Pan de Salawal: A Filipino Movie Review

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For a movie buff, here's a confession - I don't watch Filipino films. Why? Because characters are either slapstick or overdramatic, plots follow the same old formula with no social relevance. Today though, I stumbled upon a Cinemalaya movie different from the commercialized films - Pan de Salawal. From the title alone, one would wonder what the movie will be about. There is no such term as 'pan de salawal' but there is a 'pan de sal' which translates to 'bread of salt.' a Filipino breakfast bread. The movie opens with an ill 'panadero' (baker) named Sal who contemplates on dying because he is already all alone in life and has been undergoing dialysis. Till a girl called Aguy (Ouch) approached him in the train tracks and pinched him on the belly. Somehow, the pain he'd been suffering from eased. Sal searched for the child and realized that Aguy has the healing power of touch. Aguy asked if she could sleep one night in Sal's home because she got afraid of the 'tokhang' (killers), and the pavement is hard to lie on. That's the beginning of Aguy touching people's lives. But I wouldn't spoil prospective viewers by disclosing the end. The movie though is filled with symbolisms like the song 'Pobreng Alindahaw' (Poor dragonfly) and showcases tidbits of Filipino culture like 'ligaw-tingin' (courting by looking). The movie was serious but I did burst out laughing. It's like laughing at one's own predicament. Which, by the way, is a Filipino trait. I wish people would watch and understand. The movie is in two Filipino vernaculars and English. That is how we communicate in the islands. The story is pretty slow which could bore some but there's really a beautiful end. To whoever produced and directed this movie, two thumbs up for you. Way to go!