Shaking off the solemnity that smothers many well-meaning, high-minded family film, Sarah... Ang Munting Prinsesa (Star Cinema, 1995) revels in an exuberant sense of play, drawing its viewers into the wittily heightened reality of a fairy tale. The material, like the title, is a tad precious, but the finished film is much too spirited for that to matter. Sarah... Ang Munting Prinsesa also arrives without the benefit of big names making it even more of an unself-conscious delight. As directed by Romy V. Suzara, the film takes enough liberties to re-invent rather than embalm Frances Hodgson Burnett's assiduously beloved story. There's a hint of magical realism to the spring and fluidity of Suzara's storytelling and it breathes unexpected new life into this fable. The tale unfolds in a fanciful, expressive and handsome set that's almost entirely green. This building is the girls' school to which Sarah Crewe (Camille Prats) is relegated after an exotic childhood spent in India. And it has been ingeniously rendered to inspire all the awe and terror a child in such altered circumstances might feel. In this film's harmonious world, anything can conspire to intensify the characters' thoughts. Suzara makes that clear from the opening sequence that sets the prevailing tone of inviting artificiality. Left in England to be educated while her father, Capt. Crewe (Mat Ranillo III) takes care of his mining business, Sarah finds herself under the wing of Miss Minchin (Jean Garcia), the schoolmistress whose fondness for her students is directly linked to their parents' financial standing. Since Sarah is rich enough to earn the nickname of the title, she is very well-treated, at least while the money holds out.
Admired by schoolmates who wear matching middy dresses, Sarah is given ostentatiously grand quarters that befit her initial status. In keeping with the story's spirit of noblesse oblige, she finds time to befriend younger girls and charm them with her storytelling skills. Sarah also makes friends with Becky (Angelica Panganiban), the school's scullery maid who becomes her greatest ally once she experiences a severe reversal of fortune. Sarah is both patrician and bereft, with only the magic of her own daydreams to sustain her. As written by Shaira Mella-Salvador, the film injects some elements of contemporary reality into a tale that could well have remained unrelievedly quaint. Less an actors' film than a series of elaborate tableaux, it has a visual eloquence that extends well beyond the limits of its story. This restoration is a bit brighter, but I have to say neither the brightness nor the color grading struck me as unusual or inauthentic looking. While contrast is good, the increased brightness can tend to slightly blanch some scenes, but again I found nothing overly problematic in the presentation. Detail levels are excellent throughout and routinely high in close-ups where everything from the opulent fabrics in the sumptuous costumes attain an almost palpable ambience. Grain resolves naturally, though it has moments of definite uptick in some selected scenes. Sarah... Ang Munting Prinsesa features a 2.0 mix that fully supports the gorgeous music of Nonong Buencamino. Dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly and the track shows no signs of damage. To see Sarah whirling ecstatically in her attic room on a snowy night, exulting in the feelings summoned by an evocative sight in a nearby window, is to know just how stirringly lovely a children's film can be.
Sound Supervisor: Ramon Reyes
Production Designer: Manny Morfe
Editor: Edgardo "Boy' Vinarao
Musical Director: Nonong Buencamino
Director of Photography: Ely Cruz, F.S.C.
Written By: Shaira Mella-Salvador
Directed By: Romy V. Suzara
