I Remember You Is Actually a Subversive Bank Advertisement and That’s Actually the Best Thing About It
Full disclosure, my dad wrote and directed this film. It’s his first feature film slated for a theatrical release, and naturally, he invited me to screen and critique it. After the premiere, I congratulated him and he told me, “Be nice.” But I’m actually not very nice, particularly towards my dad, who was always my harshest critic growing up. I’m not trying to return the favor, I’m just trying to be as objective as I was taught to be.
I Remember You is marketed as a love story. Its stars, JC Santos and Valeen Montenegro, feature prominently in the trailer, and the film’s poster looks like a no nonsense romantic drama. Santos stars as Isagani “Gani” Tenorio, a bank manager assigned to Boracay — the last place he claims he wants to be because of a past trauma — to support local communities rebuild after the island’s economy collapsed during COVID. Montenegro plays Debbie, his ex, and unsurprisingly, the cause of the trauma in question. Debbie doesn’t appear until the latter half of the film, which is when the love story actually starts to pick up.
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The first half of the film is mostly about debt collection. You read that right: it’s essentially a story about a bank manager who helps a microfinancing institution collect debts from different people in Boracay. The film heavily features CARD Bank, a rural bank focused on providing microfinance solutions to help alleviate Filipino poverty. What does this have to do with Gani and Debbie’s love story, you ask? Nothing whatsoever. The first half of the film is mostly just Gani meeting CARD Bank’s clients, getting to know their stories, and how the pandemic’s lockdowns completely obliterated the economy of an island community reliant almost exclusively on tourism. Aside from a couple of flashbacks, Debbie is nowhere to be seen for over half the movie, and it’s actually perfectly fine.
That’s because Gani and Debbie’s love story is actually the least interesting part of the film. It’s actually based on a true story, much like the film’s other stories about debt collection, where two lovers reconnect after some time apart. It’s an incredibly mundane love affair, despite the film’s best efforts to turn up the romance, mostly because the reason Gani and Debbie broke up in the first place is so unbelievably awful and lame that it almost undoes all the goodwill that Gani builds up throughout the film. Santos is a terrific actor, and he draws you in with a truly earnest performance. Gani is a nice guy, showing compassion and understanding to the bank’s delinquent clients and listening to their situations. So when audiences find out the shallow reason he breaks up with Debbie, it undermines the quality of his character.
It doesn’t matter, though, because the love story is just an excuse to get people to see a film that’s actually more meaningful than it probably realizes. I Remember You’s focus on real stories of CARD Bank’s real clients is an enlightening insight into the world of microfinance and the plight of the lower class; and Gani’s willingness to work with clients with arrears and restructure their repayment plans is a refreshing and hopeful. It’s more interesting than it sounds and arguably more important than the romantic drama it pretends to be.
All said, I Remember You is an underwhelming, even terrible romance. If you’re looking for entertainment filled with romantic moments, this isn’t the film for you. Even its original song, co-written by the director himself, is a middling and ironically forgettable number. It’s a thinly-disguised infomercial, with a handful of interesting side characters whose struggles and stories should resonate with many Filipinos. As long as you keep your expectations in check, I Remember You is a serviceable film that’s highly recommended viewing for any Filipino who’s ever struggled with their finances. It’s reassuring to know that entities like CARD Bank exist, meeting Filipinos at their level and helping with financial literacy and alleviating poverty.
