‘Dito at Doon’ wonders if meeting online is just a quaranfling
This article may contain a few spoilers.
Almost anything can be explored in the digital world these days. You can indulge in all those impulsive add-to-cart purchases, order food through an app, and watch virtual concerts. Talking to friends and maybe even finding love has been made possible through the internet as well.
Dito at Doon encapsulates most of the quaranthings that Filipinos experienced over the course of the lockdown last year. Director JP Habac’s film follows a political science major Len Esguerra (Janine Gutierrez) and a delivery rider Carlo Cabuhag (JC Santos) who met because of an online argument over a post about a certain COVID-19 guideline. Little did they know that they would meet through a common friend later on.
How do you even form connections at a time when public gatherings aren’t completely allowed? Len’s BFF Jo (Yesh Bruce) teased her to use dating apps for her to finally find a boyfriend. But it was like fate made things easier and another friend Mark (Victor Anastacio) coincidentally introduced her to Carlo through an e-numan session.
Sliding into the DMs is a classic move
Since the virus robbed IRL meet-cute moments from people, sending a message has commonly been the first step in getting to know someone online. Carlo made the first move on Len until they both got comfortable with chatting. After the good morning texts and daily updates, the two moved on to the next stage: the phone call.
When the characters hop on a call, the scene transports them both into one place and presents it in a way as if they’re physically talking. While this doesn’t actually happen in real life, it resembles the intimacy you feel when you talk to someone who keeps you company.
The two finally reached the final step in talking online, which is the video call phase. They started having meals together, listened to music, had their own drinking session, and opened up to more personal things. Len shared how her mother Aileen (Lotlot De Leon) is a frontliner and works at a hospital. Meanwhile, Carlo revealed his mom Minda (Shyr Valdez) and two younger siblings named Cholo (AJ Sison) and Kult (Sherlyn Gabrielle Sortijas) were in Cebu.
Your lockdown memories can come in the form of Dalgona coffee
Some people collect memorabilia to keep a piece of a remarkable place or event. But in the past year, everyone had a solid reminder that the virus was real through the two items that they should have: a face mask and face shield.
Other things made up the first year of the pandemic. You can catch Len whipping a cup of Dalgona, which was a trending coffee recipe at that time. She also became a certified plantita, a term that came about when people developed a gardening hobby during isolation. She had a witty name for her plant collection Meteor Garden, with each plant named after the Taiwanese show’s characters.
There were other anecdotes incorporated in between the film like how Carlo and other delivery riders had a hard time when checkpoints were implemented, the emergence of troll farms online, news on different community quarantines, and socially distanced lines in the grocery store.
Was it just a quaranfling all along?
Knowing that you have someone constant to talk to is a reassuring idea that you’re not alone, but nothing beats meeting them in person. Len and Carlo tried to go out together twice, but something always got in their way. The unspoken question lingers throughout the end of the film: will they ever see each other beyond their screens?
Just like the other young romantics who resorted to DMs and calls in hopes to find love or anything close to it, you might wonder if it was merely a quaranfling or a relationship to fill the void during isolation. Is a relationship only real once a date happens, or is talking online enough to justify the bond?
Banner edited by Justine De Vera
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Source: we the pvblic
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