Indie Film: Sana Dati

Cliche but has it's Spice!

The film similarly starts with the past. Memories of the main characters intersperse continuously and constantly with the present, at times intrusively so. It practically swept the awards at the Director’s Showcase of this year’s Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, and shows us that Filipino cinema is ready, and able, to step up its game.

To review the story of Sana Dati, 

It is the day of Andrea’s wedding to Robert, who possesses the golden trifecta of in-law acceptance: he’s handsome, powerful, and, most importantly, wealthy. Yet, she is clearly distracted. Dennis, the wedding videographer, arrives to shoot some pre-wedding interviews and it is clear to Andrea, and the rest of us watching, that Dennis knows a little too much about the bride-to-be. More questions about Andrea and Dennis begin to arise, and slowly her secret past is revealed and we begin to learn exactly why Andrea is so unsure about her pending marriage.

As the bride, Lovi Poe is spectacular in her honesty and absolutely glows on-screen with each of her three leading men. While the film is non-linear, the story itself is refreshing in its simplicity.As Lovi Poe’s character prepares unenthusiastically for her wedding, she is also trying to grapple with her doubts and emotions that are as alive, if not more, than her current reality.

The entire movie shows her struggle between moving on from her feelings of what-could-have-been and her thoughts of what her life could be with a man whom she is uncertain if she really loves.

Sana Dati is a visually stunning romance drama with hints of light humor. Its expertly photographed scenes evoke emotion and convey information at an unhurried pace.

Lovi Poe is exquisite as the confused grief-stricken bride. Being a regular in the indie movie scene, she is now proficient in displaying intense emotions in a subdued manner. Her listlessness in the first part of the film, her eventual confusion and sorrow can be felt to as far back as the last row in the theater.

Paulo Avelino seems to have reached a level of maturity in his emotive performance as a mourning brother trying to resolve his own issues by dealing with it in the present.

TJ Trinidad, the dashing groom, is effective in his portrayal as a man seeking a new life by looking into the future and marking it with a wedding to a woman he has yet to figure out.

Past, present and the possibilities of the future collide with each other all throughout the movie—making scenes appear seemingly scattered and confusing. 

Just in case the audience didn’t get the filmmaker’s purpose, the reason for the apparent confusion is appropriately explained almost like a Physics lecture via the term “singularity.” However, the movie felt more like a representation of Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. Though the film was approximately 90 minutes in length, it felt like two hours.

There are moments when the audience seemed to literally be part of the movie as wedding guests. The feelings of impatience and frustration loom as everyone is forced to wait until the main characters are done indulging in their pain and memories.

Details are provided almost like teasers. One is allowed a peek of a critical information here, a hint of an explosive data there, only to be pulled back again and denied. This pattern goes on throughout the film until curiosities are satisfied and every gap is filled in the end. Though intellectually impressive, it is manipulative in its attempt to tug at heartstrings—a technique that bears resemblance to those used in mainstream romantic films.

source: http://www.pep.ph/guide/movies/12334/movie-review-lovi-poe-and-paulo-avelino-resolve-issues-in-visually-stunning-romance-drama-sana-dati#EzKKO2DerRvJT4Jq.99

Sleepy as af :(