Ulan is a venture into the diverse landscape of Philippine folklore to many an uneducated viewer, myself included. Coming from one not often indulged with media portrayals of superstitious beliefs, the movie did a decent job of depicting how they play into the everyday lives of Filipinos. In focus here is that which tries to explain why it rains on sunny days - tikbalangs getting hitched. The question of whether tikbalangs, portrayed here as slim-fingered, paper maché armadillos, had a right to love and be loved was balanced by the notion that nothing, not even the rain, can get in the way of love. Not even Nadine Lustre's performance as the lovestruck Maya, so it seems. Though Nadine barely put a foot wrong, one just cannot escape the feeling that the story behind the message, or lack thereof, could have and should have done more in terms of getting the point across. Its magical realism element was telling - it was refreshing to see its unique take on the the interplay of superstition and imagination. However, it felt all too empty in terms of plot and twist. It was too difficult to gauge where the story was going, and it was hard to remember where and why it started once its direction finally became clear. Indeed, I left the cinema as confused as I was after the first ten minutes of the film. But whatever, I could be wrong - I'm no film critic.
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