That Thing Called Tadhana (That Thing Called Destiny): Movie Review

From one conversation to another, "That Thing Called Tadhana" takes us into a journey with two strangers who, by fate and out of whim, spend a few days together from Rome to Sagada. While the end result may be flawed, the film has enough emotional weight and script to pull it through.

A broken-hearted girl (Angelica Panganiban) meets a boy (JM de Guzman) who helps her with her luggage issues on her way back from Rome. Along the way, both decide to extend their trip to Baguio to help the girl move on from her break-up with her boyfriend of eight years.

The first thing that really bothered us with "That Thing Called Tadhana" was that it felt safe and it felt conventional. It lacks that punch to the gut that makes it stand out in our opinion. Don't get us wrong, the script was mostly great and the cinematography top-notch. The conversations are the highlight of the film as it should be. Angelica Panganiban was awesome as the fragile and broken Mace. So much so that we felt JM de Guzman needed to do more to keep up with her performance. The open-ended climax was welcome but the last few minutes of the film felt rushed especially the revelation before the final scene in the film. Overall, the film will still work with your emotions if you can fully relate to the characters but it just wasn't our cup of tea to be considered a masterpiece.

Rating: 3 and a half reels






Why you should watch it:
- the script was the highlight for the film as it should be

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- lacks that punch to the gut to make it really stand out