REVIEW: ‘Seasons’ Explores Love, Friendship, And How To Ruin Both

Charlie(Lovi Poe) and Kurt(Carlo Aquino) have been best friends forever. While being constant companions, they have always remained just friends. But, when Charlie insists on setting Kurt up with someone, the encounter soon has Charlie realizing that she wants to be the only one to have her friend’s eye. Now she tries to find a way to win him back in Seasons, directed by Easy Ferrer and written by Dwein Baltazar and Lovi Poe.

I find myself being of two minds about this movie. On the one hand, I thoroughly enjoyed the acting in the movie throughout. Poe and Aquino bring their characters to life throughout the movie’s ups and downs. The duo plays off each other in such a natural way that I would not be surprised to find out they are long-time friends in real life. Seeing how intertwined the duo is, while being purely platonic friends, is a fun ride for the first act of the movie. This first act’s energy cements the status quo for the pair wonderfully so that when Seasons’s story comes crashing down, the tears of pain shed by both parties feel all the more genuine.

A running narration by Poe further aids the emotional build-up during the film. Guiding the viewer in the present and through brief jaunts into the past for key moments in her and Kurt’s friendship, the voice-over that Poe delivers adds further emotional resonance and understanding of her character. While it helps the viewer understand Charlie’s decisions, it does nothing to forgive them.

While the portrayal of emotion is fantastically delivered, the plot that prompts these moments falls short of cohesion with its emotional levels. The story feels ill-suited for the final space Seasons ultimately leaves its stars as the credits roll. Charlie’s actions in her drive to convince Kurt that she is the one for him deserve far harsher repercussions than what comes to her. What she does is truly terrible, and I have never known anyone who would even look at a person again after what she does, much less have any sort of friendship with them. While Seasons thankfully doesn’t go so far as to see the pair “happily ever after” with each other, it still exceeds the suspension of disbelief that they could be as ok as they are.

Seasons’ visual presentation does a great job of further enhancing the moment-to-moment emotion of each scene. The locales chosen for many scenes are rich and vibrant. From waterfalls and windswept cliffs to bars and quiet coffee shops, the shifting scenery always feels carefully chosen for each scene’s emotional intent. It maintains a visual freshness to the movie as it progresses through its narrative.

Despite its inability to stick the landing, Seasons has a lot of good to offer. If you want to see some great on-screen chemistry and good acting, this film has much to enjoy, just as long as you can accept its overly forgiving ending.

Seasons is streaming now on Netflix.