Cinemalaya CINCO makes waves

Author: Michael Kho Lim, Contributor
Column: Life

On its fifth year, the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival is no longer a shot at the moon.

Given the fact that the 2009 festival opened at the same time as the much-awaited Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and people still flocked to the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) despite the heavy rains, this year’s Cinemalaya made an undeniable statement: Indie films now have an audience base. And as the crowds grow in number, Cinemalaya proves that indie films are revolutionizing the Philippine movie industry. Manila

Manila is Cinemalaya Cinco’s opening film. It is Raya Martin and Adolf Alix’s tribute to two outstanding Filipino directors — Ishmael Bernal and Lino Brocka. The film is made up of two parts: The first part is directed by Martin and alludes to Bernal’s Manila by Night, and the second part is directed by Alix and refers to Brocka’s Jaguar.

The film stars Piolo Pascual in two different roles. While Pascual’s acting prowess is unquestionable, the film’s allusion to the original films by Bernal and Brocka is rather not clear. When a particular work of art (be it film or a literary piece) is alluded to, no additional explanation must be solicited in order to understand the link it wants to establish.

The two-episode film changes the name of the lead character to the name of the lead actor who portrayed the role in the original film. For example, Bernal’s Manila by Night stars William Martinez, while Brocka’s Jaguar stars Philip Salvador. Hence, in Manila, Piolo’s character is named William in the first part and Philip in the second.

As one follows the narrative of the first episode, one might wonder as to what the story is or whose story is being told. In Manila, we see the lead character moving from one place to another, encountering a character after another. If we go back to the original Manila by Night, it is really Manila that is the protagonist and not the characters in the story.

The first episode fails to capture this —the essence of Manila at night, but it actually has very good visual and technical components. It may also be noticed that either Piolo Pascual might be too old for his role as William or Rosanna Roces is too young to be his mother.

On the other hand, the second episode has a clearer story to tell, but the visuals and technical handling could be improved. The bits and supporting cast used here could have perhaps made use of better direction. Dinig Sana Kita (If I knew what you said)

This is Mike Sandejas’ second full-length feature after Tulad ng Dati, which gave him the Cinemalaya Best Picture award in 2006. On his second take at Cinemalaya, Sandejas is set to leave his mark in the indie circuit to tell his heartwarming stories of love and music.

Dinig Sana Kita proves that one just needs a good concept or story to make a good film. It tells the story of love between a deaf boy who loves to dance and a rocker girl who exploits her hearing. At the onset of this contrast, one can already see the conflict and sense the tension of the story. Sandejas is indeed very brave in using new, inexperienced actors to play the lead roles for his film. It is a first in Philippine cinema that a film makes use of a real deaf actor to play the lead.

It is also worth noting that despite having a fresh cast, Romalito Mallari and Zoe Sandejas, who is the daughter of Mike Sandejas, are able to give justice to their roles. The film also features Robert Seña, who is a co-producer of the film, dancers from Dulaang Tahimik ng Pilipinas and De La Salle-College of St. Benilde’s Silent Steps Deaf dance group.

It could be said that Sandejas is a good storyteller. Technically and visually, Dinig Sana Kita is worth watching even for a second time. He certainly knows how to move and touch the hearts of his viewers. No wonder the film won the Audience Choice award. Dinig Sana Kita also won Best Musical Score and the National Council for Children’s Television award. Astig (Survivors)

It is obvious that Astig is the most star-studded cast among all the Cinemalaya Cinco competing films. Backed by Boy Abunda, the film was able to get Dennis Trillo as one of the leads, together with Sid Lucero, Edgar Allan Guzman, Arnold Reyes and Glaiza de Castro. Astig tells the stories of four young men trying to survive the harshness of Manila City life. Their stories of hardship and tribulation intersect somehow, but the film begs the question, "What’s new?"

The film faces the same challenge of having multiple characters having their own conflicts to solve and leaving some loose ends untied. The characters are not fully developed that the audience only sees a part of their personality. Also, the use of gay-sex encounter as the final solution to two of these characters’ problems is rather trite and contemptibly portrayed.

Is this how the film wants to define being "astig" or survivor: By having the characters of Boy (Guzman) and Roland (Reyes) go through the homosexual act against their will as a final resort to survival? While Reyes won Best Supporting Actor for playing his role, his character seems to have no redemption in the end and appears be the weakest of all. Roland’s actions are also rather surprising to a point because there is no establishment in the beginning to justify his subsequent actions.

In the scene where Roland is holding a bag containing the cash he received from selling a seemingly unmarketable property to a gay man whom he somewhat subjects himself to have sex with, he agrees to bed this female prostitute in an instant. Is this how stupid he can go for the call of lust, when in fact he tries to be clever at some point when he was selling the property? Or is this how the film wants to stereotype the Chavacano "promdi" (person from the province), who is trying his luck in Manila but is just very gullible?

At the end of the film, one would still ask, "What makes these characters survivors?" Is it because they will do anything just to survive their hopeless or remorseful situation even if it means doing something against their will or morals? Is this how to be a survivor in a cruel city?

On the technical aspect, Astig deserves to win the Best Editing and Best Sound Recording awards. The film also earned GB Sampedro the Best Director award. Heavenly Touch

This is part of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) section of Cinemalaya Cinco. And for a Joel Lamangan film, Heavenly Touch is very disappointing, not because the film has a sad content, but because it’s poorly made.

The story is very dry and predictable — in fact, very common. Most of the dialogs are too trite. Some actors just don’t know how to deliver their lines properly and at the right time. Audience members are just laughing as actors throw their lines. Acting can be tremendously improved with the exception of Irma Adlawan, who is still as excellent as she has always been — perhaps the only person who can act in the film. Her line, "Kakapasok mo pa lang, may sweldo ka na?" (You just got a job and you already received your salary?), is a runaway punchline winner.

Some scenes in the film actually contain frontal nudity and have long exposures when they are not necessary. There is a scene by the beach where a close-up of both the lead actors’ crotch area is in focus, when this could have just been simply deleted without affecting the story at all.

While the film mirrors what’s happening in society, it presents nothing new. It just tells the story of these men working in a somewhat underground spa/massage parlor where it offers extra (sexual) service to its customers, and how the two masseurs (Paolo Serrano and Joash Balejado) fall in love with each other along the way and try to survive the test of time. Bayaw (Brother-in-law)

Bayaw is one of the entries to the Cinemalaya/Netpac (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) World Cinema competition. This is a sidebar competition organized by the CCP to accommodate indie producers who want their films to premiere in the festival.

The film tells the adventures and misadventures of two men who are brothers-in-law, who later become outlaws trying to escape from the police due to an accidental killing. As the story progresses, the truth unfolds and the real issue is revealed. This is director Monti Parungao’s second full-length feature after Sagwan.

Bayaw has actually made a lot of buzz in its promotion as having raunchy, hardcore sex and lots of skin exposure, not to mention the fear that the MTRCB (Movie and Television Review and Classification Board) might give this an X-rating later on. The film does contain these scenes, but contrary to all the hype, are treated and handled properly.

The film has also been promoted with a gay slant. Bayaw is, however, technically not a gay film since it doesn’t tackle gay-related issues. While homosexual acts are interspersed in some scenes, Bayaw only provides homoerotic undertones. In some scenes where the brothers-in-law have sexual contact, Nilo Vergara (Paolo Rivero) actually explains and gives an excuse that the sexual act is purely based on lust and does not define his sexual orientation.

On the other hand, it may surprise most viewers that the film actually has a good concept, though the execution of the story can be greatly improved. The characters are not fully developed and have very shallow motivations for their actions. It is only through a revelation toward the end of the film that the viewer may somewhat understand the reasons behind their actions.

Technically and visually, Bayaw fares fairly well. In fact, there is even more skin exposure and nudity scenes in Heavenly Touch than Bayaw. Even so, Bayaw is a far better film than Heavenly Touch. The acting was not bad at all, but it won’t hurt newcomer Janvier Daily to go through some more acting workshops to hone his skills. Overall, it’s a good production. It was able to sustain and hold the viewer’s attention to the end. Ded na si Lolo (Grandpa is dead)

Ded na si Lolo one of the six films being produced under the SineDirek Masterworks Series project through the partnership of the Directors Guild of the Philippines Inc. and APT Entertainment. The film was also run as part of the Cinemalaya Cinco LGBT specials.

The film tells the story of a family whose patriarch passes away. It may look like a typical story at first, but as the film progresses, the sub-story of each character unfolds and is resolved accordingly. It also tells of the many superstitions about death that Filipinos believe in, and shows that no matter how absurd these may be, many still follow such practices.

Ded na si Lolo stars some of the finest actors in Philippine cinema. These include Gina Alajar, Elizabeth Oropesa, Manilyn Reynes, Perla Bautista, Dick Israel and Roderick Paulate, among others. Even if Roderick portrays his typical parlor gay role, his performance is still a big hit with the audience even if such representation seems already cliché.

The whole film is a laugh trip from the opening scene down to the end. Director Soxie Topacio has handled the subject really well and knows how to make the audience laugh. His treatment is light yet touches the heart of the viewer. Ded na si Lolo is truly worth watching and deserving of an A rating from the Cinema Evaluation Board.

Indeed, five years of Cinemalaya has produced many indie films and encouraged filmmakers, both aspiring and professional, to keep on doing more films. The indie spirit is clearly very much alive. And how far will Cinemalaya go? Perhaps another five or even 50 years or more!

Source: The Daily Tribune

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