Giselle: Marriage is a bed of roses

Marriage is a bed of roses for Giselle Tongi. You can see it in her sparkling eyes, glowing skin and wide, wide smile that says, "What me, worry?".

In Manila until Oct. 22 for a short vacation, Giselle is ecstatic whenever talk shifts to her American husband Tim Walters and their daughter Sakura Ann Marie.

"Marriage came at the right time in my life," she gushes. "I’m glad I found an American who thinks he’s a Pinoy. In fact, he describes himself as ‘Pinoy by injection.’ He was born to be a dad."

They met while Giselle was working as bartender in the US. Tim was working in another bar right next to where Giselle was busy earning her keep.

She didn’t know he existed until Tim went over to the bar Giselle was working in and popped the question: "Where do you come from?"

Accustomed as she is to customers’ small talk, Giselle replied, "The drink’s on me if you can guess where I come from."

When he answered, "The Philippines," Giselle was floored. She not only bought him a drink. Giselle decided to let her guard down.

Turns out he’s been in the Philippines not once but twice before. And he knew enough of the country to fly a third time to Manila and follow Giselle when she went back home.

"Marriage came at the right time," Giselle says. And she can’t stop singing her husband’s praises.

When she has to leave the house to do something, Tim takes over in caring for Sakura (so named because she was conceived in Japan and Giselle drank sake the night before she gave birth).

The hands-on dad feeds the baby, bathes her and even carefully puts a pin on her fine head of hair.

No wonder she can’t run out of superlatives in describing her husband. He’s so sweet, so solicitous, so knowledgeable in life, Giselle relates. Looking at her, you’d think she can’t wait to run into his waiting arms and hug him all day and night.

And why not? Tim has turned out to be such a good provider Giselle doesn’t have to work as bartender anymore to pay the bills.

That’s why Giselle now has the luxury of time to fulfill her dream of acting to her heart’s content.

An official member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), the US’ premier labor union representing actors, Giselle landed a lead part in a US national commercial for A Window Between Worlds. The charitable organization/art program funded by Women in Film (an organization for women in the film industry) chose Giselle over others who auditioned for the role of a battered woman in a commercial promoting women’s rights.

"I was the only one who can shed tears in an instant," Giselle recalls.

The camera zoomed in on her pensive face while she’s painting in front of her canvas, then cut to Giselle again, this time in tears after a hand slapped her hard on the cheeks. The scenes only took a few seconds. But it brought home a poignant message about violence committed on women.

Giselle has also returned to film. She’s shooting the international project Wages of Sin (written and directed by Shane Trace, co-starring Neil "Xingu" Rodil). Giselle plays wealthy Allison Rossi, whom an extremist militant group from the South kidnapped after an intense fight.

Set against the bright lights and dark alleys of Manila, the martial arts film delves on the world of the black market. It will show the world what the Filipino martial art arnis is all about. Some scenes will see the actors swinging their arms and engaging their opponents, arnis style.

Giselle’s dainty hands may not hold a single arnis stick, but her weapon is different, and just as potent.

Trace saw it the minute the lights went on and he shouted, "Action!"

"She really hones her craft. She’s found for stardom in the States. I think she needs the right vehicle for her talent, and this film could be it," the young director, a professor of Brazilian martial arts, assesses Giselle.

Her kababayan will see more of the Manila Genesis talent in the coming months. She was tapped to play the nosey Ina Magenta in Enteng Kabisote 3, OctoArts and M Zet Films’ entry in this year’s Metro Filmfest.

Also on tap is Songbirds, a film that is touted to be the local version of The Joyluck Club. This time, Giselle will show her singing and dancing skills.

Sure, she’s been away from local cinema for six years. But that doesn’t mean Giselle allowed her acting skills get rusty. All she need do was constantly audition and get roles in Los Angeles, where Sakura was born and her husband is based.

Giselle will be picking up where she left off when she returns to the US late this month.

"I will audition again since new shows will spring up soon," she says.

And yes, she just has to turn a deaf ear to detractors who tell her she can’t revive her interrupted showbiz career in the Philippines anymore. Wages of Sin, Enteng 3 and Songbirds prove that Giselle very well can.

Now who’s getting the last laugh?