Batanes: Sa Dulo Ng Walang Hanggan

Batanes: Sa Dulo Ng Walang Hanggan
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Adolfo Alix, Jr. John David Hukom
Produced by	John David Hukom Patrick Yeung Dennis Lim Annette Gozon-Abrogar
Written by	Arah Jell Badayos
Starring	Iza Calzado Ken Chu
Music by	Jesse Lucas
Cinematography	Monchie Redoble
Edited by	Miren Alvarez-Fabregas
Distributed by	GMA Films Videoflick
Release dates	December 5, 2007 (2007-12-05)
Running time	100 minutes
Country	Philippines
Language	Filipino/Tagalog Mandarin Ivatan
Box office	Php 15,779,954.48[1]

Batanes: Sa Dulo Ng Walang Hanggan or more popularly known as Batanes is 2007 drama film directed by Adolfo Alix, Jr. and John David Hukom. The film is a joint project by Ignite Media, Inc. and GMA Films. It stars Iza Calzado and Taiwanese superstar Ken Chu of Meteor Garden. Batanes is the first Filipino film of Ken Chu and this is where Joem Bascon got his first award as Breakthrough Performance by an Actor given by the Golden Screen Awards.^[2]

Plot

It was a whirlwind romance when Pam (Iza Calzado) meets Ivatan Rico (Joem Bascon) in Manila. She decides to give up her meaningless, stressful city life and follow him to Batanes to meet his parents Boy (Bembol Roco) and Lydia (Daria Ramirez) and marry him. The sea immediately intimidates Pam and shows its power, telling her how, with the strong toss of its waves, it can end everything.

Pam tries to adapt to the Ivatan way of life. Pam starts hating the sea that Rico loves so much. Despite all these adjustments, Pam is happy with her new life and with Rico. But everything changes when Rico does not return from fishing. Pam is devastated. She blames no one but the sea. Realizing that she cannot continue living in Batanes without Rico, Pam decides to leave. But before boarding the boat, she realizes that the sea is laughing at her defeat, so Pam decides to stay but she still cannot forget Rico.

On the anniversary of her husband's death, Pam sails to the Ivujos Island. She gets stranded on the island by an angry storm. She then sees a man lying face down in the sand. For a moment, she thinks it is Rico but it turns out to be a Taiwanese, Kao (Ken Chu). She administers to his wounds and brings down his fever. When the storm breaks, she drags Kao to her boat and takes him back with her. The villagers are reluctant to accept the Taiwanese, especially Manuel and Boy since most Taiwanese fishermen fish illegally in the waters of Batanes. As Pam takes care of Kao, she starts to be drawn towards him. She starts to feel that he is a kindred soul.

Language and cultural difference are no barriers as emotions rise. Love surfaces anew. Batanes provides the breathtaking backdrop to their poignant love story. Will their love win over? Or will their past haunt them and eventually separate them? Essentially a picturesque romance, Batanes also explores the intimate portrait of a woman's relationship with the ocean.^[3]

In the end,Kao was deported to Taiwan,due to help from the local government.Pam eventually loved the ocean more.

Cast and characters

• Iza Calzado as Pam
• Ken Chu as Kao
• Joem Bascon as Rico
• Bembol Roco as Boy
• Daria Ramirez as Lydia
• Sid Lucero as Manuel
• Glaiza de Castro as Melanie
• Coco Martin as Jason
• Mike Tan as Noel
• Julio Diaz as Fred
• Aleth dela Cruz as Gloria
• Pacifico Agor as the taxi driver
• Armand Reyes as the hotel supervisor
• Anna Lyn Tan as hotel receptionist
• Maxie Evangelista as Arnel

Production

Background and development

Arleen Cuevas, line producer of Ignite Media, told that Adolfo Alix, Jr. directed a film included for the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival called Kadin. Kadin was shot in Batanes. Ms. Cuevas also said that Alix fell in love with the place that caused him to approach Ignite Media saying that he wanted to make a film in Batanes because of its romantic setting.

Casting

Adolfo Alix, Jr. shared that the role of Pam was originally offered to Judy Ann Santos. Santos was interested to be part of the film but her commitments caused her not to accept the offer. Santos referred Iza Calzado to Adolfo Alix, Jr. After meeting Calzado, they saw that the actress can do "light moments" although Iza always portrays a character in heavy dramas and eventually, Iza got the role. According to an article, in case Calzado did not accept the offer, they may have had approached Jennylyn Mercado.

Dave Hukom, on the other hand, said that they were just looking for any Taiwanese actor for the role of Kao. Arlene Cuevas also did not expect that they would be able to get Ken Chu for the role of Kao. She said that she has a friend who is a producer in Hong Kong so she approached her friend to seek help to get any Chinese actor who is willing to work in the Philippines. The producer replied that they were offering Ken Chu a project before that was to shoot in the Philippines but was not able to push through. After sending the script to Chu, his assistant replied after four to five days saying that they are interested to be part of the film.

Accolades

External links

• Batanes (2007) at the Internet Movie Database
• "The Making of Batanes part 1". 
• "The Making of Batanes part 2". 

References