Santa Santita (2004)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Laurice Guillen

Writers:

Johnny Delgado (writer)
Jerry Gracio (writer)

Release Date:

17 November 2004 (Philippines)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

This film explores the theme of the biblical Magdalene - the prostitute who becomes a saint. This modern-day...

Plot Keywords:

Saint | Stigmata | Street Vendor | Prayer Woman | Convict

Awards:

11 nominations

Cast

Angelica Panganiban	...	Malen
Jericho Rosales	...	Mike
Hilda Koronel	...	Chayong
Johnny Delgado	...	Fr. Tony
Cherry Pie Picache	...	Sister Dolor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ricky Davao
Pinky de Leon	...	Mrs. Hoffman

Runtime:

USA:113 min

Country:

Philippines

Language:

English | Filipino | Tagalog

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Quiapo, Manila, Metro Manila, Luzon, Philippines

Company:

Unitel Pictures

Trivia:

Got A rating from Cinema Evaluation Board (Philippines).

The film needs more creativity and more original story but needs less melodramatics.

Although the lesson that you get from the story is vital enough for your life, the film itself is not a vital move in revolutionizing the state of the Philippine cinema. They must consider for the fact that the storyline is somewhat familiar and this can be taken against the film if there is not much creativity in the screenplay. It is almost a cliché and simplistic film without its cinematic capabilities, figurative sides, and homage delivered to our religious culture. Actually, I have a difficulty in assessing the film. The screenplay is sensible and sometimes powerful but I have a feeling in general that it is not so original. The film has remarkable acting moments especially from the leads but is somewhat over-dramatic in some aspects that I cannot give my full sympathy to the characters. This is palpable in the sad and peak moments that it has a tendency to be melodramatic. However, Angelica Panganiban is generally good. Her character is well represented because she generally portrayed confusion, fragility, and artificiality with remarkable flexibility. Jericho Rosales delivered a reasonable performance, but not remarkable enough. His performance is hindered by a natural problem of his character in this film. He plays an inconsistent character that is no doubt attributed to one of the shortcomings in the film: the character development. It is the main cause of awkwardness. I have come to the point of questioning the background of Jericho's character and asking the film to go deeper in his family history. Unlike Angelica's character, his character remains to be a mystery.

Through its direction style, I can sense that this movie has a tendency to be cheesy or it is becoming a movie for fanatics of the main actor. I do not know if the film is trying to please two kinds of viewer for this film: Jericho's fans and quality film seekers. It is bad news for both viewers because they may be left unsatisfied. The greater disappointment goes to the seekers of superior Filipino films. Through its direction, the film has lapses; it is sometimes deviating from the essence of the scene. It is also melodramatic for many instances, but I like to commend that there are key moments that the direction is done in a superior way. One of the scenes worth mentioning that exuded much power is the Black Nazarene procession. It is not melodramatic but it has profound effects like hope and devotion. This made me to conclude in general that this film is mixed. Perhaps it is a mixture of cheesiness, cliché and cinematic superiority. Well, I was hoping that the film will be generally superior but it is not. The subject matter is great enough but the direction and the screenplay is somewhat short of greatness. It is probably inevitable because the story itself is somewhat familiar (feels like the movie Ang Huling Birhen Sa Lupa). The film needs more creativity but needs less melodramatics. Moreover, it needs a more original script such that it would standout among the bulk of regular Filipino movies in drama. It has remarkable technical and artistic features like the cinematography, sound, and music. I think the film needs a more moving music although it is already good enough. The pitfall is that the music is not superior enough. The technical and artistic ingredients are appropriate, but I think they can be improved. It needs a more dynamic direction. It needs a direction like that of the Crying Ladies, the film produced by the producers of this film a year earlier. Furthermore, I feel that it needs more quantity of the existing ingredients in order to be remarkable enough.

My regards to this movie are mixed in general and I am little bit disappointed with this film. However, through this movie, I can still sense despite its shortcomings that the Philippine cinema is still alive and still kicking its way out of characteristic mediocrity. 6/10 (B-)