Anything that happens is a consequence of a choice; whether right or wrong, whether it goes against your instincts or not, whether it makes you happy or not. In the name of a happy life waiting for you across the globe and for the sake of seeking answers about your identity, are you willing to dare take extra measures and prepare to conceal the truth at the cost of your personal dignity and self-gain?
Ivan Andrew Payawal’s “I America” is a dramedy about identity-troubled woman named Erica (Bela Padilla) situated in Olongapo City who, aside from growing up with speaking in broken and fragmented English, lived her life trying to keep her and her adoptive family’s stomachs well-fed by doing sidelines in commercial modeling and acting. Her story began to unravel after failing to get her passport and US visa, which was her only means to meet her American father personally.
During the course of Erica’s quest to seek the truth behind her supposedly “foreign” descent and bloodline, the film managed to successfully toss in and re-experience the several troubles of an ordinary Filipino in this modern time. I America molded Erica’s character after knowing that the American “father” who he has been communicating with for about months was all along revealed by her natural mother portrayed by Elizabeth Oropesa as a distressed woman struggled and was eventually sandwiched between doing what is right and what is wrong; Erica’s way of thinking and sequence of actions such as concealing her real identity to her presumptive father and hiding her birth certificate from her step-family slyly hinted us of the common Filipino’s wistful dream of what we call the “American Dream” – an upsetting yet evidently observable delusion exercised by some Filipinos that living outside the Philippines or earning their keep on a foreign land equates to a superior and happy life.
The brief side-story of her dark-skinned step-sister portrayed by Rhyzza Kafilas was a great addition not only to bridging the plot to its climactic moments, but also shudder the audience with a horrible reality. Although story-wise her jealousy towards Erica led to certain revelations about the protagonist’s true parentage, it managed to remind everyone that skin complexion is not the sole standard of beauty. A certain point in the film allowed the viewers to witness the bitter truth of today’s modern culture that no matter how talented you are and how good your intentions, chances are you are nothing but a substandard being in the society.
The most obvious point of realization all throughout the film is learning how to accept the truth and stand up for the truth. Although suffering from extremely long periods of shaky and obvious instances of camcording following the daily life of the main character which wasted a good number of important minutes to the film and a handful of underdeveloped characters which rendered them almost unimportant and insignificant to the plot, the film still achieved to pave its way in making everyone realize that the truth isn’t always pleasant and irrepressible, but the manner of accepting the truth is a matter of choice -- you rather stand up, take it down into your throat and move on or allow the truth permanently cripple and screw your entire lifetime of existence gradually and painfully.
I America shined brighter with its naturally funny scenes and witty dialogues, but the humorous lines beautifully overshadowed the underlying meaning behind each of the character’s sentiments. You would rather find it puzzling and amusing how you never realized that “I America” somehow intended two portraits of what the protagonist is. “I America” at a shallow point of thinking, described Erica’s hilariously broken and trying-hard English proficiency. But who knew that the title “I America” was an obvious pun all along (not until the end though) that “She is Erica.” It’s upsetting how no one ever knew that Erica’s name was a lame incorporation of the film’s title, and that was quite an impressive feat.