The film is filled with simplicity, yet viewers would be left with awe and amazement. Directed by Peque Gallaga and Lore Reyes, with stars Cherie Gil, Chart Motus, and Joshua Pineda, “Sonata” certainly leaves that impression that we can all relate to when it comes to being in that state of our hopelessness. Lingering on in our own exiles, yet subconsciously also waiting for hope.

Here we have a woman who, after her career has gone to its end, is left with emptiness and returns home to where she grew up and decides to remain in her room, drinking and smoking her woes. Adding to her complicated situation, her relationship with a married man, she further spirals to the point that even the locals have already considered her as a woman who has already gone insane. But then somehow, she befriends a young boy, the son of her secretary who, also having familial issues of his own, comes to this woman’s aid in managing the affairs of the family business. With this unlikely friendship, this once considered mad woman eventually gets reintroduced to her hometown's simple pleasures.

Set in Negros, the film is in dominantly Ilonggo, with some Filipino, English, and a few French. Those who may be familiar with the language would easily relate with the emotions expressed in the local dialect, yet some words when translated may get lost in efficacy as culture and dialect may not always get across.

Filipino values, themes of adults learning from children with their innocence, the significance of a relationship of a mother and child, getting back to your roots, being at home not only in location but also with the language we use, facing tragedy and coping with it as we move on. The contrasts from the overwhelming music we get to hear in the opera compared to the simple silence in the province. Viewers may reflect on such things which “Sonata” offers.

“Sonata” is among the films in the Sineng Pambansa All-Masters Edition Film Festival of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP).