There's More than Drama and Sex Appeal in Star Cinama's "One More Try" Movie

"Kahit isang gabi lang... pahiram ng asawa mo" - WOW, what a line!!! (LOL)

I stumbled upon this trailer on Facebook of an upcoming Filipino film, One More Try (a 2012 Metro Manila Film Festival entry by Star Cinema). I have not seen the movie (and will not have the chance to), but based on the trailer alone, One More Try tells a story of two couples torn between infidelity and saving the life of a child.

It deals with the real issue known as "savior sibling" - which is the main cause of conflict and drama in the movie. In the U.S. it is legal to create a genetically matched human being in order to save or be the “savior” of a sick child in need of a donor. Bone marrow, blood, or even organs from the savior sibling can be taken out and used for transplant for the sick sibling. I’m not sure if it’s also legal in the Philippines.

I doubt the movie will be factual with the issue “savior siblings.” Star Cinema’s main goal is to romanticized the story and produce a “happy every after” box-office ending.

To the trailer’s credit, it shows the devastation and stress placed on a marriage when a child has a fatal disease and the painful decisions parents go through.

Organ donation is perhaps one of the greatest deeds a person can do. But it’s a gift that should be freely given. It is never taken or bought. Creating a savior sibling is a direct violation of the dignity of that person. It treats human life as something to be made and used as a commodity.

The movie is definitely a tear-jerker that my mother and my other female Filipino American friends will enjoy. But if Filipino movie goers think deeper and look past the melodrama storyline and sex appeal of the main actors, the film should also help spark a discussion on ethics and what can happen when parents decide to play God.

Movie opens December 25^th in Philippine cinemas.