Mac Andre Arboleda
A scene from “Delia and Sammy.” Image grabbed from IMDB.com
Meet Delia and Sammy, an elderly childless couple, the titular characters in Therese Cayaba’s 2018 directorial debut. Delia Villamor (Rosemarie Gil) is a former actress and martyr wife who feigns heart attacks and manipulates neighbors to their benefit. On the other hand, Sammy Villamor (Jaime Fabregas) is a retired military officer, womanizer, and occasional homophobe who suffers from dementia. The movie follows the lives of the two as Delia fools the newly hired village security guard named Roger (Nico Antonio) into driving them to Baguio City in a beat-up Mercedes Benz.
I’ve seen an abundance of films lately that similarly focus on senior life: Giancarlo Abrahan’s Paki (2017), Carlo Catu’s Kung Paano Hinihintay ang Dapithapon (2018), and Rae Red and Fatrick Tabada’s Si Chedeng at si Apple (2017), to name a few. But Delia & Sammy is perhaps the most memorable because of the brilliant performance from the ensemble. Although the two characters are deplorable and accurately depict the worst versions of our lolos and lolas, Antonio’s Roger balances it out as the meekly obedient aide who can’t say no to the demands of an old lady, even at the risk of losing his job.
But if you’re a millennial like me, it’s also easy to feel uncomfortable watching the scenes unfold. You see yourself in Roger who’s constantly berated by people in authority, going to great lengths to do this and that when he didn’t even sign up for it in the first place. At the same time, you sympathize with Delia and Sammy because you imagine yourself aging fast and not wanting to end up like them: forgetful, alone, and dying of illness. My problem with the movie is that I feel as if the two deserved it—later in the film, in a surprise family reunion, they confront their nephew Jimbo (now Jessica, a transwoman played by Anthony Falcon) who called them out for the trauma and violence she suffered growing up. The confrontation didn’t end well, and ended up in tears and bruises.
One of the lines Jessica said was just because you’re old, it doesn’t make you a saint. While I agree with that, the director’s attempt to redeem the characters was confusing: Every time they made a mistake, Delia would still summon her acting skills in her favor at the cost of others. At moments when we ask for some speck of character development, Sammy randomly goes “I love Delia!” because, well, what adorable twist can they use the Alzheimer’s for, right? Even the ending feels contrived; after all that trouble, this cute couple gives pamasko (Christmas gift) to Roger in an envelope containing maybe 200 pesos and a few Herbalife coupons.
Overall, the film is worth a watch and a good reminder that we should always try to be kind all the time, even before—and especially when—we’re old and about to die. ALT
Watch the trailer here:
Mac Andre R. Arboleda (aka @asshulz) is a member of UP Film Circle. On October 25, the UP Film Circle will be holding #CineLaban2018, a horror film quiz contest in Los Baños, Laguna. Visit their Facebook page for more information.
