Critique on “Seven
Sundays”
By Cathy Garcia-Molina
Critiqued by : Leon S. Santos
Seven Sundays is a Filipino movie from 2017 that presented
family, love, and understanding, the movie is about the Bonifacio
siblings who reunited after they learned that their father was
diagnosed with ‘lung cancer’. The story starts with the process of
dealing with unresolved issues among themselves. It is the movie
that details how different families work together to prove their
stability, connection, and foundation. In the end it parted with a
good note revealing that their father wasn’t diagnosed with ‘lung
cancer’ but only had TB (Tuberculosis) this was revealed in the
middle of the movie.
The cast narrated excellently by beginning with a beautiful
montage presenting the Bonifacio family's growth over the years,
using old photographs to show their past. This ended in
thoughtfully showing the distinct personalities and differences
within the Bonifacio family, demonstrating their disconnection
with each other by not attending their father's birthday. In my
opinion I liked the cinematography in showing it overall really
prepared the watcher of what was to come in the movie.
The event ended up telling that the father had ‘lung cancer’ it
created suspense and drama for me. As the story moved on the
conflicts became more intense by leading to a strong climax.
Arguments affected the depth to the story, and heartfelt
dialogues by connecting with the audience. This ended up being
one of the most prevalent problems in the movie by being the
main and first conflict of the story.
Seven Sundays in my opinion greatly balanced comedy and
drama for most parts of the movie, although it struggles to
maintain this balance towards the end. Like any other story it did
have flaws in acting. Firstly, when the father revealed his illness,
the brothers’ reactions seem somewhat weak in concern,
Secondly the story itself lacks distinctiveness and it adheres to a
formula that makes it feel somewhat unoriginal, Lastly the
comedy in the end felt out of place like the point of the story was
dramatical and serious but still tried to spring comedy out of
nowhere just felt really out of place in my opinion.
In conclusion, Seven Sundays was a heartwarming movie that
explored the complexities of family relationships, love, and
understanding. While it had many good features, such as
character development and emotional depth, it fell towards the
end with too much misplaced comedy. Though from the
predictable scenes, the movie had some relatable themes and
had good performances by the cast made it an emotionally
engaging story by even shedding tears on me from the end by
having relatable moments.
