To be honest, there’s only one MMFF
movie I was meaning to watch. I only
went see Vince & Kath & James
and Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 2 #ForeverIsNotEnough because I thought Saving
Sally wasn’t being shown yet where I live in (I only frequent one cinema,
and it only had these two plus Seklusyon
and Die Beautiful). Fortunately, I discovered that it was
split-screened – scheduled for two showings at night – in one of the local
malls’ theater. Boy, was I happy.
I was greatly charmed by the
trailer for Saving Sally. After watching it, I just knew that I was
going to love this movie. And indeed... I FRIGGIN' LOVE THIS MOVIE!
Saving Sally took twelve years to
make. Understandable, considering the
fact that the Philippine filmmaking industry in general hasn’t gained yet the
necessary technology, big studio support, logistics, passion, confidence, and
vision to make this kind of masterpiece in a regular basis. Hence, Saving
Sally is truly groundbreaking. And
with its creators – a small-sized staff doing the work that is usually done by
hundreds – not giving up on it until it’s finally realized on screen truly makes it an epitome of a “work of passion.”
This sentiment is something that seeps on screen as I watched it.
Saving Sally tells the story a teen named Marty (Enzo Marcos), an aspiring comic book artist whose love for comics is only surpassed by his love for his bestfriend Sally
(Rhian Ramos), a feeling he keeps to himself ever since she saved him from a
school bully. Meanwhile, Sally is living
with Nazi-esque parents, who are not only very strict but also beats her
up often. Being a brilliant inventor, Sally
copes by building various contraptions – some to make her chores easier, some for fun. Marty, fully aware of what’s
happening at her home, is as helpless to do something about it as he’s as
helpless of confessing his love for Sally.
Unfortunately, his wariness to tell his feeling costs him one day –
dooming him to be “friendzoned” indefinitely – when Sally gets an older, alpha
male boyfriend named Nick (TJ Trinidad).
The plot is generally
well-written, though it’s a pretty familiar one. But what really makes the storytelling delightful and interesting is the visuals that accompany it. The narrative plays out with the aesthetics
of how Marty perceives the world to be: a cartoon environment with cartoon
physics (or is the world in this movie’s universe really does look and behave
as what’s shown?). Moreover, to Marty,
bad or inconsequential people look like monsters. All of these are animated quite
fantastically, with live-action and animation meshing seamlessly. The overall result is an extremely immersive
unfolding of its story, with its emotions, tones, and transitions enhanced due
to its gorgeous visual style.
The visual style also results to
some clever visual gags. Most noticeably
is how Marty sees Nick. For Marty, Nick
is a dick. Thus, the animated form of
Nick is that of a penis-looking monster.
Dick jokes (along with fart jokes) are probably the most juvenile of
humor. But in this case, it perfectly
works with its inherent concept.
The performances are great, too,
as they’re as colorful and compelling as the visuals. Enzo and TJ deserve praise, but Rhian Ramos
easily stands out, showing a depth and charm that I never noticed about her before. I’ve never been a Rhian Ramos fan. But after Saving
Sally, she’s now definitely among my list of celebrities I wish I can have
picture with.
My only nitpick – a very tiny,
insignificant one – is that the dialogue is mostly in English. There were some Filipino lines spoken,
but English is the main language of this movie. I admit that it makes the narrative more
coherent and sophisticated. But, in
my opinion, this movie would have solidified itself more as utterly “Tatak
Pinoy” if the Filipino language was used more.
Nevertheless, I really think this
movie is just perfect for what it is. Again, I love
it. A lot. Maybe I’m simply raving because it’s
something unique and new for a Filipino film, that it might not look that great
with an international benchmark. Maybe. It’s just that, for someone like me who loves
comics, loves animated films and movies in general, and really wants to see the
quality and popularity of Filipino movies and Filipino pop culture in general to
improve, Saving Sally does have a
profound impact. It feels like an
uplifting achievement of sorts.
Regardless, I genuinely think that Saving Sally is an objectively awesome
movie – by local or international standards.
In fact, I’m seriously considering of giving it the top spot of my best
movies of 2016 list. Even if I
eventually don’t, I don’t see it falling from the top five.
Postscript:
Man, I just hope Saving Sally makes a ton of money. Sad to say, but it’s simply reality:
inspiring other movies of this quality to be made in the future heavily relies
on profitability. It’s all about the money.
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