Posted by ReyFort Media
Newly-married Kim Molina and Jerald Napoles’ latest film came at a time when their personal lives were also going through something difficult.
In the Philippine adaptation of the Korean heartwarming hit “Wonderful Nightmare,” the Viva artists play a married pair after Kim’s character, a career-driven lawyer, dies and is given a second chance at life — this time, as a housewife with a husband (Jerald) and children she has never known, leading her to rediscover the meaning of family. While working on the film that tackles personal loss and the afterlife, in real life, Kim was also dealing with the passing of her grandfather.
“To be honest, with the process of this movie and the process of the marketing of this movie, ang dami naming na-discover. We discovered that, as partners, we really had to support each other because during the movie I was going through a lot,” Kim shared with The STAR during an exclusive virtual interview with the celebrity couple.
“I was grieving over my grandfather who just passed and yung first naming dog ni Je, nawala din. So, parang, it’s halo-halong emotions na kailangan kong ilabas, to think that in our personal lives kasi, there was something happening.
“So, personally, I discovered how supportive Je can be. Alam ko supportive na siya but he really supported me as a partner on and off screen,” the actress further shared.
It was a no-brainer for Jerald shared to step in and become his wife’s main source of support.
“Actually, the film helped somehow not really ma-distract but you know, para may ibang pagkaabalahan yung utak ni Kimmy since mahal din naman yung trabaho niya,” Jerald recalled.
“So since the mind is kind of tired because of the emotions that she had to feel, at least I did some service of, you know, affection and the things that she needed. Parang ako na yung nag-ready and everything, and then just let her grieve.
“Ang maganda kasi sa nangyari is mag-partner kami. You know, unlike sa ibang tao ‘pag nangyari ito, maghahanap ka ng lalabasan ng sama ng loob or emotions. So automatic meron na kaagad na ako na on her quiet moments, if she feels like she wants to cry or she needs me beside her, I’m already available kahit man lang doon.”
He added that when someone is grieving, there is not much you can do except stay.
“Basically… if someone is grieving, you cannot intervene, eh? Not really intervene, you just have to be there.”
Kim admitted it did affect her performance. Unlike in past projects, she found it difficult to separate her own emotions from those of her character in “Wonderful Nightmare.”
“Ako, I believe that grieving is not just abrupt, you know, it’s a process and I cannot say that I’m a hundred percent OK. Like there are times when I still think of my grandpa kasi siya nagpalaki sa akin eh. So, it’s a process.
“I think it helped me in a way na meron akong lugar na pwede akong humagulgol. Pero kasi, usually when I do movies I see to it that I don’t cry with my real tears. I cry with my character’s tears.
“So this was the first time that there were a lot of parts of the movie that it was me. It was actually Kim who was crying. It wasn’t my character Lui, it wasn’t Attorney Lui Manuel who was crying, it was me, so it was hard for me to stop the tears.”
“So medyo kinakabahan ako kasi hindi ko alam kung paano siya nag-translate on screen. I’m not used to saying that because there are certain types of me bawling or crying na ayoko sanang gawin ni Lui pero dahil hindi ko ma-control, nagawa siya ni Lui. So may ganun, mahirap siya.
“It was just a sort of a way for me to, you know, release all of the emotions. I think that’s how it helped me but I can’t say a hundred percent.”
Even with the emotional weight, the project remains important to her for another reason. It was something she had always wanted to do.
“As in, it’s a dream of mine to do a Philippine adaptation of a Korean film, so this was a dream come true,” said Kim.
It stands out for how it was adapted for a Filipino audience under the direction of RC Delos Reyes.
“He made sure that yung essence of the Filipino ay malalagay talaga doon sa movie and pinaka-natuwa ako at nagustuhan kong ginawa na Filipino touch ni direk RC was yung limbo,” said Kim.
“The limbo in the original film was studio only all white, pero dito yung limbo natin is an (actual location), sa beach in Batangas.
“Sabi ni direk, gusto ko kasing i-encapsulate yung ganda ng Pilipinas. Kasi sa totoo lang sa buong mundo kilala tayo sa beach, sa ganda ng Pilipinas. Kaya ayaw niyang nasa studio lang yung limbo. Makikita niyo talaga din siya sa buong pelikula.”
Admittedly, taking on a well-known Korean movie came with pressure.
“Well, with the reception of the people, we’re very excited and apparently the original film has a lot of fans already. Kasi talagang one of the favorite films siya sa Korea and ayun, the moment that I found out that I’m gonna do it, medyo kabado na ako. As in, inaral ko yung script, inaral ko lahat,” said Kim.
“Yung mga lawyer friends ko, inaaral ko pano sila magsalita. Yung mga ganun. So it’s something to look forward to personally because I just want to see myself. It’s one of those films na kinakabahan akong panoorin kasi yung ibang films namin, I was very excited about all of it. Pero ito kasi mas drama talaga siya lalo sa latter part of the film, so it’s something that I’m excited for people to see and hopefully, they do appreciate it.”
As for Jerald, one of the highlights of the film is seeing Kim’s performance.
“A favorite scene of mine is the one towards the climax of the film. Kay Kim eh, kasi showcase of the actress portraying the character. Hindi ko lang masabi kung ano yun pero something to look forward to,” he said.
“And the takeaway of the movie is just, you know, be present with everyone you love at the moment. Be there, feel them, hear them, listen to them, talk to them, everything, because you’ll never know if it’s gonna be your last or how many times you’re gonna do it in your life.”
Offscreen, Kim and Jerald were also preparing for their wedding during the film shoot, making the experience of playing a married couple feel even more personal. They officially exchanged I do’s on March 1 in a star-studded Christian wedding in Bohol.
Though they’ve portrayed a “loveteam” in several films already since “Jowable,” “Wonderful Nightmare” marks their onscreen debut as now husband and wife.
Jerald said, “For me, it’s a bit of a premonition, of course, kasi portraying a family with the person na talagang makakasama mo sa buhay.”
“Wonderful Nightmare” is now showing in cinemas. (N. Tomada/ Philstar)
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