Tenderness of the human spirit

Only We Know:

- BUM D. TENORIO, JR.

Death and life are themes served in equal measure in Only We Know. How human connection is relevant to grieving and healing is explored in the film. Only We Know bears the gentleness of a man and a woman, the tenderness of their soul and the fullness of their spirit. It is a kind film that deflects and survives labels, judgment and prying eyes.

If one's prudence will only be based on the film's trailer, Only We Know is a template for a May-December affair between a retired Literature professor and a widowed structural engineer. But the film is complex in its being uncomplicated, intricate in its being simple. To put a label on the relationship between Betty (Charo Santos-Concio) and Ryan (Dingdong Dantes) is to miss the point of the film.

Gen Z will be quick to point out Betty and Ryan are in a "situationship," a term that loosely means being in a romantic affair but is not formal or conventional. But instead of exploring the label of their relationship, Only We Know writer and director Irene Emma Villamor delves into the lives of Betty and Ryan with quiet yet profound maneuvering sans manipulation. So sincere, that for a drama genre, the film avoids drama and highlights what seems to be the everyday meanderings of the heart.

The human heart is capable of loving without saying it loves this and that. It just shows what love is. And when it demonstrates a love that is unnamed, it becomes more natural, more creative, more generous, more giving.

The human heart is capable of receiving adoration without feeling beholden to the amount of attention it receives. It just receives love and reciprocates it in more ways than one—through a shared dinner, through doing the groceries together, through laughter.