One should always scratch the surface to get to the bottom of things.

This is one of my key takeaways from Roman Perez Jr.’s entry to To Farm Film Festival, “Sol Searching.”

This dark comedy about the plight of teacher Lorelei and student Bugoy as they try to find a place to put Teacher Sol’s coffin.

After her sudden death, it seemed like no one even bothers that the notorious Teacher Sol is dead except for her best friend and student Bugoy.

Kicked out of the funeral parlor, Lorelei and Bugoy embarks on a funny yet exhausting journey to find a venue to hold Teacher Sol’s wake. They ride a firetruck, karmatyog, and a carabao sled. They even had to steal a beggar’s cart.

Teacher Sol’s coffin literally had a rough journey. And it’s here where we’re reminded of the daily oppression people go through from people of power and basically people around us who only think about themselves.

Despite helping many people during her lifetime, Sol, even in death, had to endure corruption, rejection, and negligence.

All Lorelei wanted was for her friend to have a decent burial but it was so impossible to find a place to put her remains even for just one night.

The storyline was very engaging from the get-go and the script was able to sustain that throughout the film.

Much of it has to do with the actors’ impressive performances. Pokwang as Lorelei was able to deftly balance comedy and drama effectively while Gilleth Sandico as Sol is very much the character she portrays.

“Sol Searching” is one of those movies that you just have to watch not only for the laughs but the lasting effect it will have on your psyche.