What's extraordinary about Separada (Star Cinema, 1994) is that everyone in this story is right, based on their position in the situation. Melissa (Maricel Soriano) is right and Dodie (Edu Manzano) is right. And they are both hurting. Director Chito S. Roño has come about as close as you can get to telling a wrenching story with devastation but no villainy. Everything comes from that sad math. The arrangement in which both parents could be with each other and their kids has simply run out of time, it doesn't work anymore. What comes next will be awful for at least someone, if not for everyone. The meticulous fairness of Ricardo Lee and Tessie Tomas' script is remarkable. This relatively unadorned story could wind up feeling like a filmed play, but Roño's commitment to coming in close to faces, particularly Soriano's and Manzano's is sneakily effective. The tendency of conversations between Melissa and Dodie escalate from polite to tense to furious springs logically from their closely examined eyes and their tentative, layered expressions. Eddie Rodriguez as Melissa's father is wonderful in the way that parents observing marriages often can be. There's regrettably little for Sharmaine Arnaiz to do as Sandy, the other woman, but in an early scene critical to the progress of the separation, she introduces a lightness that recurs now and then, surprisingly, to let the viewer breathe. But in the end, Separada turns on the performances from Soriano and Manzano, both of whom are as good as they've ever been. She is kind with an earned edge, resentful but also empathetic. And Manzano gives Dodie a genuine commitment to doing the right thing and an unending hope that this doesn't have to be as bad as it is. He commits to moments when Dodie is awful and moments when he is extraordinarily tender and it's one of his best performances.
The newly restored presentation does immensely well with Roño's visual style, capturing the pristine brightness of living spaces and the heaviness of restaurant visits. Primaries are clear, giving costuming a real presence with casual wear. Interior decoration is also vivid, surveying tasteful living spaces with flowery hues. Detail is sharp throughout, with excellent facial particulars that define the subtle emotional weight carried by the characters, while outfits are fibrous. Housing and office decoration are open for study, contrasting the lived-in feel of Melissa's world and Dodie's lifestyle. Delineation is satisfactory. Grain is heavier and film-like. The two-channel sound mix is a largely frontal listening event with dialogue exchanges precise, offering full, deep voices and crisp argumentative behavior. Scoring supports with a gentle orchestral sound. Room tone is present, along with more active urban environments. Low-end reaches about as far as it's meant to. Because Separada is about the process of separation, it would be easy to see in it a bleakness that would make it uninteresting. But the performances are so good and the story so complex that it is, in the end, startling and deeply humane.
Sound: Ramon Reyes
Production Designer: Ernest Santiago
Editor: Joe Solo
Musical Director: Nonong Buencamino
Director of Photography: Joe Batac
Screenplay: Ricardo Lee, Tessie Tomas
Directed By: Chito S. Roño
