Close Me!

Jennylyn Mercado
Rosario Herrera- Rosario is a paragon of beauty and grace. She is a sophisticated, intelligent woman who
dares to think liberally. The movie recounts her life from the age of 18 to 32. She is fond of reading poetry
and is adept at playing the piano. A woman ahead of her time, Rosario is a passionate lady who lives her
life according to her heart's desires.

Yul Servo
Vicente Perez- The 35 year old Vicente is the administrator of Tabacalera Herrera. He exudes a cultured
and well-mannered aura. He loves to read poetry. He is practical, responsible, romantic and tender.
Vicente is considered a true gentleman of his era.

Dennis Trillo
Alberto Fernandez- Alberto is an auto mechanic with a lower-class upbringing. Being the typical playboy
that he is, he is fond of dating many women. He loves to smoke, drink and drive cars. He is sensual yet
down-to-earth; rogue yet attractive.

Sid Lucero
Carding Arenas- The idealistic Carding is kindhearted but a bit naïve. Already at the age of 20, he works
as a clerk in a newspaper publication and dreams of becoming a writer.

Isabel Oli
Carmen Santos- Carmen is Rosario's cousin and best friend. The typical provinciana with very simple
dreams transforms into an urbanite once she reaches Manila. She is a hopeless romantic and is
passionate about her man. She secretly envies Rosario.

Dolphy
Jesus Herrera-Fernandez- At the age of 82, Jesus, the son of Rosario and Alberto narrates the film's
story
Phillip Salvador
Don Enrique Herrera is Rosario's father. Born of Portuguese-Spanish descent, he is the wealthy owner of
Tabacalera Herrera, a successful tobacco company in Isabela in the 1920s. Like any traditional father, he
is conservative and a bit stern. He loves his daughter but tends to overprotect her.

Eula Valdez
Dona Adela Herrera is Rosario's loving mother. She is a subservient wife to Don Enrique Herrera.
Although conservative, she is a bit lenient towards Rosario.

Ricky Davao
Señor Miguel- Miguel is already in his late 50's. He is Carding's uncle. Behind his fatherly figure and kind
demeanor is a lustful man who tries to take advantage of Rosario's weakness.

Plot
The story revolves around Rosario (Jennylyn Mercado), a paragon of beauty and
grace, intelligent, sophisticated, a liberal thinker, a young and liberated Filipina in
the 1920s who has just arrived from New York, and is spending her vacation in
their hacienda.
The daughter of Don Enrique (Phillip Salvador) and Doña Adela (Eula Valdez),
Rosario was a passionate woman who lives according to her heart’s desires. She
was a woman ahead of her time.[3]
There, she meets and falls in love with Vicente (Yul Servo), an older man who
manages the tobacco plantation owned by Rosario's family. When Rosario's
father finds out about his daughter's scandalous affair, he sends Rosario to a
convent.
She escapes, and elopes with Vicente to Manila where they raise a family. But
Rosario's life of married bliss slowly crumbles when Vicente becomes ill with
tuberculosis, and she is lured to committing adultery. Temptation and scandal still
hound Rosario as she continues to defy the moral restrictions of her time.
Based on a true story and set in one of the most colorful periods in Philippine
history, ROSARIO is destined to be a modern masterpiece in Philippine
filmmaking. It is a monumental yet intimate portrait of a woman's emancipation
and the sometimes painful consequencesof following one's desires.

Rosario is a 2010 drama film directed by Albert Martinez, an official entry to the

36th Metro Manila Film Festival.[1] The story was about Manuel V. Pangilinan's
grandmother.[2] The film stars Jennylyn Mercado, Yul Servo, Dennis Trillo, Isabel
Oli, Sid Lucero, Philip Salvador, Eula Valdezand with a very special participation
of Dolphy. Ogie Alcasid composed the theme song for the movie titled, "Ang
Aking Buhay" and will be sang by Jennylyn Mercado.

lbert Martinez's Rosario, stripped of all its gloss, is essentially about the titular woman,
played illustriously by luscious Jennlyn Mercado, whose fate seems to be dictated by
her passions unleashed that during that time were severely discouraged, especially for
women. Nonetheless, Rosario, presumably out of an upbringing influenced by the
liberalities preached by America, the Philippines' new colonial master, succumbs to
every call of her flesh, first with her father's trusted assistant (Yul Servo), whom she
marries to the chagrin of her parents, second with her best friend's boyfriend (Dennis
Trillo), which caused her separation with her husband and her children, and third, with
her landlord's enamored nephew (Sid Lucero). As such, it holds immense promise
beyond the trite melodramatics that usually accompany such material.

However, the film, like the many well-dressed and well-made up characters that
populate it, is far too concerned in decorating itself to be anything more than an
expensive ornament. Given that the film is mostly set in the early-1900's where
the Philippines was recently given to imperialist America by Spain, the film expectedly
features costumes, sets, and details that match the period. Thankfully, the film's artisans
and craftsmen sufficiently cater to the demands of its period aspirations, making sure
that even the minutest detail takes part in the momentary illusion that everything
happened in a past that is best remembered through encyclopedias and history books.
Yet after several minutes of being drowned by a barrage of period details, the film little
by little gives off an inorganic feel that distracts from rather than complements what the
film attempts to convey.

Rosario's main problem is the abundance of good taste. Martinez makes most of the

material, orchestrating what essentially is a grand production of sights and emotions.
There is an attempt at some sensuality here, all glimmering and oiled up, bursting in the
shadows. Artsy is the word, if we are going to be sincerely blunt about it. Prude, too. It is
as if any display of overt sexuality in a film about a woman whose downfall has more to
do with sexuality than anything else is taboo. The film, with all its grandiose depictions
of the era where the story is supposedly situated, shies away from the grime and the dirt
and polishes everything with undue gloss. The result is something definitely pleasing to
the eyes but evidently soulless like an expensive commercial for an obsolete luxury
cologne.

The film's good taste seeps into its decision to pronounce its relevance. Rosario's story
is framed as a flashback by aging Hesus, played by Dolphy endearingly, who tells his
mother's story to his wealthy nephew in an attempt to prove his identity. It's a needless
framing device. First and foremost, it places the story within the grasp of being adjudged
by a character in the film. When Hesus concludes the film with a theory that his
revelation to his nephew has washed away the sins of his mother to the family, it reeks
of moralization, belittling the story as simply a tale of caution of the ill effects of sexual
expression, a panacea to the generations-old hurt that a single family has experienced
because of a matriarch who has been endowed with the new liberalities of the twentieth
century.

Rosario, in the end, will be seen only as well-made, arguably smartly directed, and
elegantly crafted and if only for that, will be placed in a pedestal by a country that has
hungered for films that could approximate those done by Hollywood. If film appreciation
only stops there, then Rosario may indeed be a success. However, it does not. A film
has to be stripped of its clothes and ornaments. It has to be felt, to be appreciated, to be
penetrated, once, twice, thrice, and as many times as one wants, until its soul is bared
to be seen by all. If it fails in that tenor, then it is nothing more than an expensive
spectacle, delightful while you're watching it and a distant blur as soon as the theater
lights are up.

Rosario is the official entry of Cinemabuhay & Studio5 in the

36th Metro Manila Film Festival or MMFF 2010.Rosario is
starred by Jennylyn Mercado as Rosario, Yul Servo as
Vicente, Dennis Trillo as Alberto, Isabel Oli as Carmen, Sid
Lucero as Carding, Philip Salvador as Don Enrique, Eula
Valdez as Doña Adela, and Dolphy as the elder Jesus. Rosario
is a drama film directed by Albert Martinez. Rosario is also
Albert Martinez’s first directorial feature film.
Rosario’s release date is 25 December 2010.

It’s that time of the year again where we have, for the
meantime, forgotten about foreign movies and spend the
holiday cheers with Kabisote or the nth installment of Shake,
Rattle, and Roll. And for its 36th year, the Metro Manila Film
Festival (MMFF) showcases various film genres all vying to
snatch the top grossing spot or the Festival Best Picture.

Rosario's official poster

I couldn’t say that it’s a family tradition to watch a film fest
entry every Christmas, but this time we opted to see the period
drama and Cinemabuhay entry, Rosario. For one, it’s the only
film entry that’s neither horror or comedy—genres that are
more popular to the crowd. So, as Cinemabuhay and Studio 5
(film production of TV5)  took the risk to rekindle classic
tales, I wondered whether they have lived up to the spirits of
critically acclaimed films like Jose Rizal or Blue Moon (a
romance-drama film, too)

The film opened with Hesus (Dolphy) seeking the recognition

from his nephew, business tycoon Manuel Pangilinan
(Rosario‘s a true to life story of Pangilinan’s grandmother).
From their reunion came the start of the storytelling of the life
of Hesus’ mother, Rosario. The backtrack was a sequence of
picturesque background authenticating the 1920′s setting,
completed by quality set designs and costumes.
The first 30 or so minutes of the film executed mediocre
camera shots. Some were even awkward—still and unmoving
even when lines are thrown by three people, creating
a tableau like frame, unnatural and somewhat trying too hard
to be artistic. Philip Salvador’s Español accent was also
unconvincing, and so is Desiree Del Valle’s singing. Again,
the only consolation for the early parts of the movie was the
beautiful location.
But when Rosario eloped with Vicente and transferred to
Manila, the cinematography got better that it was effortless.
There was even a scene that’s so much like the The Time
Traveler’s Wife‘s montage scene where the  events took place
in just one continuous shot—a tricky and rare feat for a realist
Filipino movie.
So production design at it’s finest, acting wise in Yul Servo’s
case was not so deliberate. Although I couldn’t think of
anyone else who could replace him, Servo’s acting, in my
opinion, is not as much worthy for an acting nomination (in
which MMFF actually nominated him).
You could expect nothing less from the caliber acting of
Dennis Trillo and surprisingly Jennylyn Mercado also did not
disappoint. But it was Sid Lucero who owned the film. He
might have been the last man featured in Rosario’s life and
only had screen shots of about 45 minutes or less,  but he was
able make all of it count. He played Carding, the lovesick lover
of Rosario, in which only Lucero’s top notch acting could do
justice—simply contorting or frowning, eyes grazing at
Rosario’s nakedness, the anger tormenting his facial
expression… the last few minutes of the film was an outpour
of emotions.

left to right: Dennis Trillo, Isabel Oli, Jennylyn Mercado, and

Yul Servo
It was a surprise that Sid Lucero lost to his co-star, Mang
Doplhy, in the Festival Best Supporting Actor; and that
Jennylyn Mercado didn’t even get nominated all the while
Festival Best Actress winner Ai-Ai Delas Alas considered
Mercado as her biggest threat. Mercado was truly a revelation
in this film as she proved how much she’s an actress now, and
Rosario’s the movie that’ll definitely put her somewhere in the
A-list. Servo also trumped Dennis Trillo in the Festival Best
Actor in terms of nominations (since Dolphy won this category
too) although I still think Trillo’s acting was much better than
Yul.
So, did Rosario exceeded expectations? YES and NO. Yes,
because it was a leap of faith to produce a film that’s on the
opposite pole of what the audience wants nowadays. But
Rosario proved that the Philippine movie industry could still
make substantial films that has world class competency. No,
because it would take the likes of Lino Brocka and even just
Joel Lamangan or Marilou Diaz-Abaya to get across the real
potentials of this film.
Director Albert Martinez is known for his own acting abilities.
But as a beginner in directing, helming a big-budgeted film
like Rosario is like driving a ten-wheeler truck on an ice
sheet. There were still some missing pieces but there were also
too many unnecessary add-ons like the inclusion of
Pangilinan himself in the movie and the narration of Hesus. A
story as controversial and as colorful as Rosario could stand
on its own even without a narrator.
Because of that, I could say that Pangilinan’s not the best
producer out there. The emphasis that it was his lola‘s story
and his cameo role in the movie only made it look like it’s all
about him. But that should not be the case. It should be about
the story; how riveting and award-worthy it is.
I don’t know if I could say that Rosario should have won the
Festival Best Picture (Tanging Ina won, while Rosario bagged
the second Best Picture), but I think Rosario needs a bit more
push to be considered alongside the likes of Jose Rizal and
maybe evenPloning. I haven’t watch the rest of this year’s
entries and I don’t intend to. Because you see, once a film, in
all parts of it (from its trailer to the end credits), is
shouting epicness, you’d forget about the rest.
Then again, this is the MMFF. The board needs to straighten
out their own pleats before I could say they’re still as
prestigious as before. So who says they could judge better?
So, judge for yourself.