The lonely business of dreaming

MANILA, Philippines - Film review: Sanglaan

In his directorial debut, Sanglaan (The Pawnshop), Milo Sogueco doesn’t stray far from home. His mother actually ran a pawnshop, and part of his childhood must have been spent observing within the confines of the shop. In fact, throughout the film, the whole idea of negotiating, of giving up one’s valuables to acquire cash and hopefully fulfill one’s dreams, becomes a metaphor for life. The plotline reflects both the tedium and sameness of the days on one hand, and the fact that little dramas and life-changing events still transpire on the other hand. It’s all a matter of observation, and appreciating how while these may be “small” ordinary lives, for those who live them, there is no other that’s more important.

Olivia (Tessie Tomas) owns a pawnshop in Tondo, and the daughter of the couple who used to work for her and passed away, Amy (Ina Feleo), is the shop’s appraiser. The elderly security guard and his wife (Jess Evardone and Flor Salanga) live above the shop, renting out the room of their son (a soldier in Mindanao) to a seaman waiting for his sailing orders (Joem Bascon as David). It’s around the lives of these everyday individuals that the film focuses on, and conjures something magical in the process. The film is more about character and texture, than it is about incident and action — and it’s the in-depth portrayals teased out by direk Milo that sustain our interest.

Amy is another gem of a portrayal by Ina Feleo. Amy is naive, over-eager and clumsy — one of the last true “innocents,” seeking life’s validation and romance (David is an ex-classmate who doesn’t even remember her) in the wrong, dead-end places — but we love her precisely because she does this so earnestly. Tessie Tomas is Tessie Tomas, and at this point in her career, indie films is her way of demonstating her love of craft, and we should just be thankful. Ina was effusive about Milo’s directorial approach, and was happy to sink her teeth into a character so far from what she portrayed in Endo. “We talked about a peg for the character, and in fact, it started off with this girl on the production side; but Milo would then allow the peg to evolve, to shadow what was also happening on the screen.”

The bitter pill of reality constantly rears its head in the film; the hospital bills that pile up for the security guard when his wife tailspins into depression and illness after their son’s death, the pawnshop getting robbed, the desperation that lies behind things being pawned in the first place, the utter hopelessness that would drive one to give up his kidney for cash. And against all this, Milo searches for, and finds, poetry, humor and grace. Witness his treatment of Amy and David’s lugawan date, conversations between Olivia and her sister, and the fortuitous story of the ring David’s mother gave him.

I understand attendance to this year’s Cinemalaya is up, proving that there’s an audience for thoughtful, non-commercial/mainstream films. Milo’s Sanglaan is a fine achievement, a story that would never have gotten the green light from big production houses. While at times, I have to confess I felt Milo would linger over a scene too long, playing for “mood,” one can’t fault the sincerity of vision, and the evident love he has for the story and subject matter. In spiritual wealth, Milo can take this first film of his straight to the bank... and bypass the pawnshop.