The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Look at their scenes in the movie “Maple Leaf Dreams,” especially the light romantic ones, and see for yourself the right chemistry these two people exudes.
Lead actors LA Santos and Kira Balinger are students who eventually become lovers after they had an altercation solved by a light settlement of “batu-bato pik” in front of an eatery in a nearby campus over an order of dinakdakan (a kind of pork meat and innards dish from the north), migrated to Canada together to help economically their respective families, particularly Molly’s (played by Balinger), live in the same house, sleep in the same bed without touching skin etc.
LA and Kira in reel life are matched despite some momentary differences in domesticity which are easily resolved.
Even in real life, Santos and Balinger are a perfect match.
From beginning to end of the movie, they are together, most of the time, in every frame, lovingly or sometimes, grudgingly.
The love that springs from both sides is ideal in the realization of a seamless relationship or so it seems.
LA and Kira were shot in the Philippines for days while they were on cam in Canada for a number of weeks.
Off-cam, though, they spent quality time together that unravelled their true selves and the guy must have seen loads of attractive traits on the girl.
“Niligawan ko po siya talaga (I really courted her),” LA confessed.
“Talaga pong nagustuhan ko siya (I really liked her),” added the young actor.
Who wouldn’t be in love with the beauty of Kira, after all?
Their make-believe love drama roles become truthfully emphatic for LA if not vicariously felt.
In a huddle with LA at the Sine Pop, a micro-cinema in Cubao recently, he spilled the beans as he shared: “Binasted po niya ako (She jilted me).”
“Gusto po ni Kira, matupad muna ang aming mga pangarap sa career namin (She likes to achieve first our dreams in our respective careers),” he added. (Boy Villasanta)