They came, they saw, they liked 'Rosario'

MANILA, Philippines - Rosario was a fantastic film! The cinematography was great. Fell in love with the story and was very impressed with the acting of the whole cast. Two thumbs up for me.

— Derek Ramsay

Rosario was a brave woman fueled by passion. She was brazen, true to her feelings, impulsive and ahead of her time in the non-conformist, controversial sense. You have to recognize whether or not you consent to or deplore her actions, that it took a great amount of courage and strength, especially during those times, to make those choices.

— Mai-Mai Cojuangco-Zini

It was a good period film that portrayed a daring woman. It gave me an interesting insight into the dynamics of society of a bygone era.

— Pin Cojuangco-Guingona

Rosario is a well-crafted film. The production design and cinematography are excellent.

— June Rufino, president, PAMI (Professional Association of Managers Inc.)

Rosario was a heartwarming story and I really enjoyed it. I loved seeing the heritage houses and costumes. They are wonderful reminders of the graciousness of our traditional lifestyles. And of course, I’m a big fan of Dolphy.

— BEA ZOBEL JR.

Albert Martinez deserved a nomination. He clearly had the intention of coming up with a good film. That intention was not fully realized, true, but he didn’t deserve to be punished with a shut-out.

Makes me think that judges have a tendency to set the bar higher for the seriously-intentioned filmmaker and then feel righteous about ignoring them when they fall short. Or, if we want to simplify things, then we say that having only three nominees in the director’s category worked against the MMFF recognizing Albert’s work.

Jennylyn Mercado had her moments, but I’m afraid she didn’t have what it took to be Rosario. Rosario was an independent soul; a woman who worked on her sensual instincts, the very same instincts that men of her time, but not women, were allowed by society; she had chutzpah; she had an attractive unpredictability.

Rosario, as played by Jennylyn, was almost one dimensional, falling flat and deflated against the movie’s voice-over introducing her as a thoroughly modern lady.

One big scene where Jennyln looked pitifully overwhelmed as an actress was the scene where Yul Servo, her husband, expells her from their house, hissing that even if she came crawling back like a snake he could never forgive her. We expect Jennyln’s face to register the horribly frightening fact that she was losing, in one fell swoop, children, husband, and home! In short, her whole life! For this, why, even an expression of stunned disbelief from her would do. But, nothing. Yul runs away with the entire scene.

In the end, however, the direction and the story have to answer for the film’s unrealized intentions.

The story makes us expect a vibrant, willful, sensual, and smart Rosario. But except for that determined romp with Yul in the earlier part of the film, she exhibits no more willfulness, initiates nothing, shows no feistiness, registers no life. Throughout the rest of the film, everything just happens to her. Throughout the changes in partners and other misfortunes, she simply reacts, and not really even with any boldness or style.

Makes you ask: Who was the real Rosario? We don’t know her, so her story is for the filmmaker to tell. It’s either she was willful and ahead of her time, a product of her New York sojourn, as the voiceover intro made us believe; or, she was reduced to timidity, broken by the circumstances of her life, and was not very bright and not strong at all, which the film did not articulate by word or scene.

Personally, I don’t get who Rosario is.

Filling up the shortcomings of the movie are the costume design by Miki Hahn, and the movie’s overall production values. Clearly, care was given to research and good money was spent on the film. I understand that the dinner party, which Philip Salvador hosts for his daughter Jennyln, actually served up rich, authentic period food that took time and research to come up with. I also understand that the movie’s music was no less than orchestra music mixed abroad, possibly in Burbank.

Plus, obviously, there were the nuanced performances of the three male partners of Jennylyn: Yul Servo, playing a dignified and generous provider trapped in the conventions of his time; Dennis Trillo, playing a rogue, a cheat, and a partner good only for the good times; and Sid Lucero, playing a young man filled with pure passion, who one day found the rage within. Their performances are a must-see.

And Rosario, the movie? Yes. Watch it. One day, Albert will get better, and we will want to look back and say it started with Rosario.

— JO ANN MAGLIPON

Albert Martinez does a magical job of creating this masterpiece. We are transported to another world with mesmerizing cinematography. The scenes are powerful in their almost parsimonious use of words; creating this ethereal, almost dreamlike sequence of vignettes, linked by the thread of different aspects of Rosario’s inner demons.

— Dr. Randy Francisco

Rosario is an excellently crafted and directed film, from a true story of love, lust, power. Beautiful production and cinematography! Kudos to the stars, another excellent casting too!

— Deedee Siytangco

We celebrate the feast of Jesus’ baptism by John to remind us of the truth that the Lord did not merely become one of us. He also reaches out to us in our fallibility and imperfection and from within forgives, empowers and dignifies us. Too bad this truth could skip us. A case in point is a movie I saw last night. It is a very well-crafted movie entitled Rosario. As a contemporary parable, the movie weaves a true-to-life struggle of a woman trapped in the rut of human debasement. In her youth, the liberated Rosario disobeyed her parents and married the man she loved. She committed marital infidelity with a man who later on would abandon her. The husband and daughter saw what happened and for this they could not forgive her. Sinking further into the pit of poverty and shame, she yielded to the sexual solicitations of her landlord, abandoning the offer of a young man to live with him. What is in Rosario’s heart? Is it an existential weakness or her plain hardheadedness? As a parable, the movie artfully and masterfully did not moralize to answer the queries. But if I were to meet Rosario or others in a similar situation, I would assure her that her true and full liberation is to forgive herself, first and foremost. She can redeem herself from the pit of ignominy by calling on the Lord’s mercy. After all, divine forgiveness is only a prayer away, a decision made in grace. May Rosario continue to proclaim and sustain the message closures and forgiveness among our people.

— Taken from Msgr. Manuel Gabriel’s homily of January 9, 2011

This is the life! Eating gourmet food while watching a movie privately is the best!

— Alissa Martinez