UNANG KILATIS ] The early verdict on Milo Sogueco's Sanglaan

We told the director Milo Sogueco a couple of months back, in La Union--we were drinking vodka, he was having wine, we were facing the dark ocean--'You have to make sure it's a good film. Otherwise, how do we face you after the premiere? How will we drink?' Because that happens quite often at the Cinemalaya screenings, people know everyone and you're bound to bump into the director whose film you just saw and abhorred. What will you tell him? How do you shake his hand?

But enough about the blabber: the good news is that Sanglaan, according to the two Swanky friends who saw it, is good. We here at TheSwankStyle have yet to see it, though. A filmmaker, after the Manila screening last night, told me he saw the film in its raw stage and he liked it--and while he is kind he is not easy to please.

Eric, a scriptwriter and one-time film reviewer, after Sanglaan's first screening this afternoon texted: "Sanglaan is handsomely shot and well acted." Obviously, he has certain issues about its overall appeal but he says "It's not bad at all. And it looks and feels quite effortless." We'll save Eric's misgivings for after we see the film at the Tuesday gala. Because y'all have to see it first, and see all the films as well. What else will you do this week, hello?

Here's the synopsis: "Sanglaan looks at seemingly simple relationships and uncomplicated events happening in a very mundane institution. A religious and single-minded businesswoman with a losing proposition, afraid of old age. A timid, vulnerable girl hopelessly in love with a high school crush. A security guard whose wife has a fragile heart. A charming and mysterious seaman just passing through. And a loan shark who won’t take “no” for an answer. These are some of the characters that populate the milieu of Sanglaan, a light, funny, poignant and very Pinoy story about hope and redemption."

And here's the trailer.

Milo Sogueco directs from a screenplay he collaborated on with Audie Gonzales, Jerome Lorico and Gay Ace Domingo. Director of Photography is Alma dela Peña.