I was late to watch 100 Tula Para Kay Stella because of the bad reviews but I watched it anyway. Contrary to their reviews, I really appreciated the film, especially the character development of Fidel, and that’s where I’m going with this review.
I’ll be honest, this film shows yet another romanticization of a boy, who I can say may only be in love with the idea of the girl. I guess that’s why a lot of people say 100 Tula Para Kay Stella is a local ripoff of 500 Days of Summer.
It’s all a roller coaster ride that you can actually feel the plot twist being too much to handle. How can you get over someone you loved for the past four years, just because you were a little late in confessing how you feel?
The Plot
Stella is an aspiring musician who tried everything she can to be in the spotlight. Frustrated as she was, Fidel, on the other hand, still saw her beauty—writing 100 poems as a way to confess his feelings through the years.
My Honest Opinion
I agree with the other reviews about the characters being too chaotic and irrational (and probably don’t have the chemistry to start with), but as I said, I liked Fidel’s character development, especially when it comes to his writing.
He started with mediocre writing, and then we witnessed the progress of his poetry. The same goes for his speech defect, wherein he went from only mumbling three words to confidently singing in front of a crowd.
This may be my favorite piece:
Stella is a very complicated girl, but I can only empathize with her frustration as not everyone can understand the pain of not being enough, of all the demons trying to haunt you every night, and not knowing where to go and what to do next.
What happened to her towards the end could have been better, though. It’s just too heavy to see her stuck in marriage at such a young age, just because she found “the one who understands her”.
Fidel romanticized Stella in a way that he focused on his love for her, writing happy prose about her without any idea that she was suffering.
100 Tula Para Kay Stella may be at its most painful part when they’re throwing the saddest words at each other—when Fidel finally told her that he loves her. There’s nothing left to do but cry.
Bakit Fidel, ilang salita ba kailangan mo? I LIKE YOU, GUSTO KITA, MAHAL KITA, I LOVE YOU! Bakit di mo sinabi? – Stella
My major takeaway from this movie is to confess your feelings as early as you can. Don’t wait until it’s too late.
Watch the trailer here:
Other films to watch: