Cinemalaya 2009: 24K

The story may not be new, but just the same it promises to be fraught with drama: encouraged by a good omen, three treasure hunters--Manok (Julio Diaz), Freddie (Archi Adamos), and Boyet (Jojit Lorenzo)--return to their digging site in Suyo, Ilocos Sur and rejoin Karlo (Miguel Vasquez) and Arturo (Alchris Galura) in excavating what they believe is gold that the Japanese had buried during World War II. Signs at the site--shadow formations and nearly indistinguishable marks on rocks included--tell them that they're certain to unearth the treasure. But the locals are already aware and suspicious of their prolonged presence, and fear and paranoia inevitably set in.

Truth to tell, there are several things to like about 24K. There's the competent camerawork and editing, for one. The musical score is another, serving its purpose well, even if it has a suspiciously East Asian flavor to it. The amusing repartée between Manok, Freddie and Boyet, and their long climb back to the site, fly. And those smaller-scale rice terraces are quite lovely to behold. Compared to Chito Roño's Yamashita: The Tiger's Treasure (2001), this film is several notches higher.

Unfortunately, I couldn't add the characters to that list.

It's not that I didn't like them. It's just that I ultimately didn't find them as interesting as much as I (and they) should. The way I see it, writer-director Ana Agabin didn't flesh them out further, didn't make their personalities distinct enough. They even sound oddly alike, if one thinks about it. She also didn't delve that deeply into their desire and drive for treasure hunting, but to be fair she did touch on it in a nighttime scene midway through the movie. As a result, whatever tension the characters created among themselves comes off as superficial or weak. It's a shame, for the uniformly solid cast got shortchanged by this shortcoming.

Among the five, only Boyet stands out due to his habit of leaving food, beer and lit cigarettes for the site's guardian spirits, but I failed to know anything else about him beyond that. And when Manok hurries down the site and eventually unearths something unexpected in the end, it startled me. Specifically, it startled me that I didn't feel anything for him. No sense of loss, nada. It certainly didn't help that the fortysomething Diaz, who I must say could still reasonably pass for someone a few years younger, has never been a compelling, intense performer.

Also: that tribal dance toward the end, interesting as it was to watch, didn't serve the plot at all.

Too bad, really: I honestly wanted to like 24K more. But with characters I barely got to know or care, this movie is not exactly the goldmine it could have been.

Cinemalaya 2009: Ang Panggagahasa kay Fe (The Rapture of Fe)

On paper, the material is as melodramatic as they come: an antagonistic, very resentful rattan harvester (Nonie Buencamino) constantly lashes out at his basket-weaving wife (Irma Adlawan) since she returned home after being laid off in Singapore. No longer able to endure the abuse, she rekindles her relationship with a former lover who's now her employer (TJ Trinidad), hoping he would help her out. However, the inexplicable and persistent delivery of dark-skinned fruits at her house suggest the presence of a suitor, who may or may not be her savior.

So many things can go wrong in this surprisingly short full-length film, but screenwriter-director Alvin Yapan admirably manages to avoid the pitfalls that usually accompany his chosen material. His decision to introduce elements of folklore elevates and enriches the story, and the measured pace and subdued tone he maintains throughout the film reminds one of short fiction. Which is no surprise at all: Yapan is a Palanca-winning fictionist in Filipino. The first few scenes show the filmmaker at his most confident, but the ones with Fe and Arturo, especially inside that huge rattan lounging chair--they come across as rather show-offy.

The cast give committed, textured performances, especially by Adlawan. Her part may invite less talented actresses to go on histrionics at every possible turn, but under Yapan's helming she inhabits Fe credibly, simply and without any fuss. Buenacamino similarly underplays his role and consequently shows Dante as a once-good husband who lets his disappointment and frustration at the cards life had dealt him with turn him into an unapologetic wifebeater. Though Trinidad is adequate as Arturo, one gets the feeling that the role is better suited to an older actor.

The movie may touch substantially on domestic abuse, but in my mind it actually deals with the idea of escape. The way I see it, Fe is always looking for a way to escape, be it from the harsh life she and Dante were living (as gleaned from the fact that they had to reluctantly sell their land so that she could work abroad) or the hostile situation she found herself in when she came home. This is reinforced at one point by Arturo's brother, who wants to return to Manila and escape the hardship in helping to take care of his incapacitated father. It is this need to escape that drives her to seek out her suitor, who may and may not offer her a way out. The ending reflects this clearly, and whatever choice she makes saves and dooms her. She is a truly tragic figure, much more so than what may be her closest counterpart, Persephone.

A battered wife. An abusive husband. An attractive ex-lover. An unseen suitor. In lesser hands, such a combination of these characters promise melodrama at its lowest. Luckily, that isn't the case here. Solidly scripted and directed, Ang Panggagahasa kay Fe is an effective and restrained film that offers a portrait of a woman always looking for a way out.

Cinemalaya 2008: Namets!

For a film with a plot as thin as a thread and a cast led by two very attractive starlets (Christian Vasquez and Angel Jacob) who perform as if they're still acting in commercials, Jay Abello's Namets! (which means "delicious" in Ilonggo) managed to come across as a charming comic confection. How so? Well, Abello's consistent use of a lightweight, angst-free tone contributes part of the movie's charm, as does director Peque Gallaga's effective acting turn as a gibberish-speaking local kingpin. And as someone born and bred in Manila, the movie's location--Bacolod City--and Ilonggo dialogue (with English subtitles) completely engaged me.

But what I like most about Namets! is that it introduces the audience to Negrosanon cuisine; call it Negrosanon Cuisine 101, if you will. The late, great PDI food critic and Silay City native Doreen G. Fernandez would've approved of the effort, I'm sure. But at some point I felt it remained just that: an introduction. It never really satisfied my hunger to know more about this particular cuisine: the contrasting textures, the different flavors, the culture behind it. In other words, what makes it special, unique? The uproarious vignettes spread throughout the film (the best features the wonderful Ronnie Lazaro as a meat-starved farmer), though enlightening to some extent, helped very, very little in this regard.

In a way, I wish I had watched this movie first; it's the perfect, pleasant appetizer for most of the Cinemalaya full-length entries this year that had served as the main course.

UP NEXT: Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil's Boses.

Cinemalaya 2008: My Fake American Accent

Ten reasons why I admire Onnah Valera and Ned Trespeces's call-center comedy My Fake American Accent:

1. Ned Trespeces is my friend.
2. Mailes Kanapi is an amazing actress.
3. The film's production design looks and feels authentic.
4. Ned Trespeces is my friend.
5. The tagline--"Fake it 'til you make it"--is rather cute.
6. Writer-friends making cameo appearances.
   
7. Ned Trespeces is my friend.
8. The episodic, almost Altmanesque structure suits the material quite well, I think.
   
9. The trailer looks quite intriguing.
10. Ned Trespeces is my friend. Ü
    

UP NEXT: Jay Abello's Namets!

Cinemalaya 2008: Concerto

If watching Ranchero felt like being in unwarranted solitary confinement, watching Concerto felt as if I attended a tertulia. Films set during Japanese Occupation-era Philippines are rather rare, and Paul Alexander Morales's fine film is a welcome addition to that list. It may not be as great as Peque Gallaga's Oro, Plata, Mata (1982), but it's definitely much better than Cesar Montano's earnest Panaghoy sa Suba and Joel Lamangan's unimaginatively titled Aishite Imasu 1941, both released in 2004. The film strongly reminded me of Gilda Cordero Fernando's classic war stories People in the War and A Wilderness of Sweets in its detailed chronicling of a large, middle-class family's struggle to survive the war. Interesting material, indeed, but what made it even more so (at least for me) is that it's based on true stories of the filmmaker's own family.

Concerto boasts of several plusses. Morales's assured helming is one; here's one director who obviously knows his material. The production design impresses, despite the movie's very limited budget. The actors are well cast, particularly Meryll Soriano in a performance that's more restrained than usual and Shamaine Centenera-Buencamino, who very skillfully avoids reducing her character--the ever-patient and understanding matriarch--into a two-dimensional saint. And it has several wonderfully staged scenes: the fantastic sepia-toned introduction, the mother's face illuminated by mirror-reflected sunlight, the title event itself. On the downside, I have to agree with Gibbs in his mini-critique of the film: it could stand further editing.

But what really struck me most about Concerto is its strong, almost insistent pacifist viewpoint. It's so strong, the United Nations, if it becomes an award-giving body like the Oscars, would give the Best Picture statuette to the film. Don't get me wrong: there's nothing wrong in espousing a pacifist stance. But there were instances I felt it threatened to undermine narrative logic and common sense. This is most obvious in the final scene: an American soldier, a Japanese civilian, and Filipinos all friendly with one another and enjoying themselves at a party held inside the reopened De La Torre house soon after the war ended. The mood was too forgiving. And there are some details that the director didn't account for, like the sudden appearance of Mr. Akiya at the concerto: where did he come from?

The film's point cannot be denied: one can transcend differences and maintain his/her humanity, even in a heinously inhuman time. And in this case, the universal language--music--proves to be the key. Concerto is an ultimately stirring ode to pacificism.

UP NEXT: Onnah Valera and Ned Trespeces's My Fake American Accent.

Cinemalaya 2008: Ranchero

Boy, do I really regret watching this movie first. It has plot holes as large as the ones you find at Loyola Memorial Park. And to think the fine opening scene holds such promise. A close friend, Mon Sarmiento (who conducted extensive research at Bilibid years ago in penning his Palanca-winning screenplay Maria at Magdalena), watched the movie with me, and he sighed and grumbled all throughout: where’s the sense of a regimented existence, of claustrophobia? And why is the dialogue between longtime rancheros (slang for prison cooks) Ricardo (a miscast Archie Adamos) and Miyong (a wasted Garry Lim) sounds so contrived, sounds as though they’ve just met? It’s almost criminal.

That's not the end of it. For a prison, even a provincial one, it looks disconcertingly bright and clean. And that closing, lingering image of the posters of the Good Shepherd and the Crucifixion--care for (a sacrificial) lamb, anyone?--pasted side by side on a kitchen wall simply screams of OVERSTATEMENT! But what makes Ranchero an appalling movie is Michael Christian Cardoz's violations of the basic rules in crafting drama. A protagonist viewers didn't get to know at all because the director had drawn him so poorly: they never even learn of the nature and circumstance of Ricardo's crime that slapped him with a ten-year jail term in the first place. A protagonist with no real problem to confront and overcome (he's scheduled to be released from prison the next day, for Chrissakes!). No tension at all, especially in the first half. No fresh insight offered on life behind bars. No kidding: it's that bad.

If making a bad movie is a crime, then Cardoz deserves some serious confinement.

UP NEXT: Paul Alexander Morales's Concerto.

Cinemalaya 2008: Moving Foreword

Last night, the five-member jury--film critic and PDI editor Lito Zulueta and actor Cesar Montano among them--of the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival announced its winners in a less-than-polished awards ceremony at the CCP Main Theater:

FULL-LENGTH FILM DIVISION: Film: Jay. Special Jury Prize: Brutus. Audience's Choice: 100. Director: Chris Martinez, 100. Actor: Baron Geisler, Jay. Actress: Mylene Dizon, 100. Supporting Actor: Yul Servo, Brutus. Supporting Actress: Eugene Domingo, 100. Screenplay: Chris Martinez, 100. Cinematography: Brutus and Huling Pasada (tie). Film Editing: Jay. Production Design: Baby Angelo. Original Musical Score: Brutus. Sound: Ranchero.

SHORT FILM DIVISION: Film: Andong. Special Jury Prize: My Pet. Audience's Choice: God Only Knows. Director: Mark V. Reyes, God Only Knows. Screenplay: Rommel Tolentino, Andong. Special Jury Citation: Angan-Angan (Dreams).

CONGRATULATIONS to all the winners, most especially to fellow playwright Chris Martinez! Ü

What a week. A week--or more accurately, ten days--wherein I managed to watch a couple of films--some awesome, others not so much, but all more interesting than what the mainstream movie industry has been churning out today--that once again strengthen one's hopes that there's still hope yet for Philippine cinema.

Unlike last year, when I watched three competing features—Jim Libiran’s Tribu, Jade Castro’s Endo and Aureaus Solito’s Pisay—and did so long after the festival ended, this year I watched seven full-length films in competition, plus two in exhibition. Sad to say, I failed to catch any of the screenings for Paul Sta. Ana and Alvin Yapan’s Huling Pasada and Francis Xavier E. Pasion’s Jay; friends and insiders I’ve talked to discouraged me from watching Joel Ruiz’s Baby Angelo. Good thing all the competing full-length features will be screened at the UP next week.

Just like what the photo posted above says, "Ano'ng kwento mo? (What's your story?)" was this year's festival theme. It's ironic in a way: all the competing films--save for one or two--suffered in one way or another from narrative problems. Like Michael Christian Cardoz's Ranchero.

Sing Out "Sister"

Piling-pili lang ang mga pelikulang Pilipino na masasabi kong mga paborito ko. Isa na rito ang Sister Stella L. (1984, Regal Films), na idinerehe ni Mike de Leon at tampok sina Jay Ilagan, Tony Santos Sr., Laurice Guillen at, ang pinakasikat sa kanilang lahat, Vilma Santos. Para sa akin, gustong-gusto ko ang pelikulang ito bilang isang character study ng isang karaniwang madre na unti-unti naging isang di-karaniwang aktibista noong siyang nagsimulang makibaka sa isang grupo ng mga nagwewelgang manggagawa. Gustong-gusto ko rin ang pelikula dahil sa mga awit na nilikha nina Pete Lacaba at Ding Achaoso. Isa na dito ang "Aling Pag-Ibig Pa," na kinanta ni Pat Castillo sa closing credits:

Aling pag-ibig pa ang hihigit kaya
Sa pag-ibig ko sa iyo, bayan ko?
Sa hirap at ginhawa
Sa ligaya't dalita,
Ako'y kasa-kasama mo.

Kung ang gintong palay ay kumakaway
Katabi mo ako sa bukid, bayan ko.
Kung tigang ang lupa
At 'di ka makaluha
Ako ang magdidilig.

Kung ang bulaklak ay humahalimuyak
Igagawa kita ng kwintas, bayan ko.
Kung magbababanta ang bagyo't sigwa
Ako'y may kubong ligtas.

May pag-ibig pa bang higit na dakila
Sa pag-ibig ko sa iyo, bayan ko?
Wala na nga, wala
Wala na nga, wala
Wala na nga, wala.

Isa pang awit mula sa Sister Stella L. ay ang "Sangandaan." Kinanta din ito ni Pat Castillo sa pelikula. Pero sa YouTube video na ito, si Noel Cabangon naman:

'Di ko maiwasang maalala ang mga kantang ito ngayong araw, sa mga nangyayari sa ating bansa ngayon. 'Di ko ring maiwasang maging malungkot: may ibang pag-ibig nang humigit pa sa pag-ibig sa bayan; at ang ating bansa, nananatili pa rin sa sangandaan. Sabi nga ng bida sa katapusan ng pelikula: "Kung hindi tayo kililos, sino ang kililos? Kung hindi ngayon, kailan pa?"

Beauties and the Beasts

I could talk about the 22nd anniversary of EDSA Uno and the rallies taking place today, but I'm not exactly in the mood to be worked up about it right now, you know. Not with the shit our politicians have under their heels and on their hands at the moment. Don't want to go there, no. So instead, I'll talk about something equally important, but lighter--this year's Oscars!

(Left to right: Best Actor Daniel Day-Lewis, Best Supporting Actress Tilda Swinton, Best Actress Marion Cotillard, and Best Supporting Actor Javier Bardem. Photo courtesy of Yahoo!)

My thoughts? First: Thank God that it's shorter this time (and thank God the Velvet Channel aired relatively few commercials). And I'm happy for the Oscars the Coen Brothers collected this year; I've enjoyed both Fargo and O Brother, Where Art Thou? immensely (obviously I haven't watched No Country for Old Men yet--but that will change very soon). Ditto for Daniel Day-Lewis' oh-so-deserving second Best Actor win for the remarkable There Will Be Blood. And I know that the two J.B.'s of the Coens' film--Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin--are, like, BFF (best friends forever) now, but for a millisecond there I thought the buddies were going to do some serious face-sucking when the Spaniard bussed Barbra Streisand's stepson on the cheek following the former's Best Supporting Actor win. And poor Amy Adams: where are the CGI pigeons, rats and roaches when you needed them? Then again, it might freak out the audience.

But I think it's quite safe to say the females provided the telecast's most memorable moments. Topping the list is Jon Stewart's magnificent gesture to let Best Original Song co-winner Marketa Irglova (for the beautiful "Falling Slowly" from Once) have her speech. Best winning reaction goes to the gorgeous Marion Cotillard upon winning Best Actress for La Vie en Rose. And best speech, for me, goes to Best Supporting Actress Tilda Swinton:

"... and George Clooney, you know, the seriousness and the dedication to your art, seeing you climb into that rubber bat suit from Batman & Robin, the one with the nipples, every morning under your costume, on the set, off the set, hanging upside down at lunch--you rock, man!"

Love that bit. Sadly, I can't say the same about her, er, gown.

All in all, not bad. Not bad at all. Much better than last year. And waaaaay much better than the year before that.