Sonata (2013)

Sonata is the story about a former Opera Diva who has lost her voice. Living in her huge mansion, she spends most of her day , drinking surrounded by memoirs of her past like a modern day Gloria Swanson. All this changes when her former Secretary with her son in tow comes home to take care of her. A friendship soon develops between the fallen star and the young boy as she teaches her about drama and classical musical and he in turn teaches her how to live again.

This movie was directed by one of my college Professors , aside from that his nephew was a classmate of mine in High school and his son who also appears in this movie is an acquaintance of mine. I also know some of the cast and crew so I'll try not to be too biased in reviewing this, I'll just say my honest opinion . First of all Sonata is beautifully shot , you can expect no less from the duo of Peque Gallaga and Lore Reyes , they are an award winning pair who have proven from time and time again that they could create great movies. The fact that this movie was shot in Hacienda Rosalia ,also the setting of Peque Gallaga's masterpiece "Oro Plata Mata" gives this film a magnificent stage to play with. The mansion and the estate is fairly dramatic and beautiful itself , and the directors were able to capture it perfectly , think of it as Highclere Castle in Downton Abbey or Tara in Gone the Wind , a place that acts as a major character that adds depth to the drama. Cherie Gil an acclaimed actress well known for playing arch-villains and who also starred in Oro Plata Mata, plays the Diva, Regina Cadena. Her turn in this movie was absolute genius , she was able to convey her character's sadness and flamboyance in every scene . The little boy played by new comer Chino Jalandoni was a natural in his role, he played well against the veteran actress , it would be so easy to be upstaged by her, but he more than held his own. The storyline though had a lot of flaws , some scenes were sort of cheesy, but that is negligible . The part in the end was fairly predictable and felt like it was added there just to give some sort of drama , and a way to end things . The movie could have done without it , I wish there was another way they could have had wrapped things up .

This movie had hints of greatness to it , it was beautifully shot , the acting even among the supporting cast was top notch , the classical music score added to it. But I really couldn't let go of how the film took a bad turn in the end . But aside from that , it is a fairly good movies , I hope I did not step on anyone's' toes in saying that just my opinion.

Directed by Peque Gallaga and Lore Reyes

Cherie Gil as Regina Cadenas
Chino Jalandoni as JonJon
Joshua Pineda as Ping
Richard Gomez as Carlo

Watch Trailer Here