beautifully emotional and special scenes from #GayaSaPelikulaEp04 deserving of proper appreciation, [a separate thread ]:

1. who says i'm acting

- we might've not stayed here for long but the power of this framing, treatment, mood setting and all it entails https://twitter.com/austrialmasen/status/1318275403098714133?s=20

2. the silence where vlad realizes karl left already

partida no dialogue but iba yung kirot talaga. wish words would be enough to show yung galing ng gsp team rito & how it truly registered. kasi aside from personal na atake, you truly felt (or became one pa nga) w/ vlad here.

idk the terms but see this, watch the focal point of the camera & the way it moved (in respect to the window, as your reference) then tell me if you didn't feel how vlad's world - compared to it shrinking w/ karl in it last night - expanded once more, but it's him alone yet again

how the hollowness of the space was captured, be it in the actual and figurative sense, na ni hindi mo nga kailangang mas lumayo pa yung camera kasi dun palang sa unang shot nahuli na at napakita yung pag-iisa

[just realized typing it all na dito nagsimula luha ko nun pero we absorbed it back (ala revil) kasi nga it'll be hard to see through the tears eh malayo pa finish line so gather~ ganoin sdksjf ]

3. tahanan [lone vlad edition]

a.k.a. the 'once it started its grip and incessant pull at your heartstrings, it's pretty impossible to get out of' scene

at first was making jokes to avoid being emotional, said 'lookie here, it's an ian doing interpretative dance or maybe an mv audition of sorts (dat synchronized-to-lyric eye gesture? dancing w/ orca? cute & a mood) but yun nga, as it went on, wala ka nang takas sa emosyon

bago ko maipaliwanag nang maigi bat ako umiyak nang wagas (at patuloy na naiiyak lbr) lalo na sa scene na'to, skl 'tong unpublished draft ko for an ep.03 post sana

then karl done did it again this episode. in the simplest yet weighted of ways, he let vlad join his christmas list, thought out presents that'll tie in perfectly with the gift he has already given him: a place to call and serve as his own home.

overall, the song choice, the sequencing, the edits/cuts (like the reminder that a christmas stocking by karl was reserved for vlad, cut to: him excited for the stocking’s contents, to: each cut of opening the messages and gifts one by one),

the camera movements, the home currently set up for supposed festivities and how the soft glow of lights contributed to the feel, the added percussion and strings to an already perfect composition, the acting — altogether was just fucking sublime.

then this part. yung paglapit, yung tinginan AT di ako magsasawang purihin pero whew, how much the musical additions elevated it? how putting those upper register strings then piano at the forefront, served as these additional arms enveloping us to the emotions felt in that room?

kung anong kinahigpit ng yakapan nila sa isa't-isa, their expressions, yung galaw at steadiness ng mga kamay... reflected in each note progression. naramdaman mong napalibutan ka ng dalawang taong pinagbuklod for a reason, hallucinations be damned. that's how vlad truly felt.

na despite their differences, that’s how karl made him feel from the get go. a constant place for solace. refuge. vlad had finally caught up w/ it.

because never has it been truer: dito sa’king yakap (bisig/pagtangan), may tahanan ka.

4. tahanan [karl and vlad: magkasama ed.]

THE FEELS OF THIS SCENE JUXTAPOSED WITH THE OTHER VERSION, KNOWING FULLY WELL NA MAS BUO, DOBLE, ANG PUSO AT SAYA RITO /TAPOS/ MAY ADDED LAYER PA NG REAL PANGPANG ON TOP?!?

vlad's just so happy that karl was there, suprising him for his b-day too on top of it all [or was it ian to pao as well huhu]; tapos di pa nakatulong yung sabi ni gege that the ‘wish’ happening there was actually ian’s, for him and pao, whatever it is AYOKO NA

SO LOOK AT THEM BEING SUCH GENUINELY HAPPY BABIES HERE na tipong kahit OTS at blurred eh kitang-kita mooo dahil totoo rold di ko kaya ;; maraming salamat po sa pag-capture at immortalize ng mga tunay nilang saya't ngiti kasi ang ganda lang talaga masdan

[gusto kong ayusin at magpaka-writer ish in describing this scene pero yung damdamin talaga teka sorry na. /gather lol]

back to karl and vlad, from the second na marealize ni vlad what's happening - the weight of what karl had and is giving him, that for once 25th was a day that was only his for the taking - you'd see the gratefulness, that light feeling that comes when you are valued.

and in that wish, maybe in it is a prayer for all of it to happen again on his next one. for those same exact feelings to be present. and perhaps also, for it to have karl once again by his side.

because never has it been truer: dito sa’king yakap (piling/tabi), may tahanan ka.

from the get go, the connection has always been there, but is now bolstered - by the way they do things for/to each other, by the way they feel. everything's slowly lining up, clicking into place (awareness & synchronized movements very much included). 2 already enmeshed ties.

"kay tagal ko na'ng hinahanap ang katulad mo"

while karl was quick to hide/avoid this feeling, vlad holds on to it (likely saving it for another time to truly examine what's happening, but still).

for now, this basic grip on this tiny evolving truth would do.

[also dunno if it was added, enhanced or what (and it's better in motion ofc) but LOOK AT THE GLINT/LIGHT/SPARK IN HIS EYE AND HOW IT AFFECTED THE ENTIRE THING EVEN MORE MY GOD]

5. tahanan cont., closing credits

[magkalapit na silaaa. vlad's much pronounced stares, karl paying attention to him. maintained eye contact. touching/sharing things. personal space breached.

w̵e̵ ̵d̵e̵d̵ ̵b̵y̵ ̵n̵e̵x̵t̵ ̵e̵p̵:̵ ̵a̵ ̵s̵u̵r̵e̵ ̵t̵h̵i̵n̵g̵