A Faraway Land

Movie sucks. Romanticizing bad habits like cheating. Yen Santos don't know how to act. Just very ugly.

It should've been only 1 star but I would like to give credits to Paolo's acting. Yen should do more acting workshops. And kuddos to another lady cast who's crying in a scene without tears and emotion. You made me laugh all night LMAO.

The only thing that's good in this movie is the location.

You just can't feel for the characters. Forced romance and pretty poor motivations for them. In fact, the main leads characters were acting pretty selfish and shows their poo moral values.

It's a familiar story set in an unfamiliar locale. The scenery is spectacular which is reminiscent of Batanes Islands. Alas, one can't say the same about the story. It lacks freshness as the theme, which looks into the life of Filipino workers abroad, has been tackled in earlier films like Dubai or Milan.

The actors try to breathe life into their roles but there's not much to inspire or to surprise the viewer. This is not say that they lack conviction because they are at ease with each other which helps in portraying their roles credibly.

It helps that the film introduces the viewer to bits and pieces of life in the Faroes like surprising delicacies such as fermented meat or garnatalg which is "fat from cheese and animal intestines" or the Faroese approach to child rearing or that "calamansi" is rare in those islands where only potatoes, turnip and rhubarb are grown. Or that there are Filipino ladies who're working there and are married to local men.

The film is not a travelogue but the viewer is tempted to see it more as one rather than a serious film.