A young couple navigates the challenges of raising their autistic son in an increasingly unforgiving world, testing their love and resilience
This is actually a film about choices. For a film that highlights Autism Spectrum Disorder to the public, it's interesting that we see more about the life of the parents nurturing children with such. However, it has a lot of things to say about and it goes hard. Jane Oineza and RK Bagatsing did solid work here as their characters make choices and ponder about them. The exchanges between them feel pretty organic and poignant powered by the screenplay from Arden Rod Condez, & Arianna Martinez (with Angel Benjamin).
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| Love Child. (C) Regal Entertainment (via Cinemalaya) |
While it rushes to setup everything through exposition, I’m glad it’s also filled with show-don’t-tell moments. There's one specific scene here that's has a nice setup to what will happen next but since we already know a lot about their characters, a clever quick fake out made so much impact. It's a testament that the director Jonathan Jurilla has fully captured the attention and emotion of its audience.
Check out also our review on YouTube:
It ends exactly where you think it will but the topics it brought light to and how it’s handled feel refreshing. Pretty real stuff. 3.5/5 ⭐️
Love Child arrives in Philippine cinemas nationwide August 28th.
SYNOPSIS:
College sweethearts Ayla and Paolo decide to drop out of school to start a family after a whirlwind romance leads to an unplanned pregnancy. Four years later, they are devastated to learn that their son, Kali, is diagnosed with autism. As they navigate the complexities of raising a child with special needs, they confront an increasingly unsupportive environment. Their journey challenges their relationship and the dream of a complete, harmonious family, forcing them to find strength and resilience in the face of adversity.
