Sue Ramirez, JM De Guzman make emotions real in new film

In 2024, young director Fifth Solomon made a romantic-comedy flick, "My Sassy Girl," loosely inspired by the 2001 South Korean film of the same title, with Toni Gonzaga and Pepe Herrera in the lead.

- By LEAH C. SALTERIO

This time, Fifth crafts "Lasting Moments," a gut-punch of a melodrama that dares to stare directly into the slow unraveling of a once picture-perfect romantic story.

The quiet, piercing film is anchored by the ideal onscreen chemistry of Sue Ramirez and JM De Guzman, who deliver what may be their most soul-baring performances to date.

Sue essays Pia, a rising corporate star, ambitious yet tender, grounded in the simple pleasures of shared meals and handwritten dreams taped on the wall of a rented home.

JM plays Aki, a gentle and artistic soul, a history teacher with a past that quietly haunts him.

Together, they embody the kind of love that feels real: joyful, flawed and achingly familiar. The story is a tender masterpiece of love, loss and life's unforgiving turns.

From the first frame of this romance-drama, the intimacy of Pia and Aki hums with authenticity. Whether they are slurping chicken mami tinola or playing the piano in the dim glow of their small home, their bond feels lived-in, not forced.

The brilliance of "Lasting Moments" lies in its disarming honesty. The screenplay is direct, even plainspoken, but never simplistic.

When Pia chooses to take a call from her boss on her birthday—on a weekend no less—it is not just about duty, but the invisible lines drawn between ambition and affection.