Salisihan

🎥 Overview

Salisihan (2024) is a Filipino domestic drama directed by Iar Arondaing. It meticulously explores the web of loyalty, longing, and the shadows of prior blunders. The plot follows the story of a mundane childless couple, Anna (Zsara Tiblani) and Dan (Chester Grecia), whose lives get disrupted by an uninvited guest.

Sophie’s (Amabella De Leon) character is introduced as a young woman who is pregnant and claims to be Gab’s (Ralph Engle) girlfriend—a character Dan’s estranged son from a previous relationship. Her presence in the house serves as a reason for several deep rooted, unhealed wounds.

What starts as a simple reaction to hospitality turns into a conflict of psychological proportions: trust starts to cave in, and the couple’s uneasy equilibrium is reconfigured by emerging power struggles. Anna is coping with her own prolific motherhood appetite and begins to imagine Sophie not simply as an inconvenience, but as someone who embodies everything she wishes and despises in equal measure.

🌟 Cast

Zsara Tiblani as Anna – Tiblani provides a performance laden with hospitality and deep-rooted grief. Creating suspense filled with quiet fury.

Chester Grecia as Dan – Grecia brings forth a subdued yet powerful portrayal of guilt and fatherhood, climbing beneath the weight of his past.

Amabella De Leon as Sophie – De Leon’s performance is enigmatic and refreshing. She never allows the audience or the household to relax.

Ralph engle as Gab – Engle briefly portrays a pivotal character who contributes to the unresolved elements charging Dan’s existence.

🖋️ Themes and Tone

Salisihan relies on emotional claustrophobia—a minimalistic setting to heighten the concentration on:

Encroachment and space – How is a home already stressed with layers of grief impacted when a stranger steps in?

Desire and motherhood – Anna’s relationship with Sophie poses painful disparities in fertility, tenderness, and value.

Concealed truths and hidden persona – Step by step, each character reveals not only what is buried but also what is concealed—emotionally and otherwise.

The tone is more on the moody, slow-burn side. Tension is built not through violence but through silence. The stillness is calm yet offers a myriad of unspoken words that form an emotionally powerful hypothyroid.

📝 Conclusion

Salisihan (2024) is a captivating, deeply personal character study that unfolds like a domestic thriller. It incorporates shocking reveals, but with no explosive actions. Instead, emotion defines the climax—nuances that linger after the credits roll.