http://news.inq7.net/entertainment/index.php?index=1&story_id=56527REVIEW
Visual examination of self-deception
First posted 00:20am (Mla time) Nov 15, 2005
By Oliver Pulumbarit
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A31 of the November 15, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
THE DIGITAL MOVIE “ILUSYON” is a visually rich tale about the delusions of an aspiring painter, Miguel (Yul Servo). Set in late 1950s Manila and co-directed by Paolo Villaluna and Ellen Ramos, the movie is also an examination of its protagonist’s rather simplistic ambitions and world view. These are made apparent when he takes the identity of his vacationing art teacher father (Ronnie Lazaro) upon meeting a pretty nude model, Stella (Viva Hot Babes’ Jaycee Parker).
The themes of love, lust and deception are quietly but creatively explored, as Miguel pretends that he’s an established artist-to keep his model in the buff for several sessions. He couldn’t draw if his life depended on it, but he manages to fool the shapely Stella long enough to pay someone else to do the drawing for him. This is actually a credible situation; there are impoverished, or lazy, art students who survive that way.
What’s also credible is Miguel’s shallowness, which is ironically brought to the fore
when Stella, now his lover, develops an unnamed ailment that dots her once-flawless body. They break up with very few words delivered, in a crucial and powerful scene: Miguel, orange pastel in hand, ruins the fake drawing in front of his confused lover. Servo and Parker are both intense and natural; they do well here, except in one scene that shows them arguing in Stella’s house. That one’s a little iffy, because of the dialogue, but nicely shot.
Still, while Villaluna and Jon Red’s script feels a little decompressed, it’s rife with wit, emotion, even premonition. A talking cow criticizes Miguel in his dreams, like a manifestation of hidden guilt. As far as the love angle is concerned, there is no rewarding payoff, but it does develop the lead character into someone who tries to rectify his mistakes, and becomes at least a little sympathetic for it.
To employ an atmosphere that’s effectively a world of its own, “Ilusyon” cleverly utilizes a moving soundtrack, a few special effects (super-imposed live figures with animation), time-displaced props and costumes (the accuracy of which may be questioned by experts familiar with the era), and excellent photography (natural light streaming from windows). Its other actors create depth and familiarity as well: Bella Flores adds charming quirks as a concerned landlady, and brief appearances by Boots Anson-Roa, Bituin Escalante, Jao Mapa, and Tetchie Agbayani are, for lack of a better word, cute.