Nasaan Ka Man - Cholo Laurel
Two spinster sisters, Lilia (Gloria Diaz) and Trining (Hilda Koronel), have adopted three children into their house. The three grew up knowing that they are all adopted and thus, growing some affection for each other. When Joven (Jericho Rosales) and Pilar (Claudine Baretto) announce to the family that they are getting married, they are met with disapproval. Lilia is more worried about what the public would think since the two are siblings. Ito (Diether Ocampo), the eldest of the three adopted siblings, on the other hand is jealous since he also holds a repressed longing for Pilar. Nasaan Ka Man is melodrama in its purest. The stereotypes, the overdramatization, the abundant amount of crying and improbable situations are obvious. Written by Ricky Lee, the plot is confusing, with plot points too many. The result is a mess, a dramatic feature that dabbles in romance, horror, Bergmanesque chamber drama and whatever else Lee can get out of his imagination. Somehow, there are scenes that stand out and which show Lee's talent (which was much more prevalent when he just started rather than now, where his screenplays have turned into mere commodities rather than artistic products), enunciated by newcomer Laurel's careful direction. Laurel started as a director of TV ads and once can see that an admaker's meticulous training has been incorporated in this production. The cinematography is crisp. The production design is wondrous. Even the acting is sufficient to keep the convulated plot afloat. Moreover, Laurel knows how not to rush his story. He knows how to treat the film's settings very well and turn the setting into something that will keep the plot more leveled than it could've been in paper. He utilizes his crisp visuals, his entire crew of talents to the maximum, and therefore, unlike other melodramas from more established directors (like Lamangan), the film feels more genuine, and more artistically sound. It even came to a point that I would've forgiven the plot's convulations and just regard it as an aside instead of the whole, like Douglas Sirk's melodramas. However, Sirk's films has something deeper which is lacking in Nasaan Ka Man, which is in the end, just a plain Cain and Abel story which looks more artistic than it really is. **1/2/*****