In an industry where reunions rarely strike gold twice, Angelica Panganiban and Zanjoe Marudo return to prove that some screen partnerships never lose their magic—only deepen with time. Their comeback film, “UnMarry,” an official entry to the 2025 Metro Manila Film Festival, is already being hailed as one of the most emotionally powerful projects of the year.
For Zanjoe Marudo, saying yes to UnMarry was effortless—almost instinctive.
“Sinabi pa lang na si Angelica ang lead—game na agad ako,” he admitted. Their chemistry, he said, comes from a foundation not often seen in showbiz: a friendship unshakeable by time, life milestones, and distance.
Their last major project together, Playhouse, showed promise of what they could do. But UnMarry, filmed years after marriage and parenthood reshaped their lives, brings out a far deeper version of them—one that only experience can teach. “Mas malinaw yung emosyon ngayon,” Zanjoe shared. “Mas totoo.”
In UnMarry, Angelica plays Celine, a woman trying to end her marriage and fight for her daughters. Zanjoe plays Ivan, a husband desperate to save his own family as annulment papers threaten to break it apart.
Two strangers. Two broken hearts.
One law office where futures quietly crumble.
As the two wait—sometimes hopelessly, sometimes with shaky optimism—their unlikely friendship blossoms. And in between the legal documents and emotional wreckage, they begin to rediscover pieces of themselves they thought they had lost forever.
But this isn’t a fairy tale.
This isn’t the usual rom-com reunion.
This is about love in its most painful form—when it must be released.
Director Jeffrey Jeturian returns with a film stripped of grand gestures and melodrama. Instead, he delivers something braver: honesty.
“This film mirrors real life,” Zanjoe said. “It’s not fantasy. Tatama talaga.”
Angelica’s Comeback: Worth the Four-Year Wait
After pausing her career to devote her time to motherhood, Angelica is finally stepping back into the limelight—but only for something “worth breaking the quiet for.”
“When they gave me the story, the simplicity and maturity hit me,” she shared.
“It’s about waking up one day and realizing… this relationship is no longer home. And choosing yourself—kahit masakit.”
Her words echo the emotional storm at the center of UnMarry:
the courage to leave, the bravery to stay, and the grief in choosing either.
Angelica doesn’t act the role; she inhabits it. Viewers will see a performance shaped by real experiences, softened by wisdom, and sharpened by pain. It is, without exaggeration, the kind that wins awards.
For Zanjoe, fatherhood and marriage transformed how he approached his scenes.
“Naging mas malalim lahat,” he said.
“Yung hirap… gusto mong pagdaanan, kasi may ituturo sa’yo.”
In UnMarry, he delivers one of the most nuanced performances of his career. No shouting matches, no theatrics—only the quiet devastation of a man watching his life slip away through signatures and legal pleadings.
His work here is raw enough to hurt you.
What makes UnMarry special is not the romance—it’s the humanity.
It doesn’t villainize. It doesn’t romanticize.
It simply tells the truth.
Angelica and Zanjoe give performances so controlled yet deeply felt that even the silences in the film say something. Their scenes together are electric—sometimes tender, sometimes tragic, always alive.
At its heart, UnMarry asks a universal question:
When love no longer fits, is choosing yourself an act of courage—or defeat?
This film doesn’t give easy answers.
But it promises honesty.
It promises emotional release.
It promises two of this generation’s greatest actors at their very best.
Come Christmas Day, prepare your handkerchiefs.
UnMarry might just be the MMFF entry that reminds us of something we often forget—
that endings can also be beginnings, and heartbreak, too, can set you free.
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