Secret Affair Movie Review

With movies like No Other Woman and The Mistress making waves in local cinema these days, Secret Affair is yet another timely film discussing illicit love affairs.

Cast and Characters

Before talking about the movie, here’s a list of the cast and characters first:

Anne Curtis as Rafi

Derek Ramsay as Anton

Andi Eigenmann as Sam

Jaclyn Jose as Ellen (Rafi’s mom)

Joel Torre as Jimmy (Rafi’s dad)

Jackie Lou Blanco as Cate (Sam’s mom)

Johnny Revilla as Manuel (Sam’s dad)

Rafi and Sam’s friends:

Jill Yulo as Katie

Say Alonzo as Paula

Petra Mahalimuyak as Marielle

Gee-Ann Abraham as Aimee

IC Mendoza as Miggy

Shy Carlos as May

If you would notice, Anne Curtis and Derek Ramsay who both starred for No Other Woman returns in this film in a similar role. But this time, Anne Curtis is not the other woman anymore but Andi Eigenmann is. There is also no married couple involved in this movie, it’s about a secret affair between an engaged guy with his fiancee’s friend. Read more about the plot below.

Jaclyn Jose, who stars as Anne Curtis’ mom in this film is actually Andi Eigenmann’s real life mother with her dad being Mark Gil (of the Eigenmann clan).

Plot and Synopsis

Anton proposed to his girlfriend Rafi in a whirlwind type of romance (2 and a half months and it’s supposedly already love). Sam, Rafi’s girlfriend wanted Anton to let her friend know about their sort of one night stand but the guy refused. Rafi on the other hand backed out before the wedding day after hearing numerous discouraging messages from friends, relatives, and family through a pre-recorded video. Her own parents’ situation made her change her mind too. Her father is involved with an extramarital affair.

Rafi went away soul searching. Sam then re-entered the picture. It was more than just sex for her but Anton is a weak willing victim because he was broken hearted. Rafi had a change of heart though and was back in Anton’s arms when she went home. They decided not to marry yet and lived together instead. At which time, Sam wanted more than just a secret affair. Rafi soon found out about it but she chose to stay with Anton. In the end, it was parting time for all three lovers. Rafi declined Anton’s proposal the second time around saying she had thought of what to say to in case he proposed again. She simply wanted to move on without him and forget about everything. It was a learning experience for all of them and so the closing line echoes, “Betrayal and infidelity in secret is still betrayal and infidelity." Read more quotable quotes below.

Highlights of the Movie

Although Secret Affair is also from Viva Films, it wasn’t as explicit as No Other Woman. The sexy scenes are not as daring as the first film. Thus, the highlights are not the sex or bed scenes. One of the notable portions include Rafi’s mom sort of retribution against her husband’s mistress who blackmailed her years ago by threatening to humiliate her daughters in school. Now that her daughters are old enough and can actually make a scene themselves, she was able to confront the other woman with no holds barred. She called the mistress a bitch and referred to herself as super bitch. This went well for her as she finally had her husband solely for herself afterwards. When her elder daughter commended her for the sacrifice she made for her daughters, the mom said she should have done more and helped her husband clean up his mess instead. That was epic and is what every legal wife should do. Try to clean up their husband’s mess first before hastily ending up the marriage.

Another highlight is the social network site fights between Rafi and Sam over Facebook and Twitter. It was hilarious yet as real as it can get. In fact, I’m sure a lot of people can relate to it. Rafi’s ups and downs trying to handle the situation are also noteworthy. There are times when she handled it well but there are also moments when she had been too rude already. She was in a yoga class where one is supposed to feel calm and peaceful but felt like killing someone. Her punch lines are enough to punch someone from inside with cynicism attached. She said, "Sana pati ugali, puwedeng i-photoshop no?" and "Alam mo saan masarap magkape? Sa burol mo." More quotes below.

As for the three forlorn lovers, there is no villain nor hero or heroine here. Everyone had their share of the so-called lapse of judgment. Anton and Sam are to be blamed for falling into the one night stand setup; Rafi for calling it quits when she wasn’t ready for marriage yet; Sam for taking advantage of a guy’s desperate moment to the point that she’s making herself look desperate herself in spite of the fact that she doesn’t deserve it; and Anton for using his d*ck to think instead of his brain.

Quotable Quotes

As always, it’s the quotable quotes we normally bring with us after we leave our seats from cinemas. Here are some of them:

"Ano bang akala mo sa mga pambababae, parang flash floods na kapag tumila ang ulan ay huhupa ang baha. Lumikas ka na habang maaga bago mag critical level."

"Kaya kabit ang tawag sa kanila kasi daig pa nila ang epoxy kung kumabit, kaya kerida kasi mga kiri, kaya mistress kasi nakaka stress."

"Anong ikakaso mo sa akin? Trespassing? Eh di ba asawa ko ang nagbabayad dito? Adultery? Eh di ba ako nga ang asawa?"

– Ellen

"Ano bang tingin mo sa mga lalaki? Bulate? May pa-early bird promo, early bird catches the worm?"

"So how long this secret affair has been going on? Actually, it doesn't matter. One day, one week, one month, a year or two years, it is still an affair."

"There has been betrayal. There have been lies, and even if I know you didn't want to hurt me, ginawa mo pa rin."

"What do you want me to believe? That it is possible for you to be physically unfaithful and emotionally faithful?"

"Yun nga yung sayang eh, I know the love is there pero wala na yung trust, and as much as I would like to fix this, the damage has been done."

"Eh di ba minsan, kahit alam natin na mali ang isang bagay, ginagawa pa rin natin kasi kailangan."

– Rafi

"Mom, what's wrong with us? Why do men always leave us? Mahirap ba tayong mahalin?"

"No, that's not true. Think of us na parang prize sa Amazing Race. Yung sumusuko’t nahihirapan, talo! Matira ang matibay."

– Cate to Sam

Final Thoughts

As always, I’m not someone who judges other people. In fact, I myself have been involved in all too many unconventional and modern setup when it comes to romantic relationships. But at the end day, particularly now after watching these types of film, I appreciate the value and sentiment of following the old customs of traditional love, courtship, relationship, and marriage. There’s actually no fun in being happy with someone when you can never be proud of the setup you are involved with. I was always hesitant to respond when asked about my relationship status. I am neither single nor married and every time someone asks me about it, I hoped that the earth would open from underneath me and shallow me whole. The feeling can be described as such: at the back of your mind, there is no peace; at the casket of your heart, you feel numb amidst an overflowing ocean of judging and prying eyes; at the deepest trench of your soul, you know it’s not right. It can be your own conscience or God’s spirit trying to open your blinded eyes. Either way, let me just say that there is no justification for bending the rules. The same applies to relationships, married or not.

But these are just my thoughts and I can’t speak for everyone else. To each man his own; as they always say. So just enjoy the movie if you haven’t watched Secret Affair yet.