''Third World Romance'' is a 2023 Philippine romance film co-written and directed by Dwein Baltazar. The film stars

Carlo Aquino Carlo Jose Liwanag Aquino (born September 3, 1985) is a Filipino actor and musician known for being the lead singer of the band Kollide and formerly of JCS with John Prats and Stefano Mori. Aquino achieved critical recognition for his perform ...

and

Charlie Dizon April Rose Dizon Matienzo-Aquino (born April 12, 1996), better known by her Stage name, screen name Charlie Dizon, is a Filipinos, Filipino actress. Her acting breakthrough came in the 2020 Metro Manila Film Festival entry ''Fan Girl (2020 fi ...

in the lead roles, with the supporting cast includes Ana Abad Santos, Archie Adamos, and

Gardo Versoza Mennen Torres Polintan (born July 8, 1969), known professionally as Gardo Versoza, is a Filipino actor and comedian. Career According to George Vail Kabristante, a writer for ''The Manila Times'', Polintan's film career began in 1988, when h ...

. The film tells the story of two blue-collar workers who meet at the height of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and they become co-employees at a grocery store. However, their budding romance is beset by persistent economic difficulties. Produced by Black Sheep Productions and

ANIMA Anima may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Anima, in the Spira world in ''Final Fantasy'' games * Anima, in the ''Fire Emblem'' game series * Anima (comics), a DC Comics character Film * '' Anima – Symphonie pha ...

and distributed by

Star Cinema ABS-CBN Film Productions, Inc., trade name, doing business as Star Cinema and also known as ABS-CBN Films (since 2018), is a Philippines, Philippine film studio, film, television production company, production and distribution (marketing), di ...

, it was released theatrically on 16 August 2023.

Cast and characters

Production

The film was announced by Black Sheep Productions.

and

was cast to appear in the film. The trailer of the film was released on July 31, 2023. The film was screened at the

19th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival The 19th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival was held from August 4 – 13, 2023 in Metro Manila, Philippines with the theme being “IlumiNasyon” (illumination). A total of ten full-length features and ten short films competed. The festival w ...

as the closing film.

Reception

Critical reception

Fred Hawson, writing for

ABS-CBN News ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs, known on-air as ABS-CBN News (formerly known as ''ABS-CBN News and Public Affairs''), is the news and current affairs division of the Philippine media conglomerate ABS-CBN Corporation. The division is the coun ...

, gave praise for the acting performances of Carlo Aquino and Charlie Dizon, with the former "can still pull off the youthful energy of a guy" despite being in his late thirties. However, he gave criticism for its production design which he deemed as "problematic". Le Baltar, writing for

The Philippine Star ''The Philippine Star'' (self-styled ''The Philippine STAR'') is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines and the flagship brand of the Philstar Media Group. First published on July 28, 1986, by veteran journalists Betty Go-Belmonte, ...

, also gave praise to the lead stars where Carlo Aquino delivered "an effortless and convincing work, brimming with charm and playfulness that is simply hard to dismiss" and Charlie Dizon's mastering her acting skills in giving her character a "richer inner life" and great use of emotions in which the critic commended. Its written screenplay, Baltazar's direction, Marya Ignacio's editing, and Kara Moreno's cinematography were also praised. In contrast, Stephanie Mayo, writing for Daily Tribune, rated the film 1.5 out of 5 stars and gave a negative review, saying that it failed "the audience for suggesting something deeper and with more substance, and failing to deliver" and was called as a "cheap romantic comedy film" that is targeted for children and felt it was staged.

Accolades

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Philippines, Film Philippine romance films 2020s Tagalog-language films Black Sheep Productions films Anima (film company) films Films directed by Dwein Baltazar Films with screenplays by Dwein Baltazar Films set in stores Films shot in Metro Manila Films set in Metro Manila Films about the COVID-19 pandemic 2020s Philippine films