Saving Sally: The movie is worth saving.

 Just right after the announcement of this year’s MMFF official entries, I got intrigued with the press release that SAVING SALLY took a decade to complete. Aside from the funding challenges it encountered in the past, the creators of the film must have poured in all its creative juices and meticulously put the pieces hence taking so long to finally finish a well-crafted product. Having these in mind, I have Saving Sally in my priority check list to see this 2016 MMFF.

 

Saving Sally’s storyline is very simplistic. Boy is secretly in love with his girl best friend; girl had a relationship with another guy. Boy is “torpe“ and  afraid to let girl know about his feelings. Boy opens up and girl distances herself. Boy waited for the right time to finally have her princess and they live happily ever after.  It’s a familiar plot and very relatable. We’ve seen a lot of romcom movies in the past having the same formula. However, what sets the movie apart is how director Avid Liongoren blends live action and animation seamlessly. Liongoren’s execution of its visuals is hip, young , fresh and unpretentious.  The animation is atypical and dauntless too. I also like how director Liongoren made use of symbolism in its animation by creating monsters to describe the evil forces of the world and cute animation to express emotions.  Also, it’s noteworthy that writers are very witty to play on words such as a place called Tuk Mall; there’s  Ka Wawa’s Store and Beh Botica; the location called Sandara Park.

Rhian Ramos as gadget inventor student Sally fits her role to a T.  Ramos’s delivery of her all English lines is commendable. She can easily pass as a Hollywood actress with her westernized accent. The camera loves her. There is not a single scene that she looked awful  on-screen.  Rhian Ramos is underrated young actress. She should be given more lead roles to catapult her talent. She is very convincing to be the object of desire of both Marty and Nick (TJ Trinidad). Newbie Enzo Marcos’s portrayal of the timid, good son and comic book artist Enzo is passable. The way he delivered his lines is also obvious that he’s very much comfortable with English dialogues too. I was actually surprised that the film showcases, English lines all throughout the film. It makes me think that it’s a possibility that the creators of the movie want to market the film for the AB crowd or say globally.  I actually thought that the creative team is from the upper class society.

Saving Sally is refreshing and charming. It’s a rare find in Philippine cinema. In a cinematic world where the conventional and formulaic movies lord over the box-office, Saving Sally is deserving of the movie going public’s time and money. It's about time that Pinoy moviegoers patronize quality films. The movie is worth saving to stay in cinemas. 

My rating: 8/10

photo credits to www.savingsally.com