The Art History

By: Mendoza, Khamylle Anne

The film was directed by Antoinette Jadaone, and was produced by Olivia Lamasan. The main characters were Enrique Gil as ‘Raf’ and of course, Liza Soberano as ‘Tin’.  Tin was an art student from the University of the Philippines while Raf came from the University of Santo Tomas. 

Tin was a candidate of Magna Cum Laude—she was an achiever & a ‘goal digger’, while Raf was a total struggling student. But even though they did not have a similar academic gaining, the unconditional love, support, and loyalty of the two remained and were genuinely manifested. Tin persistently helped Raf attain better grades through helping him review his notes during their spare time and motivate him in every way she could. Tin was a good and supportive girlfriend, she never forgot to remind Raf that ‘honor before excellence’.  Tin was so determined to succeed in her dreams, and that losing is never an option for her. And she made it, she was able to get what she wanted—the latin award and the job she strives to attain. Tin and Raf were happy, not until after Tin’s graduation.  When Tin got a job, she found out that there was an unlawful things happening within her workplace but she chose to be quiet, and act as if she knew nothing. However, the higher divisions discovered the illegal monetary transaction her boss has been doing. With that, her boss flew to the United States and left Tin deal with the issue alone. And so, Tin was held liable and was put into shame. That’s when she started blaming herself, and pushing other people away. She was lost and confused, so she decided to broke up with Raf. She struggled looking for a new job (since she already got a police record) until she met Greg who saved Tin from her chaos. In exchange, Tin worked in Greg’s company for five long years. Girlfriend slash secretary.

But then the night came when Greg and Tin went to an event wherein Tin, for so long, saw Raf again. By that time, Raf’s already a doctor. The feelings and memories knocked their hearts out the moment they looked at each other’s eye. I tell you, even if they did not say a word, their teary eyes did the talking. Since then, Raf started to communicate with Tin. But Tin was quite hard to get that she kept on neglecting Raf knowing that she still loves him. Until Tin went to New York for a business trip where Raf intendedly followed her. The two were able to talk things about the past—what really happened and what was the reason why Tin suddenly closed her door for Raf. Then Raf proposed to Tin right after they talked, but then again, Tin refused.

Basically, the film is about an oppressed love. It’s about two young people who love each other very much but not meant to be with one another. The opening of the film’s good. The cinematography was great, and the objective of the movie was clearly established. The film used warm colours when shooting inside the gallery or museums which totally make the audiences feel the warmth of each painting displayed. The flashback scenes have low colour tones too. The plot is insane, I must say. It could make you feel like you’re on their situation and would even make you cry (most especially if you haven’t moved on yet with your past relationship). But what I liked the most was the film’s choice of music—Eraserheads’ playlist. Through the choice of music, the film was able to connect with viewers’ Pinoy souls, considering too that the setting was in UP. 

All in all, I can say that the movie is exceptional. It does not only give you the feels of being a struggling-UP-student, but could also make you appreciate Arts and value history as well. Because as what Tin says, “we must not forget”, because to learn history is to understand the present.