 |
| From left: Rayver Cruz, Glaiza de Castro, Rhian Ramos, Arci Munoz and Matt Lozano |
Have you ever gone down a wrong path and wished you could find your way back?
Forget GPS---you need to turn the volume up.
In "Sinagtala," the present lives of former bandmates are hardly peachy keen. One is stuck in a job no parent would want for a child, another doesn't even have a job. Yet another member is living a lie, while another is, shall we say, living on a prayer. Sounds dismal? Discordant? That's not even the chorus.
What we like about "Sinagtala" is that it's really saying something in clear and compelling terms. Yes, superb acting (Rhian Ramos, Rayver Cruz, Glaiza de Castro, Matt Lozano and Arci Muñoz) has a lot to do with that, ditto with direction by Mike Sandejas who returns to filmmaking after 16 years not to try and save the industry, but souls. So, when the purpose is to help find purpose, then that becomes more paramount than peripheral.
Only a movie coming from a real place can do that and we know from an interview with Sandejas that this is so. Yet while it's faith-based entertainment, it's not preachy at all---how in, er, heavens did he do that?? One clever way is through vlog so when played, the character looks directly at and speaks with the viewer, not from some pulpit or high moral ground. The message becomes personal, intentional.
We love the songs in the movie. That's why even when the credits rolled, we stayed on our seats to catch who wrote and performed them. "Sinagtala" begs to have a soundtrack album. The originals are so good especially contextually. That reinvention of a late 90s hit is genius. Ear-candy can be edifying too---you better believe it!
Actually, what we find hard to believe is "Sinagtala" not making it to the MMFF. Oh, most of the official entries were good, sure. But we think "Sinagtala" at the very least, deserved a slot. Why, it could have been the "Rewind" of last year's edition! (Oh, well, God moves in mysterious ways. Let the music play.:))
The movie industry isn't in a good place right now. Partly because there are people who, while they believe x movie is worth watching, opt to wait for it on a streaming platform.
But we need more Pinoy movies of high caliber like "Sinagtala." And it could only happen if there's return of investment to the producers; if they are shown a sign that we support good movies so they'd do more of the same.
This could be the beginning---if seed is allowed to grow into tree.
Here is that instance when we can invest in some song of salvation.
Comments
Post a Comment