Star Cinema's opening salvo for 2009 is the romantic drama Love Me Again (Land Down Under). Starring Piolo Pascual and Angel Locsin, this movie about the cowboy lifestyle is partially shot in Bukidnon and Australia. It is helmed by director Rory B. Quintos.
Uploaded: January 24, 2009
Migo (Piolo Pascual) is an aspiring ranch owner in Bukidnon, a province located in central Mindanao. He left his hometown to travel the world but now he simply wants to settle down with his childhood love Arah (Angel Locsin).
Piolo Pascual and Angel Locsin studied horseback riding for a month in preparation for their roles as cowboys. Angel fell from a horse three times and her eye even got hit by a piece of rope. The production staff to rushed her to a hospital in Mindanao.
This movie marks the second team-up of Piolo and Angel. They were first seen on the small screen as lovers in the primetime teleserye Lobo. Love Me Again is also the first Star Cinema movie of Angel, who used to be with GMA-7.
When PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) asked Piolo to describe the lessons he learned about cowboys while making this movie, he said, "Anything goes. Sa Bukidnon, na-appreciate namin
na kung ano yung meron, you know, yun lang. Then, napakasimple
ng buhay. Second, mas appreciative sila sa nature. That's
one thing I realized na talagang hindi mo kailangan ng mga gadgets,
hindi mo kailangan ng mga kung ano-anong mga material na bagay to enjoy
life. And third thing na natutunan ko is talagang to make life simple.
The best things in life are free. That's what we realized, that's
what we experienced in Bukidnon."
Angel Locsin also told PEP what she realized while working in the province that boasts "the country's finest cowboys."
"Napakasimpleng tao nila, kaya na in love kami talaga ni Piolo sa kanila, e. Ang yaman ng tao dun nasusukat sa kung gaano kalaki yung lupa at saka sa mga pananim nila. Pero pag titignan mo yung tao, napakasimple. Pantay-pantay sila makitungo sa tao saka napaka-magalang."
What physical attributes do cowboys have? "Unang-una, dapat
po mabilis ka pong tumakbo," says Angel. "Kailangan po talaga mabilis kang umiwas,
tumakbo, umilag, kailangan 'yan dahil medyo lugi tayo pag di natin 'yan nakayanan, di ba? Bilib po ako sa kanila kasi hindi po sila naninigarilyo.
Bawal po, kasi hihingalin nga po sila."
The brothers of Arah in the movie are Anthony (John Manalo, left) and Ariel (Nash Aguas, right). The younger boy is often referred to as Kulit. They will take care of their father when Arah moves to Australia for work.
During the Kaamulan festival, the whole family of Arah watched the contests. The Bautista family is portrayed by (from left) Ricky Davao, Angel Locsin, Nash Aguas, and John Manalo.
Arah wants to have a long-distance relationship with Migo but he doesn't make the effort to keep their love alive. Eventually, Arah meets an Australian who offers marriage. Will she accept him or will she stay true to Migo?
In this scene, Migo just got thrown off a bull. Piolo recalls how difficult it was to shoot this scene. "There was one time, during
the time na nagseset-up po sila, yung bull nakawala. Nagwala yung bull. Mahirap, mahirap,
kasi hindi mo rin masasabi dahil, parang pino-provoke nila, e. So, lahat kami listo talaga. And that time,
lahat kami nasa putikan, kami nila AJ [Dee], wala, hindi ka puwedeng magmalinis,
magpunas nang magpunas kasi nasa putikan kami the whole day. Masaya, it was an experience, definitely."
The love scene of Piolo and Angel became a highly publicized scene of the movie. "I shuddered
at his touch," confessed Angel. "Naninigas ang buong katawan ko
sa tigas ng kanyang abs."
Piolo Pascual does not want to say that his love scene with Angel Locsin is the movie's highlight. There are other significant elements, such as the plot and the breathtaking cinematography in Bukidnon.
This movie is the comeback of director Rory Quintos (right) whose last movie was the 2005 romance-drama Dubai, which starred Aga Muhlach, Claudine Barretto and John Lloyd Cruz.
Regarding Love Me Again she says, "Talagang yung greatest fear ko yung mahulog itong dalawa. Talagang they're my responsibility...but they understand
that once you're on top of the horse you're on your own. Araw-araw, 'yan ang
pinagdadasal ko, sana 'wag magkaroon ng major accident."