‘Sisa’ review: Hilda Koronel delivers a haunting comeback in feminist wartime drama

 

‘Sisa’ review: Hilda Koronel delivers a haunting comeback in feminist wartime drama

Fred Hawson

Published Mar 05, 2026 11:29 AM PHT

Updated Mar 05, 2026 11:39 AM PHT

 

A strange woman (Hilda Koronel) wandered into an American camp led by Commander Harrison (Kuya Manzano). Her odd behavior made everyone assume that she had gone insane probably due to severe trauma she experienced during the war between Filipinos and their American oppressors. The American school teacher Ms. Warren (Isabel Lamers) suggested that she stay in the house of townswoman Delia (Eugene Domingo) and her precocious 13 year-old daughter Nena (Angellie Sanoy).

 

The woman did not know her name nor where she came from. Nena suggested that they called her Sisa, after the woman who went mad in Dr. Jose Rizal's novel. Sisa worked with Delia and the other women of the town, like Rita (Barbara Miguel), Cedes (Jorrybell Agoto) and Gloria (Janina Mendoza) in keeping the garrison clean. She also met Ofelia (Tanya Gomez), the wife of the imprisoned town captain Cardo, and Leonor (Jennica Garcia), a pretty young widow whom Harrison ("Eddie" for her) had taken as a mistress.

 

With that iconic name as the title, the automatic assumption is that this movie would be about the tragic character on Dr. Jose Rizal's "Noli Me Tangere," the mother who went mad when she could not find her two altar boy sons named Basilio and Crispin. Within a few minutes from the start of the film, we realize it was not about that familiar Sisa at all, but another mad woman just named after her instead.  The story was also not set in the correct time period in Philippine history as this Sisa existed during the American occupation.

 

It is best if you go watch this film without knowing more about who Sisa was, so I won't go any further. Suffice it to say that the story revolved around the indignities suffered by Filipinos under the American regime, and there was a secret revolutionary force being organized in the mountains to fight back against the enemy, and restore their lost independence. Writer-director Jun Robles Lana told his story in the point of view of these women who were being treated as lowly slaves, as they were still mourning the deaths of the men in their lives.

 

Prior to this one, Lana had once already told a fictional historical story from a female perspective with "Barber's Tale" (2014), which was set during Martial Law. His star in that film Eugene Domingo is back with an intense dramatic role as Delia. Jennica Garcia followed up her star turn in "Sunshine" (2025) with her subtly nuanced portrayal of the tainted Leonor. Former child star Angellie Sanoy stood out as young impressionable Nena who was learning to speak English, as she was wooed by a American soldier Smith (Kobie Brown).

 

Of course, the centerpiece of the ensemble was none other than Ms. Hilda Koronel as Sisa. Ms. Koronel had been on an extended hiatus since her last film "The Mistress" (2012), so her return to the big screen this year is very big news. Because of Sisa's condition, Koronel had to rely mostly on her facial expressions to get her emotions across at first. However, as Sisa was not really mute, Koronel did get to deliver lines as she interacted with and gained the trust of the other women in town, doing so much within the limits of her character.

 

ABS-CBN: ‘Sisa’ review: Hilda Koronel delivers a haunting comeback in feminist wartime drama - https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/movies-series/2026/3/5/-sisa-review-hilda-koronel-delivers-a-haunting-comeback-in-feminist-wartime-drama-1129