The comeback kid

MANILA, Philippines – Jericho Rosales is something of a rebel. It was a gray December afternoon and he came to this Supreme shoot having just survived especially hellish traffic. He chose to ride his canary yellow motorcycle to the studio instead of being chauffeured, and now he was an hour past his call time, and he arrived apologizing — and sweating — profusely.

Between the heat, the pollution, and the very likely possibility of him getting mobbed on the streets, why bike it anywhere? “Freedom,” he explained. “It has something to do with feeling the wind on your skin, yung ramdam mo yung makina… basta.”

He’s seated at the grooming chair looking wistful, and we ask him to reminisce about the last time he was part of a film fest movie.

Winners and losers

Let’s go back to the night of December 27, 2008. In a word, Echo was feeling “crappy.” He was one of the many celebrities inside the Sofitel Harbor Tent in Pasay City, watching the historical film Baler sweep practically all the major awards.

All except the best actor trophy.

“I was the only one who didn’t win anything,” he says with a wry smile.

Jericho admits the positive energy from his supporters that night was rubbing off on him. He was starting to believe that he had the award in the bag. So when the presenter called Christopher de Leon’s name, the downward crash was hard. “Eh siyempre everyone in the team won, di ba,” he says, remembering how mortified he felt. To make things worse, he had to perform live for Katy: The Musical right after the announcement. Not an easy feat especially since he was feeling “messed up.”

It was his leading lady KC Concepcion that saved the night: She gave Echo a pep talk that stayed with him long after the awards night. “I will never forget that conversation that we had before the performance,” he says. “She reminded me that we don’t work for the awards. We work because of the project, because we love our jobs.”

Seven-year itch

Seven years after Baler, Jericho is back in the MMFF race with a film called Walang Forever. (Translation: It’s a bleak, two-word prediction jaded souls tend to mutter under their breaths upon seeing couples who can’t resist kissing or holding hands in public.)

After doing the indie action film Red and the emotionally-charged teleserye Bridges of Love, Jericho was dying to do something light and fun for a change. “Gusto ko talagang mag rom-com,” he emphasizes. “Kasi lagi na lang akong sigaw nang sigaw, umiiyak, intense. Medyo napapagod na ako. As an artist, healthy yung may variation; Yung na e-explore ko yung iba’t ibang side ng ability, ng craft ko, di ba?”

So when the project was offered to him in October, he snapped it up immediately. Never mind that he wasn’t the first choice for the role. “I’m not even second choice,” he says, trying to think of the right word. “Option? Hindi nga option eh… fall back!” (No outsized ego. We like.) He read the script three times on the plane en route to Paris, France, where his wife Kim Jones was waiting. “It’s funny and it’s not baduy. It’s true,” Echo says, describing the story. “Hindi siya overly cheesy and it can actually happen.”

Walang Forever is the brainchild of director Dan Villegas and his girlfriend and fellow director Antoinette Jadaone. Dan says the Mik Everett quote “If a writer falls in love with you, you can never die” inspired the whole thing. In the film, Jennylyn Mercado plays Mia, a famous rom-com writer who uses her real-life experiences as material for her movies. Jericho, on the other hand, plays Ethan, the only man Mia has ever loved, a.k.a. her well of stories for her films. But “what happens kapag naubos na? Kahit naman tapos na yung relationship, pwede ka pang humugot. Eh nagamit mo na lahat. Ubos na yung tanke mo. Wala na. So yun yung premise ng film,” explains Dan.

Art imitating life

Dan’s own love life seeps into his art. For instance, there is a scene in the movie that is based on an actual date Dan and Tonet had at LZM restaurant in Tagaytay. (No spoilers here, we promise.) They were enjoying bulalo and grilled squid, when the live band suddenly started playing Pachelbel’s Canon. “Ang romantic lang,” he says, still kilig over the memory. “Siyempre hawak ka ng kamay na ganun. Kinabukasan kami na. Merong ganung eksena dito.”

This is Dan’s second time to participate in the MMFF. His last film English Only, Please, the only rom-com in the 2014 lineup, was a sleeper hit, earning over a hundred million pesos at the tills. This year, the competition is tight — from Tonet’s “All You Need Is Pag Ibig” to the Vice Ganda x JaDine flick Beauty and the Bestie. But the director is pretty confident about this love story that’s grounded on reality, but not lacking in the magic of serendipity. He only asks that you give it a chance.

“Some people are trying to change things,” Dan says, in light of the annual MMFF-films-are-garbage tirades. “And you can’t change things kung nasa likod ka lang nung computer o cellphone at nag ra-rant ka.  Kung viewer ka, you’re entitled to your own opinion, pero kung di mo napanood, wag mo na lang i-judge.” And yes, he’s not worried about ticket sales just yet. (“Sabi nga sa Bridge of Spies, ‘Will it help?’”)

Jericho echoes his director’s sentiments. “I don’t want to sound walang pakialam,” he pauses, “but I don’t think too much about commercial success.” He’s really happy with the outcome and believes the movie will find its audience.

Does he really believe na Walang Forever?, we can’t resist asking.  “I don’t want to sound super spiritual,” he begins cautiously. A bit more prodding and he finally relents.  “I believe in God, I believe in eternal love. So for me, whatever’s temporary here on earth is a little piece of forever.”

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Tweet the author @IrishDDizon.

Produced by David Milan

Photo by Cenon Norial III

Grooming by Emmanuel EJ Caro