover is its use of elegant English language that actually features the love stories of two journalists more than 50 years apart.

It opens with lead star Felicity Jones as Ellie Haworth waking up late in bed with her ex as she rushed to her newspaper office to write a feature article about a deceased editor. After having a hard time in getting access to their archives due to the very formal Rory played by Nabhaan Rizwan, Ellie found a mysterious love letter to someone identified as “J” from somebody named “Boot”.

She became friend eventually with Rory who helped her find more love letters between “J” and “Boot” that she soon followed up to become the main story of the film set in 1965 about the socialite Jennifer Stirling as “J” married to a stern industrialist interviewed by business writer Anthony O’Hare who called himself “Boot” or “B” while at the French Riviera. Jennifer’s husband had to hurriedly leave for business that became the occasion for her to get closer with Boot who had recently divorced from his wife.

Though one can readily see the sparks and intense feelings between them in their many informal meetings while awaiting the return of J’s husband at the French Riviera, Boot was very respectful to her. His respect would be put to test when one night J tried to kiss him but he declines – out of respect for her which he explained in one of his letters.

It was upon their return to London that they began writing each other and after some trysts in London, Boot finally asked J to join him to New York where he was being assigned as correspondent. On her way to the train station for their flight to New York, J met an accident and had a partial lost of memory while Boot thought his proposal was rejected.

It was during her hospitalization when J’s husband learned of her affair after discovering a letter from Boot. Meanwhile, Ellie and Rory discovered more love letters between the two lovers of the past while at the same time, they have started to fall for each other too. So funny is how the film writer Jojo Moyes had seamlessly weaved together the two love stories in the past and present, coinciding with each one’s peculiar twists and turns.

Eventually, Rory found out J and Boot were still alive and most of all, very eligible to finally reunite. She convinced Boot to write another letter to J for them to meet anew at their favorite meeting place as lovers. Boot wrote one last letter, meeting up with J finally after more than 50 years. Watching them not far were Ellie and Rory embracing each others also filled with love – and respect – who were instrumental in bringing the two lovers again. The scene is so “kilig” with both couples unknowingly being instrumental in making their loves bloom with a lot of respect.

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Jesus told his disciples: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you… You are my friends if you do what I command you. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.”

John 15:12, 14, 15

Whenever I officiate weddings especially of friends who have turned into lovers, I always choose this beautiful Last Supper scene of Jesus with his apostles discussing his commandment of love.

I tell the couple that one very important letter in the word F-R-I-E-N-D is the letter “R” which when removed changes the word into F-I-E-N-D or “enemy”.

That letter “R” stands for RESPECT. When there is no respect in any relationship especially among friends and lovers, love dies and ties are damaged or even lost.

Both movies teem with many instances of respect for the other person that in the end, love triumphed.

Have a blessed viewing!