We Get A First Glimpse Behind The Mask Of SB19’s PABLO in ‘UNA’ – Review

The group’s pinuno unmasked his vulnerabilities in his thought-provoking and emotionally-packed short film, UNA.

Last Friday (November 8) was the film premiere of SB19’s Pablo’s first-ever short film in Robinsons Galleria, Quezon City. This highly anticipated event marked the artist’s cinematic debut, enlisting the help of fellow group member and creative director Justin. Wearing many hats for this creative juncture, the musician took on the roles of executive producer, screenplay co-writer, and lead actor.

Prior to the film’s screening, the artist expressed that his acting debut was made a more comfortable experience through the help of his veteran co-actors, who were none other than Ube Lola Daleon, Renerio Concepcion, Froi Manto, and Luis Ratnayake. His talented child co-star Alijah Abatayo strengthened the narrative, giving a nuanced and fuller image to Pablo’s character.

Inspired from the title track of his beloved album ALON, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” UNA is a vulnerable and hard-hitting 20-minute-long narrative that unveils a side to Pablo that A’TIN can attest has not been seen before. A single glance at the poster would lead one to assume the film is horror in tone, through its eerie and thought-provoking visuals. Using the air of mystery to lead into an exposition of the raw thoughts behind the leader, the movie involves no speaking lines from its lead character.

For his acting debut, Pablo definitely took on a challenging route for this new chapter of storytelling. Again, he has no speaking lines apart from the occasional grunts and cries his character makes. Tormented with flashes of what appears to be his past, his character navigates through a small town after having washed up on a shore. He’s wounded, draped in a worn-out sheepskin, and by all means, tattered and tried.

While maintaining that same atmosphere of intrigue all throughout the film, the narrative, at its core, is transparent and straight to the point. In this feature, the identities of the sheep and the wolf in the fable, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” are combined into one. The P-pop icon showcases the tension between showing kindness and being hurt by the same people you show kindness towards. It’s a conflicted piece, with aching and yearning to be understood. Battered and bruised, he flinches when shown tenderness due to what’s hinted to be past trauma.

With original scoring and sound direction by the man of the hour himself, the film is accompanied by an evocative sound design. The scoring fills gaps of silence with an intense and fierce atmosphere, providing barely any room to breathe. Mikhail Von Asmuth’s warm yet grunge-y color grading makes for a stylized and high quality piece of work. Intentional and thoughtful, Renard Torres’ editing was carefully curated and formulated to deliver a full story in a short amount of time.

During the premiere proper, A’TIN and excited audience members alike were enthralled with the thoughtful feature. Reactive to the trials and tribulations the lead character experiences throughout the short film, everyone was fully immersed into UNA’s cinematic universe. In a Q&A portion after the screening, the artist opened up about his experience with this new medium of storytelling, “Nung nag-venture na ako sa SB19, na-miss ko ‘yung mga movies and films, kapag nakikita mo ‘yung visuals at may scoring na maganda, and like, everything. Parang mayroong part of me na na-to-touch, na sabi ko, ‘One time, gusto ko makagawa ng film na posible na ako ‘yung makapag-score.'”

[When I ventured into SB19, I missed movies and film, when you see the visuals and a beautiful score, and like, everything. It’s like there was a part of me that was touched and I told myself, ‘One time, I want to make a film where it’s possible to make the score.’]

To close the memorable night off, Pablo performed some of his most emotional songs for the audience, leaving everyone in awe of his passionate and powerful raw vocals. Impactful and strong, his live renditions of “Kumunoy,” “Wala,” “Drowning in the Water,” and the song behind the film’s story, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” moved everyone to a stunned silence.

Throughout UNA‘s first screening, everyone involved left the cinema with a better understanding of SB19’s leader. There was even clamor for the narrative to be made into a series, especially following the cliffhanger at the very end. As the artist aimed to stir watchers with an air of mystery to leave the story up for interpretation, members of the audience couldn’t help but voice their curiosities about the leader’s possible future film ventures. Albeit its 20-minute runtime, UNA offered not only a preview into the cinematic visions and capabilities of the songwriter, but also uncovered a side to him that has yet to be seen before.

Catch UNA in Robinsons Movie Theaters; Galleria Cebu, Robinsons Butuan, Robinsons Gensan, Robinsons Iligan, Robinsons Jaro, Robinsons Naga, and Robinsons Tacloban. These screenings will be taking place in Luzon cinemas from November 9 to 10, and in Visayas and Mindanao cinemas from November 16 to 17. Purchase your tickets for UNA on Robinsons Movie World’s official website here.