“Under Parallel Skies”, the first romance film from the Philippines distributed by Warner Bros Pictures in The Lion City, is a cross-country film starring Thai actor Win Metawin and Filipino actress Janella Salvado. The movie follows the story of a Thai bachelor named Parin (Metawin) who travels to Hong Kong in search of his missing mother. He encounters a Filipino hotel receptionist named Iris (Salvador) who helps him navigate love, heartbreak, and healing in the foreign city amid their differences in culture and identity.
After its successful premier in the Philippines, the movie is set to hit the big screens in Singapore starting 1 May 2024. Director Sigrid Bernardo and Producer Richard Juan was in Singapore on the 29 April 2024 for an exclusive premiere of the movie, and here is what we have to say after watching the show:
“Under Parallel Skies” is a movie that is quite interesting to watch, although skeptics may say that the plot is overly done before with the intercultural relationships. Despite so, the chemistry between the two leads are quite undeniable.
Win Metawin, as Parin, first appeared as an arrogant drinker with hidden emotional baggage travelling to Hong Kong. As he travelled around the country, he finds himself slowly getting attracted to his hotelier. Janella Salvador, as Iris, portrayed as a girl determined not to let life pull her down, despite being in a foreign land all for the sake of the dreams of eventually purchasing a shop which she can call her own.
Parin and Iris met in the foreign ground of Hong Kong, and bonded through the journey through the process of Parin’s search for his missing mother. It was fun to see how they navigated through the differences in culture and find a middle ground in which the roots of a new relationship start to blossom.
Before the premiere of the movie, Excutive Producer Kristhoff Cagape, shared how the movie is a story of love, heartbreak and healing, and viewers will get to see the progression of these emotions. Be warned though, especially if you are quite sensitive to emotions, as the rollercoaster ride of emotions may affect the viewers. (Don’t forget to prepare yourself a pack of tissues!)
As the movie is a collaboration with Hong Kong Tourism Board and Cathay Pacific Airlines, viewers will also get to see lots of beautiful Hong Kong cinematography with various familiar sceneries such as Kowloon City, Peng Chou and Tai O.
During the Q&A at the end of the premier, questions were raised on how the production company got hold of Win Metawin. Executive Producer Richard Juan quipped that he first came to know about him from “2gether the Series”, and was thereafter introduced to him via Mint Magazine several years ago. He then pitched the idea to his company, GMM TV, for Win to play the lead actor on his producing movie. When GMM TV gave the green lights, the rest was a go. The directors first pondered over how to make the new leads bond and feel more comfortable with each other, but all it took was food and drinks. Win and Janella bonded immediately since, and the chemistry between them in the movie was natural portrayed well.
Through movie “Under Parallel Skies”, the producers wished to impart the message that there is no boundaries in loving someone, as we are all living under the same sky. The depiction of real life multi-cultural relationships as it happens everywhere allows us to broaden our views on the world around us. Although love and happiness can be fleeting, eventually it will be worth it.
As Parin and Iris brought us through their journey in the search of relationships, we throughly enjoyed the movie as we got to watch the undeniable relationship between Win and Janella which often brought us the entire theatre in comedic laughter.
As mentioned by the producers, do take note of some unscripted scenes and some candies hidden in the scenes (such as turtles) as they bring about another form of enjoyment throughout the movie.
Tickets to “Under Parallel Skies”, exclusively in Golden Village cinemas, starring Win Metawin and Janella Salvador are now on sale.
Article by: Siti @ KAvenyou
