by Anna Gamboa
Road bumps in life happen aplenty, and people lose their way more often than you think. While the trope of finding yourself in the midst of a journey isn’t new, Sakaling Hindi Makarating makes the audience about it, thanks to Alessandra de Rossi’s portrayal as Cielo – a woman emotionally bruised after an 11-year relationship went awry. Artistic, impulsive, and occasionally abrasive to hide her innate vulnerability, Cielo’s wanderlust is triggered by a series of hand-illustrated postcards depicting scenes from various Philippine locations.
Cielo’s journey is marked by the people she met along the way: Paul, a friendly neighbor moving on from his own breakup; Aisha, a friendly 15-year old lass from Zamboanga who teaches Cielo to swim; Manuel, a young man from Marinduque who tries to make her stay with him; and Mina and Sol from Batanes, a mother and daughter quietly working out their own issues as Sol tries to probe into the identity and whereabouts of her absentee dad.
You know director/writer/director of photography/cinematographer Ice Idanan succeeded in her quest to create a good story when your seatmates start wondering aloud about the fate of other characters: where is Paul going at the end of the movie? Will Cielo meet up with Mark one day, or will she revisit Marinduque to see Manuel?
The actors are perfect for their roles, and not a moment or gesture is wasted on the screen.Terry Malvar as Sol speaks volumes with her luminous eyes, and Hiraya Plata (Aisha) easily radiates warmth with a friendly smile. Pepe Herrera as Paul almost steals the show with his own moments, without dialogue, his unspoken, unreciprocated affection for Cielo almost going unnoticed – and like so much unneeded baggage, must be left behind to move forward.
Poignant without going for throwaway “hugot” lines, creating a moving story with deft direction using visuals and dialogue, Sakaling Hindi Makarating is also picturesque (bordering on travel porn), occasionally funny, unforced in its truthfulness and quiet moments of pain, but definitely worth watching again.
