Last week, before the Avengers' Endgame juggernaut hit Manila's theaters, a fictionalized film about the life of pop-opera singer Andrea Bocelli was shown here in Manila for about 4 days.
I am a very big fan of Andrea Bocelli, since his music is the soundtrack of a very important time of my life - my college graduation and my first job.
I learned later, through this movie that while I was still starting with my adult life, Andrea was also starting his musical career.
He has since become a major star in the music world. He came here in Manila for a concert and that was the first time I heard of concert tickets selling at PhP25,000 each - and this was in the 90s pa.
I have followed his subsequent career and I have bought all his albums including the latest one, Si, which is running in my personal list as one of the best albums of 2019.
So I was expecting the film to mirror the beauty of the songs in his latest album (the album is very personal, it's about his family - the songs which he sings with his grown up son are very beautiful).
Alas, it is a plodding piece of cinema which are irritating in some parts. Now I also understand why some A-list actors are in the A-list - because they have the ability to uplift terrible direction and an inert script to something which is bearable to watch.
Antonio Banderas, who appears towards the end of the movie, uses his A-list talent to make the movie interesting. His presence is commanding and I wished he came earlier on in the film to show the struggles Tobey Sebastian's character has to endure to become a world-class opera singer.
There are some beautiful scenes - like the one where Tobey sings Libiamo in a bar, or when his uncle cuts down a music critic - but they are few and far between.
While Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody was joyful and triumphant - with everyone leaving the theater with a big smile on their faces - this one - well, I left with a bit of boredom and sadness because of the lost opportunity.
I hope they still make another film about Andrea Bocelli's life. They can focus on his current family and how he raised his kids and how his sons struggle under the shadow of a very famous father. There should be enough conflict there.
At least the final song buoyed my spirits up. The film closed with Con Te Partiro - my college graduation theme song. I can still sing the song up to now, even with its Italian lyrics. It sounded majestic in the theater with all those Dolby speakers blaring.
