Pawning your time for Sanglaan

For several generations now, there have been two establishments where we’d rather not be seen coming in and out of by people we know: A motel and a pawnshop. With regard to motels, you really have no business being there unless you are checking in with your legal spouse — or perhaps you so like the pancit there and you keep coming back for more.

While there should be no stigma attached to being seen pawning possessions in a pawnshop, in this very materialistic society of ours, that may be an indication that we’re going through reversal of fortunes and that is sure to send tongues wagging. This is the crazy world we live in.

Sanglaan, the first full-length film of Milo Sogueco, tells the story of the people who run this establishment and those who patronize it. And so we are introduced to the character of Olivia (Tessie Tomas), the pawnshop owner who inherited the business from her late husband. Then there’s her assistant Amy (Ina Feleo), a seemingly mousy girl who is practically her daughter.

The pawnshop’s loyal and trusted security guard is Kanor (Jess Evardone), who is married to Esing (Flor Salanga), a hardworking woman who helps her husband financially by selling viands.

What makes the character of Amy interesting is the fact that there is another side to her. So she isn’t all that conservative after all. We witness this when David (Joem Bascon), a seaman waiting for his next duty, rents a room in Kanor’s place. David turns out to be a former high school batchmate and crush of her life (he was prom king). They re-connect, but mainly through Amy’s efforts. Not that she is wanting in suitors for there is an avid one — Henry (Neil Ryan Sese), except that she doesn’t like him for his being a shady character. Oh, but Amy would pawn even her soul for David’s love. Whether she gets to redeem her investment is worth waiting for till the story’s end.

Sanglaan comes across like a theatrical play and a TV drama anthology — you know, in those good old days of television when writers and directors can take their time presenting the angst of each and every major character of the story. Today, everything has to be fast because the viewer’s attention span is now so short that if nothing is happening within minutes, there’s always the remote control and it’s goodbye to you.

Sanglaan is like that — it takes it sweet time to develop the characters and we begin to empathize with the people in the movie. And so we understand why Olivia continues to hang on to her business that is doing badly — no thanks to bigger competitors — despite the fact that she has an option to migrate to the United States because of a son who is an American citizen.

Most interesting is the character of Amy, who seems sweet and innocent. Is she? Not necessarily so. She is what we call in the vernacular as “nasa loob ang kulo.” In the film, you’ll see up to what extent she will do for the man she loves secretly.

But I do have little sympathy for the character development of Esing in the latter part. This is when she gets into hysterics after finding out that her husband had pawned the TV set given to them by a soldier son who recently died. Okay, it has sentimental value, but there is no other recourse because it is her life that is already at stake (she gets seriously ill). Strangely enough, her husband selling his internal organs seems more acceptable to her. What a strange woman.

The performances, however, cannot be faulted. Everyone is uniformly good — even Flor (the exploited mother in Jay — she is brilliant there). Never if I have a quarrel with her character as Esing.

Ina’s performance as Amy is quiet all throughout — even when she is already trying to rebel from the way Olivia has been controlling her life. But you see little nuances here and there and you can feel the inside of her screaming out for freedom.

Tessie delivers the best performance. No big dramatic moments — just quiet little emotions that convey a lot about her character. Without her verbally expressing so, you see that in her mind she is at a crossroad as to what to do with her business — with her life in general.

The performances and the film’s texture are the outstanding features of Sanglaan. Its technical elements are flawless — in particular the photography of Alma de la Peña.

The movie is now showing in movie theaters. If you go for seamless performances and really good visuals, maybe you can pawn a little of your time to see Sanglaan. You can redeem it with nice little images in your head after watching this film.