Sa'yo lamang (2010) Reviews

• Powerful and Flawless

  tripxyde2010-09-02

  Sa 'Yo Lamang is an atom bomb of a tearjerker and a brilliantly made film. Honestly, this may be the first movie I have watched in the theaters that I really have no idea what it is about; I have not seen the trailer for this, I have not even read the synopsis for this. I just watched it because I knew that it was directed by Laurice Guillen. And I was indeed in for a cinematically pleasant surprise. I loved this movie very much, and I consider it one of those rare Tagalog Mainstream movies that are extremely excellently well made, with an almost flawless quality. Obviously, movies like this are destined to be classics. This movie is quite solid in the manner of drawing very impressive and powerful performances from its actors and actresses, and is able to achieve a very effective storytelling, so much so that each dialogue is profoundly meaningful, the characters have real depth in their personalities, and the situations are truly challenging. There is an incredible degree of coherence in Laurice Guillen's directing, given the fact that the story introduces numerous characters and still is able to give them abundant character development, even though some of their screen times are only brief. I am also glad that this movie is devoid of awkward acting, unlike many Tagalog movies that tend to have that pattern of possessing one, two, or twenty scenes with awkward acting, script, and sequence. Sa 'Yo Lamang bombards you with powerful performances; extremely high powered dramatic performances that just come one after the other. And not in a very exaggerated manner, but with a disciplined good pacing. The story has a bittersweet sensibility and it lays a feeling of hope, optimism, and redemption by the time you're done with the afterthoughts about the movie. Excellently and brilliantly weaved together into a dramatic masterpiece, Sa 'Yo Lamang is something that will surely become a Timeless Filipino Classic.

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• A poor attempt to follow the greatness of "Tanging Yaman"

  myc49712010-11-14

  Tanging Yaman was quite a gem of a family drama. I think it was one of Laurice Guillen's best effort as a director and one of the family dramas that a lot of people will remember for the rest of their lives. It was honest and most importantly, it was reflective of what the Filipino family has evolved to. When I saw the trailer of Sa Yo Lamang, I was a bit confused about what the main point of movie. After watching the movie, I still can't make out what the whole point is. It could have been a great movie had it not explored a lot of sub-plots that didn't really help the main story to bloom. Instead, watching it made me feel like I was constantly being pulled in different directions just to squeeze my eyes out for tears. It's quite a joke to have confrontation and breakdown scenes one after the other without even giving a chance for tension to mount and develop. It also doesn't help that some of the dialogues are just so tired and so awkward at times. There were some scenes that was quite executed poorly --- like the time that Bea just screamed out of despair and anger, it was too contrived or the scene where the family confronted Coco Martin for getting someone pregnant, the dialogue and how the tension was developed could have used more set-up. The scene where Lorna dies was just so reminiscent of the time that Gloria Romero succumbed to Alzheimer's. I'm a fan of the team that put together Tanging Yaman but I couldn't understand how they can follow such a great drama with something so mediocre. Even the powerhouse cast can't save this one.

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