A review of '100 Awit Para Kay Stella'

The meaning of limerence, and recognizing that rain is 'ulan' in Filipino, will help you understand the why of my title to this review, after having watched the film.

- By PHILIP CU UNJIENG

"100 Awit Para Kay Stella" is the long-awaited sequel to the 2018 box office hit "100 Tula Para Kay Stella," which opened in cinemas last Sept. 10.

For those who have not watched the first film, the premise chronicles the four years of college life and friendship between Stella (Bela Padilla), a free-spirited wannabe rock star, and Fidel (JC Santos), an earnest, artistic young man with a speech impediment. At its core, it was a 'will they, won't they' kind of film that rang as authentic, because it was so much deeper and about missed chances, and not your regular rom-com treatment.

Picking up more than a decade later in the lives of the two, when we encounter Stella, she's an event organizer, and Fidel is a ghostwriter/composer for a young recording star, Clyde (Kyle Echarri), who is following the footsteps of his late father, a recording industry legend. Clyde makes an appearance in one of Stella's speed dating events, and when asked to sing one of his songs, it strikes a chord with Stella, who senses the lyrics could only have been penned by Fidel.