Sana Maulit Muli: Philippine Immigration as the Backdrop of a Romance Drama
Part 1:
Sana Maulit Muli (1995), which directly translates to “hope it happens again” in English, is a Filipino romance-drama directed by Olivia M. Lamasan, with main leads of the film being Aga Muhlach and Lea Solonga. The film navigates themes of longing and nostalgia and using the experiences of Filipino immigrants in the United States as a backdrop, along with the impact this immigration has on their relationships, both familial and romantic. Sana Maulit Muli does a fair job at presenting this story, but due to its emphasis on the romantic relationship between the leads, does not capture the full nuance of the situation. While much of the events of the film are overdramatized, it nonetheless shows circumstances that are relatable to Filipinos and early generation Filipino-American immigrants.
In Sana Maulit Muli, we follow Lea Solonga’s character, Agnes, as she goes through the various trials of immigrating to the United States, after her estranged mother invites her to live with her in San Francisco. Agnes is meek and resents leaving her loved ones, as well as moving to America. However, her long-time boyfriend, Aga Mulach’s Jerry, with whom she lives with and depends on, persuades her to go to America for the time being so he could focus on building his career. Jerry also believes that with Agnes in the States, he would be able to have an easier time saving up the money he needs to support his parents and siblings, as well as the marriage he plans on having with Agnes. In the United States, Agnes is alienated from her mother’s new family, and struggles through a difficult job as a caregiver. She often calls Jerry and his family in the Philippines, expressing her desires to return, but Jerry feels that he does not yet have the money to support everyone he intends to support. The prolonged distance between the two puts a major strain on their relationship, and we watch as they attempt to maintain it while continuing to grow apart. As the film progresses, Jerry attempts to save their relationship by going to America, meanwhile Agnes has begun to assimilate to her new lifestyle.
The events of the film expresses a sort of resentment towards America, which helps audiences understand the feelings Filipinos, and their families who remain in their homeland, have toward immigration to the United States. Agnes is devastated as she leaves the Philippines and struggles even more as she tries to survive the new culture and lifestyle presented to her in America. She longs for her life back home with Jerry, despite the fact that they were not living with as much money and comfort as they do in America. Agnes’s first job is as a caregiver, and we watch as she strives to assimilate to American culture and society. She eventually builds a career in America as a realtor, and becomes very well-liked by her colleagues.
The interactions Agnes’s character goes through during the first act, leading into the second act of the film highlights the motivation behind Filipino migration to America. We meet Agnes’s estranged mother and learn that she had left Agnes when Agnes was only ten years old, to relocate to San Francisco in search of better employment prospects and improved living conditions. We also meet Agnes’s coworker at her job as a caregiver (a common job amongst Filipino immigrants), who explains that she left the Philippines because “America is where the money is, baby!” despite the strong resentment and exhaustion she expresses toward her job and lifestyle. Their decisions reflect the broader trend of Filipino migration driven by economic necessity, where individuals and families seek to escape poverty and secure a brighter future for themselves and their loved ones.
Furthermore, both Agnes and Jerry’s experiences explore the emotional toll of migration and the sense of displacement experienced by Filipino immigrants. When Agnes first moves to the States, she lives through feelings of homesickness and cultural alienation while she adjusts to life in a land she is both not familiar with, and somewhat rejected from. When Jerry makes the decision to move to America, not only is he upset about the fact that Agnes has seemed to move on with her life without him, but he also expresses feelings of resentment toward American culture and its “face paced” lifestyle.
Additionally, the film explores the theme of family separation due to migration. We watch as Agnes’s departure from the Philippines marks both a physical distance from her homeland and also strains her relationship with Jerry, the loved one she was forced to leave behind. We also see moments in which Jerry occasionally calls his family back home, and they greet him with tears and expressions of both longing and joy. There is a moment when Jerry’s mother tells him that she received the money that Jerry had sent over from America, as well as the medication for his father, which is a common practice amongst Filipino immigrants and their families who remained in their homeland. The emotional repercussions of separation are apparent throughout the film, highlighting the sacrifices that Filipino immigrants make in pursuit of a better life for them and their families.
As for viewing the film from a technical standpoint, Lamasan skillfully navigates the themes of longing and nostalgia, as she captures the poignant essence of unrequited love and challenging opportunities. Salonga and Muhlach’s performances as Agnes and Jerry, respectively, are central to the film’s emotional resonance. All the Filipino stars of the film provide a performance that evokes the emotional toll that immigration has taken on Filipinos, both who have moved to America, as well as those who remained in the Philippines as their loved ones left them behind. Along with its compelling narrative and stellar performances, Sana Maulit Muli also includes an excellent musical score composed by Willy Cruz. The soundtrack features a collection of haunting melodies that provides a complementing backdrop to the emotionally demanding moments of the story. The title track, Sana Maulit Muli, which is played during an interaction between Agnes and Jerry, emphasizes the distance that has been made between the two due to the events of the film.
While Sana Maulit Muli presents the events of Filipino immigration and the emotions that accompany it, it is first and foremost a romantic-drama film. Philippine immigration serves more as a backdrop behind the story of two lovers whose relationship is challenged by it. Rarely does the film go deeper into the nuances of Filipino immigration. It does, however, provide an ample understanding of the situation, the motivations behind it, and the emotional toll it brings upon Filipinos both in America and the Philippines. While there were moments in the story in which I did not agree with, or felt was a bit unrealistic, it did provide a compelling narrative, and utilized techniques that allowed audiences to be drawn into the characters of the story. While the events Agnes, Jerry, and all the other Filipino immigrants in this film go through just barely scratches the surface of Philippine immigration, it is an informative viewing experience to early generation immigrants, like myself, who despite being born in America, are exposed to the repercussions of the events of this film through their family members. I would also recommend this film to those who enjoy a heart-wrenching romance story, in hopes that, along with enjoying the romantic narrative, it would also allow for a broader audience to understand the hardships Filipinos had to endure.
Part 2:
In both Writing Project 3 and Writing Project 4 I covered the topic of Philippine Cinema and how it relates to American colonialism and Philippine immigration. Writing Project 3 was an autobiographical reflection that discussed my own experiences as I was doing research on Philippine Cinema. During that process, I realized that there was a much larger cause behind the reason why my family migrated to America and gained a deeper understanding of Filipinos’ relationship with America. I wish I had discussed the deeper, systemic causes behind Philippine immigration, however after making the decisions on the genres I have chosen I realized that those genres did not permit me to discuss such topics. However, I was still able to communicate ideas that I really wanted to share, such as how Philippine immigration’s effects on Filipinos’ identities, and in Writing Project 4, how Philippine immigration is presented in one of the films I discussed in Writing Project 3.
In Writing Project 4, I chose to do a film review because it was a genre I was interested in exploring. Film reviews provide a platform for people to share their critical thoughts on media that should or should not reach a general audience. Upon first viewing Sana Maulit Muli, I thought the film was well made, and I appreciated the choice of telling an overseas love story. I was impressed by the inclusion of certain experiences that I grew up learning were very real. Those experiences, however, were more of just a backdrop to the love story within the film, rather than the main focus of the narrative, which is something I wanted to clarify in my review. I believe that stories about immigration and the effects it has on relationships as well as one’s well-being are important, and I believe that there should be more films that share this story. Sana Maulit Muli, while including small moments of these experiences, does not provide the most nuanced depiction of Philippine immigration to America, which is something that I wanted to mention in my review, for audiences who may be interested in that topic.
In hindsight, I feel that a film analysis would better fit my intention over a film review. As I was reading about the aspects of a film review, it focused more on general opinions on the film being discussed, in order to persuade or dissuade others from viewing it. I feel like a film analysis focuses more on one’s critical thoughts on the film, which would better suit my motive to express what makes the events of the film surface leveled dramatizations of real, relatable occurrences. Despite this, I still encouraged audiences to view Sana Maulit Muli in my film review because I believe it to be a good film to get a basic understanding of why many Filipinos had chosen to leave their home country, and what effects this had on them. Through my film review, I was hoping to get a broader audience to watch this film, while also emphasizing how it only scratches the surface of a much larger issue.