Now, you may add Reyes’ most recent film, Sugatang Puso, to this list.
Rated B by the Film Ratings Board, Sugatang Puso is a domestic drama being fielded by Regal Films to the forthcoming Metro Manila Film Festival this month. It stars Lorna Tolentino as a widow who brings into her second marriage (to Christopher de Leon) a teenage son (Carlo Aquino) who is studious and responsible.
Lorna has no difficulty adjusting to her new life because her new husband and her son genuinely like each other. Life at home, however, changes – but only slightly – when Patrick Garcia, Christopher’s son from a failed relationship (to Cherie Gil), suddenly moves in with them.
Patrick is a troubled boy raised by an equally troubled mother who hops from bed to bed with various men. Fortunately for Patrick, Lorna is not the typical witch of a stepmother we often see in mushy soap operas in the movies and on TV. Instead of treating Patrick as an outsider and intruder, she and her son, Carlo, shower him with kindness, patience and understanding. Patrick reciprocates by taking Carlo under his wing and looking after him like a real brother.
Their happy home life, sadly, comes to halt when Carlo dies in an accident partly caused by Patrick. Lorna naturally blames Patrick for the death of her son and the once happy home becomes a living hell for everyone.
The story of Sugatang Puso reminds me so much of Viva Films’ Saan Darating ang Umaga? which - if I’m not mistaken - also got a B rating from the old Film Ratings Board in August 1983. Directed by Maryo de los Reyes, Saan Darating was about an adopted son (JP de Guzman) who got blamed by foster mother Nida Blanca for the death of her husband (Nestor de Villa).
A box office success (it was still showing when Ninoy Aquino was assassinated), Saan Darating ang Umaga actually became a tearjerker toward the end. But not Sugatang Puso. And there lies the difference between the two films.
Even in highly-charged emotional scenes, Sugatang Puso never gets hysterical. It is very controlled from the opening shot up to the closing credits. But this doesn’t make the movie any less effective as a melodrama.
Sugatang Puso actually works very subtly on the viewer’s emotions. Since every scene is well-tempered, you don’t realize that it is slowly tugging at your heartstrings little by little – until your tear ducts are about ready to burst like a fountain.
It is to Jose Javier Reyes’ credit that we have - for a change - a melodrama wherein none of the characters gets high-strung. It is a rare film where we see very subdued – yet highly effective – performances.
Lorna Tolentino - as we all know - is one of the finest actresses in Philippine cinema. She’s a grand-slam queen capable of displaying emotions ranging from A-Z.
Playing the part of a mother who loses an angel of a son, she could have pulled all the stops, pulled her hair and gone berserk just to show the audience how much she is hurting. But instead of showing off, she operates from the heart and delivers a simple, but moving performance.
She’s at her best in the part where she prepares to leave for the funeral chapel where the body of her teenage son lies in state. As a viewer, you grieve with her and you feel the pain she keeps in every artery of her heart.
Complementing the wonderful performance of Lorna Tolentino in this movie is the unusually restrained acting of Christopher de Leon. He has a lot of fine moments here – especially when he starts to get torn between his wife and his son by another woman.
Patrick Garcia has already gained - thanks to Batang PX - a reputation that he is a talented performer. His brilliant performance here in Sugatang Puso proves that his best actor trophy for Batang PX was no fluke – and that he is really the best and brightest among his peers.
Patrick’s mother in the film, Cherie Gil, acts out a part here that is a complete departure from all of those glamorous roles she‘s done in her past films.
Devoid of makeup and elegant clothes, she magnificently transforms herself into the person she is supposed to be in the movie: a sluttish mestiza who has fallen from her proper station in life. Cherie goes through her role so realistically that you can practically smell her breath and even her armpits. Even if her role is a bit short, her image will still haunt you long after the movie is through because of her utterly excellent performance here in Sugatang Puso.
Cherie’s remarkable performance in this film – even if she’s just a supporting player here – is already more than enough reason for you to watch this hauntingly quiet, but truly moving melodrama by Jose Javier Reyes.