Rosario: Movie Review

All eyes are on "Rosario" this year. The film was predicted to bring home all of the awards at the 2010 Metro Manila Film Festival. Local films are known to be of poor quality because of budget constraints(or just plain laziness in some instances) but the fact that this is TV5's first movie and the most expensive one this year, we are sure that this movie has full potential of bringing home the goodies. We also couldn’t wait to witness the intriguing life story of Rosario, grandmother of one of the richest men in the Philippines today, as well as the style of first time director Albert Martinez. Find out if we liked this film after the jump.

Rosario Herrera (Jennylyn Mercado) is the daughter of a tobacco plantation owner. Rosario just came from New York and is spending time at their family's mansion for vacation. Her father expects her to enroll and study at the University of New York but Rosario has other plans. All she wants is a life here in the Philippines and to be with the love of her life, Vicente (Yul Servo), a manager at her family's plantation. When her father discovers the affair, he sends Rosario to a convent. Eventually, Rosario escapes and goes with Vicente to Manila to start a new life. The couple eventually finds success and raises a family. But when Vicente falls ill with tubercolosis, she finds herself committing adultery, and this is where all her trouble and trials begin.

We will go straight to the obvious - "Rosario" is worthy of the "sky's the limit" budget the big bosses in TV5 gave to it. The production just oozes with so much detail. Costumes, make-up, buildings and even the cars they used are inline with the timeline it tries to portray. It's this meticulous drive for perfection that will make you like "Rosario". Albert Martinez definitely made a mark with this debut. The guy has an eye for making scenes more interesting, more dramatic than they should be and we are excited on what's up with the former actor turned fledging director in the coming months and years. The only qualm we have is that he forgot to put time references in the film or in the dialogue. We didn't have an idea what year it was and how much time has passed. The biggest Achilles' heel for "Rosario" though is its source - Rosario Herrera herself. You can only go so much with material that lacks meaning and substance. In fact, instead of retribution for her sordid life, most people would probably see her in a negative light - some might even hate her for her selfish mistakes. In the end, you just cannot make great things with flimsy material and "Rosario" will make you wonder why this woman's life was even shown on-screen.

Rating: 3 reels





Why you should watch it:
- truly, films like "Rosario" should be watched because of the meticulous attention to detail
- Albert Martinez did an outstanding job for his directorial debut

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- Rosario Herrera's life is not movie material
- the material makes no sense, even meaningless to anyone who'll watch it


7 Comments

Comments

  1. Makes no sense?...after watching the movie, you get to re-think your own life, and realize you can identify with the lead character in many aspects of your existence..so how is that nonsensical?
    Meaningless?...does that mean after watching the movie, it leaves no impact on the viewer?..then how come i left the moviehouse re-visualizing the story and the scenes that i watched? just so i can relish once again the emotionally-cultivating substance of the plot?

    my goodness, who is this guy who reviewed this film??...get another job or hobby, you suck at it.

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  2. i agree with pinoyzorro... hahah rosario really gives me a good reason to accept the reason of my existence in this world full of lies and selfishness....

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  3. Hi PinoyZorro,

    Good for you that the film made you re-think how you live your life and how you make decisions. For us, it made no impact whatsoever. All we saw was a woman who made a lot of mistakes or just born stubborn.

    You must realize, that we all have different perceptions on things. We saw this film as having a meaningless source forced to look good on-screen.

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  4. Well there, you said it yourself, it was meaningless to YOU...that's entirely different from a statement saying 'it will be meaningless to ANYONE' doesn't it?..just one person leaving that theatre enriched by what her story imparted to him, makes your statement false...And you're right, we all have different perceptions on things, so how come you're so sure that it will be meaningless to us when we watch it?..hmmm, something's wrong somewhere.

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  5. i liked rosario very much...shame on those who don't appreciate it

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  6. i totally agree with PINOYZORRO.. what a total shame whoever created this blog/ review!

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  7. I agree it lacks on telling the year and how long was it already been.
    But her life is worth watching

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