Nosfecatu Reviews: Ulan

Ulan (Rain) tells the story of Maya (Nadine Lustre), an editor's assistant for a sleazy publication, as she struggles to find love amidst her monotonous, everyday life. You get the sense that she feels alone in the world - orphaned at a young age, she was taken in by her grandmother who also dies prior to the movie's main timeline. And while her aunt and uncle do care for her, (and always seems to have adobo ready,) she feels that they are eager for her to find herself a husband so that she can finally leave their care.

If this feels like the plot seeds of 79% of romance movies, that's probably because it is. Luckless love lives form the backbone of many romcoms and tearjerkers, and this movie seems to be designed to fit in that genre. But what sets this movie apart, is the supernatural, #ManilaEncounters undertone that leads Maya herself to ask, "is she cursed?"

Ulan opens with a sunshower, and how a younger Maya is told by her grandmother, much like most Filipinos, about how this is the result of a tikbalang getting married. Tikbalangs have no right to love, her grandmother says. And when they do fall in love, it always rains even on a sunny day - a sign of heaven's dispapproval. But unlike most Filipinos, Maya goes on and almost immediately witnesses an actual tikbalang wedding. And Maya, innocent child that she is, makes two mistakes that you should never do when faced with Fae creatures:

1. She told the tikbalangs her name.
2. She acknowledges that she is familiar with the nature of curses.

The tikbalang bride tells Maya that all heaven can do is make it rain when tikbalangs fall in love, and so they pledge to continue loving each other for all eternity while in Maya's presence.

Big mistake, kid.

The movie then focuses on Maya's love life, which typically starts promisingly... Until it rains, that is. And soon after everything turns south. Did she unwittingly take the tikbalangs' curse, letting them live happily ever after by taking on heaven's curse of forbidden love?

Or perhaps she is just the typical young adult in her twenties, cursed only to watch other people get married first because, for most people, it actually takes several tries before a person finds someone compatible with her? (I maaaay be projecting here.) Maya, after all, is a highly imaginative aspiring writer - it is entirely possible that she only imagined the tikbalangs of her childhood. And as for the ill-timed rains, well, we do live in a monsoon country.

In either case, a patchy love life is very relatable. Add in a stunningly visual film starred by today's stunningly beautiful young actors, and you have something that is very, very watchable.

Ulan can be accused of being just another romance movie with a few sprinkles of Filipino myth added to mask the sameness. But I think it's all a matter of perspective. Filipinos enjoy hugot stories, so why shouldn't we tell them often? Rather than deride the themes of love and loss, I believe in embracing them and letting us tell more diverse stories through them instead of in spite of them.

PS. I love me some character work, and I do enjoy how this is Maya's story through and through - the whole story is based on her perspective. And I think Maya is at her strongest when she decides the love that she yearns for is found within herself. I may be projecting again, so I will just leave you with @veneezgeeya's tweet:

You know tea? As I was watching #Ulan I realized that statements like "you complete me" aren't really true. You're already whole yourself in the beginning and that's enough. Got stronger when Maya said:

"Bakit kailangan kong magtira para sa sarili ko eh hindi naman ako mauubos."

— blockbuster poncho™ (@veneezgeeya) March 18, 2019