Keys to the Heart is a Netflix Filipino remake of the Korean original. The film revolves around a single mother, Sylvia, and her two sons, Joma and Jayjay. Sylvia and Jayjay had been living all by themselves for years, but things took a turn when Sylvia learned about the life-threatening illness she was suffering from. She needed someone to watch her son while she received treatment for cancer, but unfortunately, everyone on her list turned her down. Jayjay was an autistic savant and a talented pianist. He showed interest in participating in the Batiquin Conservatory piano competition, but Sylvia was not sure if she would be physically fit to accompany him. When Apple showed her how to search for people online on Facebook, she searched for her elder son, Joma.
Spoiler Alert
Why Was Joma Not Ready To Forgive His Mother?
Joma was a washed-up boxer who was recently thrown out of his gym for his bad temper. He did not have a house of his own and often ended up spending time at his friend’s garage. Joma did not expect his mother to come searching for him. He was not interested in listening to her, and he left. Even after all these years, he could not forgive his mother for abandoning him during his childhood days. Joma ended up getting drunk that night, and he had an accident. He woke up on a hospital bed, and he realized that the person driving the car was wealthy and offered to pay him extra money in exchange for letting the matter go. Joma needed the money, and he did not care about filing a case.
Why Did Joma Agree To Stay At Sylvia’s Place?
As soon as Sylvia learned about the accident from Joma’s friend, Ver, and she immediately went to the hospital to visit her son. She offered Joma to live at her apartment while he was recovering. She was hopeful that Joma would one day accept her and her son, Jayjay. The first night at Sylvia’s place was uncomfortable for Joma. Jayjay’s habits bothered him, and he decided to move out of the apartment soon. Joma planned on working in Canada, but the money he received after the accident from the Labayens was not enough to settle abroad. Joma decided to work as a sparring fighter, but a video of him getting punched circulated online, and his chances of getting the job seemed almost impossible. When he was invited by the Labayens once again he gathered up the courage to ask for the money he needed to travel to Canada. When Joma tried to establish that Annette’s life was easier than his, she showed him her prosthetic leg to prove that everything that seems easy at first might not be so if looked closely. Annette lost her leg in a car accident, and the day Joma was hit by her car was the first day she was driving after the incident. Joma and Annette were starkly different, yet there was a connection between them.
The relationship between Joma and Sylvia had not significantly improved, but Joma agreed to take Jayjay to the center when Sylvia requested him to do so. Jayjay was afraid of his elder brother, but Sylvia believed things would get better once they tried to bond with one another. Towards the end of Keys to the Heart, we learn that Joma’s father was an abusive man who would physically injure Sylvia and Joma regularly. After running away from her house, Sylvia attempted to commit suicide, but a passerby rescued her. Sylvia could not imagine returning home; she did not have the strength to confront her husband. After all these years, she was happy to see both her sons together, though it took some time for Joma to get used to Jayjay’s ways.
How Did Jayjay Make His Way To The Competition?
Joma and Jayjay’s bond improved with time. Joma realized how special his little brother was, and Jayjay started to see a hero in Joma after he defeated his bullies. Sylvia was finally at peace, knowing that Joma would be there to look after Jayjay if her condition worsened. She did not disclose what she was going through and lied to both her sons, telling them that she was going away for a month with some work.
After Sylvia left, Joma took Jayjay along with him to work. He handed Jayjay flyers to distribute, and instead of following his brother’s instructions, Jayjay’s attention shifted to the piano at the shopping complex. That was the first time Joma heard his brother play, and he was mesmerized. He soon found out that Jayjay idolized Annette, and he decided to make his wish of meeting Annette come true. For the Batiquin Conservatory piano competition, Jayjay needed a recommendation, and Joma was hopeful that Annette could help them. But upon meeting her, she disclosed that she no longer had any ties with the conservatory. Joma was ready to leave, but when Jayjay spotted the piano, he decided to play it. Annette was spellbound; he was incredibly talented, and after years of not playing the piano, she suddenly felt the urge to play to her heart’s content. She joined Jayjay, and they ended up spending a long time playing the piano together. She was ready to support Jayjay in any way she could. Annette attended the audition, and we found out that she shared a bitter relationship with her mentor, who pushed her to the edge when she was his student. He ridiculed Jayjay for his inability to perform in front of an audience, but Jayjay proved him wrong. Initially, things did not go according to his routine, and he was extremely upset, but before leaving the audition, he proved that he was worth reconsidering.
What Happened To Jayjay, Joma, And Sylvia?
Annette’s father was a majority stakeholder at the conservatory, and when he found out that his daughter played the piano after listening to Jayjay’s music, he wanted to make sure that the boy was offered another chance. Jayjay was ultimately selected for the final round, and Anette offered to train him before the competition. Even though Jayjay and Joma were managing everything on their own pretty well, Jayjay missed his mother, and one day, he walked to the restaurant where Sylvia worked in the hopes of finding her. In the meantime, Joma was searching for Jayjay at hospitals, and he suddenly came across Sylvia. Joma realized that his mother had been lying about her trip. She had been sick all along, and he was saddened to think that the only reason she contacted him was because she was ill and she needed someone to look after Jayjay. When Joma confronted his mother, she admitted that her intentions were selfish, but she had never given up on Joma. She apologized for not being the perfect mother, but she did what she thought would have been best for Joma. She did not contact Joma after running away because she was afraid of making matters worse for him. Sylvia tried to reconnect with Joma after she found out that her husband had passed away, but by then, Joma had also run away.
Joma’s interest in boxing is rooted in his childhood trauma. He was afraid of being helpless, like he used to be when his father abused him. Even though the cancer was a curse, Sylvia believed there was a silver lining to it because the disease helped her bring her family together. Joma initially decided to fly to Canada, just like he intended to. He was afraid of the responsibility he had to take, and his initial reaction was to abandon it. But when he saw Jayjay on television, he had a change of heart. Joma knew that his brother needed him more than anyone else, and he decided to be there for him. During the ending of Keys to the Heart, both Sylvia and Joma attended the competition and were awestruck by Jayjay’s performance. Sylvia needed to be admitted to the hospital immediately after, and Jayjay finally came to visit her. He could not accept his mother’s condition and hoped to return home and live like they used to.
In Keys to the Heart‘s ending, Joma forgave his mother and promised to look after Jayjay. Sylvia died in peace, knowing that both her sons would be there for each other. And Jayjay proved that he will forever be Joma’s loudest cheerleader. Right after the funeral service, he walked into the Uptown boxing gym and called the star boxer, Elimar, a prick, just like Joma had taught him. Elimar challenged Joma to a fight when he came to his brother’s rescue. Even though initially it seemed that Elimar would be winning the challenge, ultimately, Joma found the courage and decided to prove to his brother that he, indeed, was the hero he idolized. Joma won the match, and this time, Apple recorded the fight and uploaded it online. Joma’s reputation as a boxer improved; Jayjay proved to the world that he was the next best thing in the world of music; and the bond between the two brothers had become unbreakable. Keys to the Heart ends on a heartwarming note, with the brothers coming together and standing by each other in times of struggle.
