Despite its austere title, Rainbow’s Sunset’s predictable narrative is emotionally mature albeit lacking spirit in veering away from long stretches of non-sense.
Eric Ramos' script features Eddie Garcia and Tony Mabesa as childhood pals Ramon and Fredo. Gloria Romero plays as Senator Ramon’s wife Sylvia, while Tirso Cruz III, Sunshine Dizon, and Aiko Melendez portray roles of Ramon and Gloria’s grown-up children.
The film begins with a brief speech from Ramon, providing a foreword into his strong bond with Fredo which Gloria points out, having been barely mentioned by her husband.
As the story progresses, Ramon discovers that Fredo is terminally ill with an unspecified cancer, prompting him to reside in Fredo’s home to act as his caretaker, This earns resistance from Eddie (Cruz III), Georgina (Melendez), and Marife (Dizon). His children’s insistence for him to stay home, particularly of middle child Georgina, is not well-established. There was lack of logical foundation over how disgrace would take effect if Ramon stays with Fredo, given that the three have no prior knowledge of Ramon and Fredo’s romantic history. It shows poor writing skills for Ramos to preempt an event that has yet to unfold.
Eldest child Eddie works as an assistant secretary and later gets involved in a scandal, Georgina is a principled mayor with conservative beliefs, while youngest child Marife, the pragmatic and liberal-minded of the three, is in a hazy relationship with a younger man played by Albie Casino. The siblings' conversations start out strong, leaning on entertaining quips and reflecting the current perspectives of youth and the older generation over sexuality.
Flashback to Ramon and Fredo’s history, they both passed in San Beda (now a university) until they eventually meet Gloria. Their dynamic relationship started with young Ramon growing up as a farmer, and Fredo the haciendero. Fredo and his family supported Ramon throughout his life, from his studies, to his marriage, and to the property his family resides in. The younger actors, portrayed by Ross Pesigan and Shido Roxas, provide viewers with euphoria while the older actors generate despair with the knowledge of Fredo’s death. It would be equally satisfying regardless if Director Joel Lamangan invested on backstories or not; it is refreshing to see a group of elderly veteran actors on screen and witness how their friendship grew, and viewers may be left thirsting for more character development through reminiscence.
Gloria’s silence over their relationship gave weight to the conflict produced from her husband and his friend’s relationship. The film reiterates public backlash and shaming as the main conflict, but the poorly-built adversity could have been dropped. A focus on the effects of the confession to their grandchildren should have been established as only hints of it were executed, and the film failed to promise cohesion with its subplots as the relevance of Eddie, Marife, and Georgina's own personal conflicts deflates on the second half of the film.
Moreover, long stretches of non-sense meant to push the story forward murdered the minutes that could have been spent on building up emotion. Events, the Writer vaguely mentions, such as a glamorous birthday, a lengthy funeral, and breadcrumbs of subplots that were forced only to create superfluous drama.
Still, even with a passable script, Rainbow’s Sunset recognises that its strength lies on its three main actors. Garcia won a Special Jury Prize, Mabesa was awarded Best Supporting Actor, and Romero received the Best Actress Award.
Photo courtesy of The Philippine Star