5 Bela Padilla, JC Santos movies guaranteed to make you emotional

How many Filipinos had “ugly cried” after watching movies portrayed by actress Bela Padilla and actor JC Santos?

No one could exactly tell, but that number would probably increase with the release of their new romance film Wish You Were The One.

The romance-drama film can be seen in local cinemas nationwide starting August 23, with a running time of one hour and 49 minutes.

Wish You Were The One centers on two strangers, Astrud (played by Padilla) and Ellis (portrayed by Santos), who decide to form a fake romantic relationship with one another when they accidentally meet in a wedding. 

Astrud desperately wants to enter the venue to see her ex-boyfriend, a chef at the wedding reception, but cannot do so because she left her invitation in Manila. 

Fortunately, Ellis appears at the venue, with a mission to make his ex-girlfriend jealous of his new partner. 

Astrud and Ellis agree to be “five-to-seven-minute” lovers to carry out their own plans. 

But will this fake relationship become real as they spend time with each other? Or will it lead to a goodbye? These are the questions the audience will seek to answer in Wish You Were The One.

If the story already caught your attention, you will probably love these five other films that starred Padilla and Santos:

100 Daang Tula Para Kay Stella 

The two celebrities first collaborated in romance film 100 Daang Tula Para Kay Stella, released in 2017.

Padilla and Santos’ characters become friends, despite having completely different personalities. Stella (played by Padilla) is a confident rock star who loves to jam with her band, while Fidel (played by Santos) is a shy but smart student who was born with a speech defect. He uses poetry to express himself more.

Later on, Fidel develops feelings for Stella and tries to win her heart by writing 100 poems.

Padilla’s performance as Stella won her the “Best Actress in Film” award at the 2018 Paragala Central Luzon Media Awards.

In 2020, director Jason Paul Laxamana confirmed that there will be a sequel to the 2017 film, but there was no update about it yet.

The Day After Valentine’s

Following their successful tandem in 2017, the two stars teamed up anew for the romantic film The Day After Valentine’s. It was one of the official entries to the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino in 2018.

Padilla portrayed the role of Lani, a store assistant who meets a man named Kai, played by Santos, who has been dealing with heartbreak. The duo become friends and even spend Valentine’s Day together. 

But as Lani tries to help Kai overcome his brokenness, complications in their relationship emerge when Kai has to go back to Hawaii and he invites Lani to come with him.

The Day After Valentine’s is also the second film that Laxama wrote and directed for Padilla and Santos.

On Vodka, Beers, and Regrets

In 2020, Padilla and Santos had an opportunity again to star in another romantic drama film On Vodka, Beers, and Regrets.

In the movie, Padilla gave life to Jane, an actress with a declining career after being involved in a scandal. She seeks comfort from alcohol to temporarily escape from disrepute. 

One night, she meets a musician named Francis while having a drink at a bar. Since then, Francis becomes Jane’s companion as she goes through challenges that she encounters.

Padilla won the “Best Lead Actress Gold” at the 28th Annual Filipino International Cine Festival ng Filipino Arts and Cinema International (FACINE) for her role in On Vodka, Beers, and Regrets.

366

Padilla was not only an actress in 366, but she was also the director and the writer of the film. This project is Padilla’s directorial debut in 2022.

The actress portrayed the role of a brokenhearted woman who is mourning the death of his boyfriend Pao, played by Santos. Her neighbor Marco, played by actor Zanjoe Marudo, offers to help her by being her proxy-boyfriend for 365 days and do things she wasn’t able to do with Pao. Things get complicated for the two neighbors as their one-year relationship is about to end.

In 2021, the actress also regarded her directorial debut as “the start of a new chapter” in her life.

Miracle in Cell No. 7

Padilla and Santos collaborated in the Philippine adaptation of the South Korean hit Miracle in Cell No. 7, although they were not paired as a couple.

The actress portrayed the grown-up Yesha, the daughter of a mentally challenged but loving father Joselito “Lito” Gopez (played by actor Aga Muhlach) who is accused of killing a little girl. 

Gopez was arrested and put in a cell where he meets gang leader Soliman “Boss Sol,” Choy, Bong, Tatang Celso, and Mambo (played by Santos).

Miracle in Cell No. 7 was one of the official entries to the 2019 Metro Manila Film Festival.