Thanks to the impressive box office numbers, critical acclaim and word-of-mouth campaign for A Very Good Girl and Five Break Ups and A Romance, these two Filipino movies made Pinoy audiences step out of their homes and spend their hard-earned pesos on watching movies again in cinemas.

More quality Pinoy films are coming out or are already showing. Currently in cinemas are Jhett Tolentino's Asian Persuasion and FM Reyes's In His Mother's Eyes. In competition in this year's upcoming Metro Manila Film Festival is Pepe Diokno's GomBurZa, which had its premiere screening recently.  

Cinematic cotton candy

Tolentino's Asian Persuasion is not the usual hard-up Pinoy in US making ends meet with multiple jobs story. There's no "tago ng tago", dying of homesickness and loneliness and other Pinoy and Asian character tropes. What is in Tolentino's cinematic cotton candy are Asians of different nationalities who are successful and sophisticated, a congenial and sincere community of kababayan in New York City. 

The New York in Tolentino's cinema debut is better lighted and photographed compared to Carrie Bradshaw's Sex In The City/And Just Like That. And they're set against postcard-perfect locations that are eye-catching and inviting.

It boasts perfect casting in KC Concepcion as Avery, a fashionista of note and a designer recently divorced from Micky (Dante Basco) who gets the surprise of her life when Wall Street hotshot Lee (Paolo Montalban) woos her.

KC's Rubenesque figure adds to her allure and charisma, and her Avery is a true romantic who loves museum visits and movies of yore for dates.  Her chemistry with Basco is believable, but becomes electric with Montalban.

Asian Persuasion is not a pang-Oscar film, but it has a beauty and charm that brings a smile to your lips while pulling your heartstrings a little. It will make you believe that if you can make it in New York, you can truly make in anywhere.