Julia Montes has been in showbiz for over 20 years and has proven to be not just one of the most beautiful faces in the country but also among the most brilliant stars in the local entertainment scene.
From charming us as a talented child and teen star in her first few years in the industry, she has gone on to astound us as a versatile dramatic actress, especially when she began to take on mature roles, such as in “Saving Grace: The Untold Story,” where she impeccably portrays Anna Sarmiento.
As “Saving Grace: The Untold Story” approaches its “The Last Hope” finale, let us revisit the 10 moments when Julia swayed us and pierced our hearts with her compelling performance as Anna in this episode of Kapamilya Toplist.
Let’s begin with that flashback scene wherein Anna discovered her real identity by chance—that she was actually adopted—as she rummaged through the old stuff of her adoptive parents, Helena (Janice de Belen) and Antonio (Gardo Versoza). She may not have uttered any word, but by just looking at how her eyes and face reacted, we could see how shocked, perplexed, and crestfallen she was, which, unfortunately, caused her miscarriage. It was later found out that she is actually Antonio’s lovechild with his former flame, Miranda (Sharon Cuneta).
As a concerned mom, Helena couldn’t help herself from getting upset with Anna after it took her a very long time to come home to them in Palawan, only to leave immediately. However, she went there not really to visit them but to borrow money that she was supposed to use to leave the country with her young companion, whom she introduced as her own child named “Bright”.
With doubts continuing to hound Helena at the time, especially when she noticed how frantic Anna was in demanding her cousin, Charlie (Adrian Lindayag), to delete any photos of “Bright” that he took on his phone, as well as when she recovered some girl clothes in their belongings, Helena finally confronted Anna, which prompted the latter to confess that “Bright” and the missing kid Grace were just one and she indeed abducted her.
Another remarkable scene of Julia with Janice was when Anna’s youngest sister, Erin (Sophia Reola), finally mustered the courage to bare what she knew about what really happened to their father that fateful day. According to her, she saw blood on the boat occupied by their parents and asked Helena about it, yet she told her to shut up. Helena conveyed her resentment and tried to apologize to Anna, but to no avail since the latter was too hurt for being blamed for something that she didn’t actually do.
Julia also had a number of scenes with the one and only Megastar as, from being initially hostile against one another, their characters Anna and Miranda eventually became cordial in the latter part of the story, particularly when the latter finally found out that the former was the long-lost child that she’d been searching for.
Through Julia’s astounding dramatic prowess, we were able to truly feel the pain of Anna as she opened up to Miranda about feeling ashamed of putting her adoptive mother, Helena, into trouble over and over again, as well as not being interested anymore in finding out who her real mother was, since deciding to give her up at birth meant that she didn’t like her right off the bat.
As she had found a dependable confidant in Miranda, it was also to her that Anna first poured her heart out upon learning the truth about her dad’s untimely demise. She lamented how Helena made her and the people around them believe that it was she who caused his death, which prompted her to be aloof from everyone and wallow in immense despair, believing that she didn’t deserve to be happy.
The confrontation scene of Julia and Sharon when Anna finally found out that Miranda was her biological mother was also too heartbreaking to handle. Julia indeed made us feel the pain of Anna as she expressed how mad and disgusted she was with her, as well as chided her for not owning up to her mistakes and shortcomings as her mom. Besides, Anna even lectured Miranda that, just like almost everything in life, motherhood is also a choice, regardless of a woman’s relationship with a kid.
But the most poignant onscreen moment of Julia with Sharon was when Anna ultimately found it in her heart to forgive Miranda while the latter was on her deathbed. Anna didn’t just tell her that she had already forgiven her and give her a warm embrace, but she even called her “Mama.”
Julia had a few dramatic scenes as well with Sam Milby, who plays her ex-fiancé and TV producer Julius Hernandez. Years after calling off their engagement and breaking up with him, her character Anna finally had the chance to explain herself regarding her reasons for doing so. As Julius asked her why she didn’t tell him back then, Anna said that she simply did not want him to be hurt and be involved in her personal issues.
And being the foster mom of the titular character, Julia certainly had spent much of her time on the set with her onscreen daughter Zia Grace, who has also captured our hearts with her promising dramatic chops. Many were surely touched by their interactions, especially the tear-jerking ones, such as when Anna finally broke down and poured out the pent-up emotions that she’d been suppressing for a very long time after Grace advised her to not be afraid to show that she was hurt. One of Anna’s candid conversations with Grace, wherein she expressed how proud she is of her and promised to stay by her side no matter what, also exposed the vulnerable side not just of Anna, but also of Julia.
Watch out for more dramatic scenes of Julia Montes in the remaining episodes of “Saving Grace: The Untold Story,” weeknights on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), A2Z, and TV5.