RETURNING to showbiz after several years of absence, Aga Muhlach promised he will only do films of substance going forward – vowing to go to great lengths to fulfill the same.
He proved this via “Seven Sundays,” a family drama where he allowed himself to be deglamorized as a hard-up store owner.
Now here comes “Nuuk,” a psycho-thriller set in its namesake city located in faraway Greenland.
Given his stature, Aga could’ve simply opted to do the film somewhere where he’s more comfortable but he gamely took on the challenge.
He admitted, “Ang hirap pumunta doon huh! At ang lamig sobra!”
“I mean, wala akong problema sa lamig pero kakaiba doon. Ang matindi pa, wala kang magawa, wala kang makausap, para ka talagang in the middle of nowhere.”
“But, of course, for the sake of making the film as good as it should be, we have to brave all those hurdles diba?”
Nuuk holds the record of having the highest suicide rate in the world. It is speculated that this is so, due to its icy isolation but the real reason is still unknown.
Film director Veronica “Roni” Velasco said, “That’s why it is the perfect setting for our film.”
She added, “Maganda ang Nuuk. Pero it has this mysterious feel to it. It’s dark, it’s cold…lalo na marinig mo ang mga kwento na people could just die like, even outside their house, because of the chill.”
“Nuuk” is the first-ever Filipino movie shot in Greenland. It was also produced in cooperation with the Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark, which governs Greenland.
It is also the reunion movie of Aga Muhlach and Alice Dixson.
“We’ve worked a lot of times together in the past pero hindi ‘yung as a pair talaga. So, ito parang first time naming dalawa,” divulged Aga.
He is more than happy with the chance.
“We’ve known each other for so long and I really like her body of work. Tsaka ‘yun nga our partnership is something na bago so I’m excited to see how people will respond to it,” he said.
Told about it, Alice said, “Well, I feel the same way. Aga is a really good actor and siyempre you want to work only with the best ‘diba? So, this is most welcome for me.”
“Nuuk” follows the story of Elaisa Svendsen (as portrayed by Alice), a Filipina living in despair following the death of her husband. With nothing but alcohol and drugs to depend on, Elaisa becomes miserable, until she crosses paths with Mark Alvarez (Aga), a fellow Filipino whom she will get romantically entangled with. The thing is, nobody seems to know Mark except her.
Is he just a figment of her imagination?
“Maganda ang istorya,” said Alice. “It is something that you’d want to watch until the end.”
Produced by VIVA Films, “Nuuk” opens in cinemas Nov. 6. (NEIL RAMOS)
