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