THROWBACK: Rediscover the significance of the ‘Seven Sundays’ dance scene

[Editor’s note: This story, first published on April 7, 2021 and updated today, is brought to you from our Star Cinema Archives.] 

Whenever the Lenten and Easter season comes around, so do touching stories on family and unconditional love. When thinking back to the films that encourage us to reflect on these themes, it would be a loss not to mention “Seven Sundays”!

The 2017 Cathy Garcia-Sampana-helmed movie follows the star-studded cast of Aga Muhlach, Dingdong Dantes, Cristine Reyes, and Enrique Gil as they play siblings at odds. Amid their father Manuel’s (Ronaldo Valdez) terminal illness, the Bonifacio kids return to their childhood home and spend time with the ailing patriarch, all while confronting their past grudges with one another.

While the film’s tearful exchanges do stick out as some of its strongest points, the “Seven Sundays” dance scene also deserves the same amount of love! The scene finds Ryan Bang’s Mr. Kim challenging the Bonifacios to pull out their best moves. 

In time for Easter Sunday back in 2021, “Seven Sundays” scriptwriter Vanessa Valdez spoke about the layers of the movie’s comedic yet heartwarming scene via Instagram. She explained that the siblings going back to their roots by dancing during their store’s relaunch represents their “reenergized bond and re-commitment to each other."

More than merely standing their ground against Mr. Kim’s rival Korean supermarket, Vanessa shared of the siblings’ dance battle: "This time, though, they would be dancing with their offspring, indicating stronger intergenerational family ties with the passing down of a family tradition.” 

As a parallel to Mr. Kim’s "greed [and] selfishness", our protagonists instead represent “warmth, generosity, and joy.”

"I knew that we had to show them dancing at some point in 'Seven Sundays' [since] all three of them are known for being very good dancers,” Vanessa added. “It would be such a treat for their fans."

Here’s another behind-the-scenes scoop: did you know that there was supposed to be only one Mr. Kim? In the movie, Jeffrey Tam also goes by Mr. Kim as he plays the brother of Ryan’s character.  

While the film’s creators initially cast Jeffrey in light of Ryan’s commitments to “It’s Showtime!”, they soon encountered scheduling conflicts with Jeffrey. It just so happens that during this time, Ryan’s schedule opened up and thus, we wound up with double the laughs, thanks to our two Mr. Kims!  

Vanessa explained, "We rewrote the scene to explain why there was a different Mr. Kim (they’re brothers, with Ryan claiming to be the more handsome one) challenging the Bonifacios to a dance-off."

The rewrite proved to serve the story even better, as it offered a “celebratory mood” following “all the tears shed.” The scriptwriter said, “The merriment was also a reassurance that love makes rebirths [and] renewals possible."

Harking back to the Lenten season’s purpose, Vanessa concluded, “That’s the same promise of Easter — that love, given [and] received, rebuilds and refreshes souls."

Revisit this iconic dance-off by watching "Seven Sundays” FULL MOVIE for FREE below: 

Celebrate the Easter season with Star Cinema’s heartfelt family dramas, which you can stream on our official YouTube channel!    

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