‘Lakbay2Love’ Review: Missing something more

Oggs Cruz

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‘Lakbay2Love’ Review: Missing something more
Solenn Heussaff and Dennis Trillo star in 'Lakbay2Love'

Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil’s Lakbay2Love opens with little Lianne, who we first see riding her kid’s bicycle in an obvious effort to foreshadow the film’s obsession with cycling, witnessing her family breaking apart as her French dad abandons her mom.

 

The film then shifts several years later with Lianne (Solenn Heussaff), now a recently heartbroken filmmaker, sleeping through the noise of the morning’s news of the devastation caused by Yolanda and the mess caused by what seems to be a night of drunken sorrow. Her assistant (Patricia Ishmael) fervently wakes her up, alerting her of their new project, a film about biking with environmental undertones which she describes as something that she’s always wanted, “something light but serious.”

Light but clumsy romance

BIKER. Dennis Trillo is Jay-R, a biker who teaches Lianne about the environment. Photo courtesy of Erasto Films

Lakbay2Love quickly transports the duo into the world of cycling via Jay-R (Dennis Trillo), a cycling enthusiast who serves as their guide in their project. Lianne, who is desperate to forget about her ex-boyfriend Macky (Kit Thompson), eventually falls for Jay-R who, in the process of reigniting her love for cycling, teaches her to move on from her failed relationship. A new romance blossoms, hindered predictably by Macky’s return which results in a love triangle. 

FINDING LOVE. Solenn Heussaff plays Lianne, a documentary filmmaker who comes to Manila, after her boyfriend leaves her. Photo courtesy of Erasto Films

It relies mainly on the pretty pictures that the film manages to capture from the beautiful locales that serve as settings for the various biking activities that Lianne is supposed to shoot. However, the love story itself is lacking. It hinges on a heartache that is both unconvincing and never fully explained.

The heartache then evolves into a brand new romance that feels abrupt, convenient and sadly unearned. The love triangle that ultimately develops seems like a negligible afterthought more than anything, a feeble attempt to introduce conflict in a film that thirsts for it. (WATCH: Solenn Heussaff, Dennis Trillo duet on ‘Overdrive’ for new movie ‘Lakbay2Love’) 

THIRD WHEEL. Kit Thompson plays the ex-boyfriend of Lianne who wants her back. Photo courtesy of Erasto Films

Sadly, it is this clumsy romance that frames everything else. The film’s advocacies seem to play second fiddle to the love story. They appear as distractions, unfairly tame efforts to add relevance in a romance that is flimsy and contrived. 

From the perspective of characters whose brushes with more the more pertinent conflicts of the world are through didactic conversations and tear-inducing vistas of damaged forests, the film’s brand of advocacy feels arguably shallow. The doomed world is presented as subservient to all their personal issues, whether it be something as crucial as Jay-R’s venture abroad for economic reasons or something as trivial as Lianne’s heartbreaks.

Everything is draped with feel-good musings. Its romanticized imagery of dirty and impoverished Manila or the impending threats to the forests are displayed from the perspective of pretty and privileged outsiders who are simply breezing through all the ugliness and corruption with their expensive bikes. The film is unfortunately satisfied with frivolous exhibition. It is content with complacency. It fails to incite anger, fear, or any other emotion that would end up in relevant action. 

The heavy-handed way it presents its environmental advocacies only expose how very little it has to say on the matter.

Slight all around

TIME OF THEIR LIVES. Jay-R, Lianne, and Lianne's assistant durng a bike break. Screenshot courtesy of Erasto Films

There is really nothing in Lakbay2Love except characters trapped in a love story that isn’t at all worthwhile. Its advocacies are skin-deep and elementary. The film isn’t at all light but serious, as Lianne’s assistant so eagerly promised in the beginning of the film. It is just slight all around. – Rappler.com


Francis Joseph Cruz litigates for a living and writes about cinema for fun. The first Filipino movie he saw in the theaters was Carlo J. Caparas’ Tirad Pass. Since then, he’s been on a mission to find better memories with Philippine cinema. Profile photo by Fatcat Studios








 

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