In Jerry Lopez Sineneng's Soltera (Star Cinema Productions, Inc., 1999), Eric (Diether Ocampo) is revealed to be highly admirable despite his lower-class manner and Sandra (Maricel Soriano) is shown to be a prisoner of the very same pretensions she once prized. Soltera is greatly helped by the presence of Ocampo, who was born to play life-denying young heroes and especially Soriano who has made a career coaxing characters out of their buttoned-down ways. She gives a spirited, fully formed performance that easily transcends the story's many preconceptions and cliches. The film's only surprises can be credited to these two resourceful actors, since every plot development can be seen coming from very far away. But before it falls into formula, Soltera raises interesting questions about those romances that fall outside of socially approved formulas. It is the easiest thing in the world to slide comfortably into an appropriate relationship with a partner who conforms with the tastes and prejudices of your social circle. Yet many people nevertheless find themselves in nonconformist relationships and my guess is that the depth of feeling in those relationships is often greater. If your partner does not match society's definition of the sort of person you should be in love with, then presumably he or she fills some deeper need. That's the dilemma faced by Sandra. She has never met a man who reaches her more deeply than Eric does. Is it love? She doesn't know. It's need. It's compulsion. Yet he exists so far outside her social circle she doesn't want to let him in. The strength of the movie is when it deals with the subject of a nonconforming relationship. The best moments involve verbal bolts of lightning, comic insights that blindside us. But the weakness of the film is when it falls into the same sappy romantic cliches as countless other love stories. And yet there's a lot that's good in Soltera, involving the heart as well as the mind.
This new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution primarily from the 35mm original camera negative. Excluding a few very small density fluctuations the entire film looks very healthy and all-around stable. In fact, even a couple of well-known shaky transitions (from the DVD release) look surprisingly good here. Needless to say, the entire film has a wonderful organic appearance. There are no traces of compromising degraining and sharpening corrections. There are a few areas where some momentary softness emerges, but it is quite easy to tell that these are inherited limitations. There are no distracting debris, cuts, damage marks, stains, or other significant age-related imperfections. It is very easy to tell that the audio has been restored because balance is excellent and dynamic movement very natural. To be perfectly clear, there are areas of the film where the soundtrack effectively adds an extra dose of flavor, there are no sudden spikes or drops in dynamic activity. The dialog is crisp, stable, and very easy to follow. Where Soltera really scores, however, is less in the handling of this unlikely romance as the way in which it cleverly builds up a persuasive sense of Sandra's social embarrassment as she realizes more and more that she wants Eric.
Sound Engineer: Ramon Reyes, STAMP
Musical Director: Jessie Lasaten
Film Editor: Marya Ignacio, FEGMP
Production Designer: Gil A. Morales, PDGP
Cinematography: Joe S. Batac, FSC
Screenplay: jun Lana, Jerry Lopez Sineneng
Directed By: Jerry Lopez Sineneng
