JUST A THOUGHT: The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible. -Arthur C. Clarke
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INTENSE, MALAMYA: “Intense siya, malamya ako,” so said rising actress Sophie Albert when asked to describe how she and co-star Elizabeth Oropesa compared and contrasted.
The two actresses, of diverse ages and temperaments, are playing the same role in T-Rex production’s “Moonlight Over Baler.”
Former TV5 contract artist Sophie Albert and multi-awarded Elizabeth Oropesa play the same woman in different timelines. The former in her twilight years, the latter in her youth.
Knowing that the grand prize winning actress Oropesa was to be her mature counterpart years later, Sophie said she was immediately intimidated.
“But I did my homework. I watched her scenes from our film to familiarize myself with how she moves, how she behaves,” Sophie said.
It was tough, according to Ms. Albert, a relative of Kris Aquino’s. “I am naturally shy, soft-spoken, reserved,” she described her off-screen persona. Ms Oro is intense as an actor, so unlike me.’’
Sophie also said that she mines that character trait of hers when playing a role. “I feel free and liberated when I take on a role,’ she said.
Thanks to a series of workshops under the old TV5, Sophie has been releasing her shy self up in the air. Doing so has made her a better actress.
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ANG WORKSHOP NIYA MURA NG DIREKTOR: Meanwhile, Oropesa, who hasn’t done a lead role in a long time, said, “Hindi ko inabot ang mga workshop na ’yan. Ang workshop ko ay mura ng mga naging director ko.”
The line fetched laughter from the media, most of whom are Oro’s old friends from way back.
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LOVE IN A LONG TIMELINE: Moonlight Over Baler,” opening in theaters nationwide on February 8, tells the story of Fidela, a retired schoolteacher who encounters Kenji, a young Japanese photojournalist who is a deadringer for Nestor, the Filipino soldier whom she fell in love with in the 1940s. Kenji’s arrival in Fidela’s hometown of Baler thus triggers bittersweet memories in the former teacher and disrupts Fidela’s life as well as the community’s.
The roles of Nestor and Kenji are played by Vin Abrenica in what should be his biggest movie break.The movie is directed by Gil Portes from a Palanca-winning screenplay by Enrique Ramos. (NESTOR CUARTERO)