By Regina Cajucom
Serendipity Couch

THE movie adaptation of "Twilight," the first in a four-part saga written by Stephenie Meyer on the love and lives of Edward Cullen, a vampire, and Bella Swan, a mortal, was finally shown in the Philippines - five days after it opened in the US, where it topped the box-office with $69.6M on its opening day.

For "twilighters" in the Philippines, it felt like we waited for years and we had to exercise willpower equivalent to the Cullens' to not download a copy before its local premiere.

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I even managed to resist the urge to read movie reviews lest they contain spoilers that would ruin the excitement brewing within me (which is so funny, considering that I already know how the story will turn out because of the book).

Anyway, the Philippine premiere was on November 26, a Wednesday - couldn't have been set on a better day, as I don't have classes two days a week and Wednesday is one of them.

November 26, 2008. The day. It was like waking up on Christmas morning with much anticipation on what your gifts would be. I walked through the day in a trance, ware that in a matter of hours, I will finally have my rendezvous with the vampires.

5:40 p.m. The only screening time suitable for us was 6:30 p.m. because of work and my dates' classes - 'dates' being my sister Thea and cousin Coleen. We decided to meet at the theatre lobby which, at the time of our meeting, was already packed with a multitude of twilighters, ready to be bitten. My eyes scanned the crowd and realized that I was amid twenty somethings and teenagers. My heart froze... I'm too old for this (Should I now leave?) Then I saw a fellow lawyer in line, who I know is certainly older than I am.

Ah, my redemption...yey!!! I fell back in line, unwary of the curious gazes of the infants around me.

Thankfully, I don't have Edward's power to read minds.

Half an hour before the movie began, the theatre was full. The film started and silence befell these followers, prepared to be lost in Forks, WA in the next two hours.

More than half of the crowd probably read the novel, because seconds before the lovers' fateful meeting, the air was heavy with anticipation. True enough, when Edward Cullen entered the scene, the crowd screamed with youthful delight.

All throughout the film, ladies (and some gentlemen, seriously!) shrieked and practically fainted at the sight and scenes of the lovers. Whenever the camera took a great shot of Edward Cullen/ Robert Pattinson (come to think of it, I can't even remember a single bad shot), the crowd swooned. I have recently anointed gorgeous Rob "THE hot one."

Despite the nagging thought that I might be too old for it and that I probably did not belong to the crowd, I did not feel that way. Even reading through the novel, I felt like a giddy teenager, as the book (and the film) boasts of many kilig moments. It has the power to transport us back to the time when life had less complications - when our major problems consisted only of clothes, hairstyle, zits and lovelife (or the lack of it); when older people forgave our foolishness and indiscretions, and we could get away with practically everything simply because we were "too young to understand."

This may probably be an early onset of senility. Oh my.

* * * * * * * *

"Age is an issue of mind over matter.
If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."
~Mark Twain

* * * * * * * *

Today is my life partner's birthday. Mike will hate it that his greetings come with my Twilight article, a subject he is probably too fed up with at home. But I will try to make up for it by saying that he is my Edward Cullen, and that it would be nice to turn into vampires and spend eternity together - bickering about it all. Awww. Blame it on Twilight.

Happy birthday. Je t'aime aussi. (serendipity.couch@gmail.com)

For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Iloilo.

(December 5, 2008 issue)
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