Of Ambition And Transformation... HUWAG PAMARISAN: MISTER MO... LOVER BOY KO!

Posted by Jojo Devera , Labels: , , ,



Huwag Pamarisan: Mister Mo... Lover Boy Ko! (Crown Seven Film Productions) is of the bold genre and certain conventions and codes bear this intention. The evocation itself of a mileu builds up the image of a young woman waiting to be explored and consequently ravaged by the prurient eyes of the camera. We can gleam traces of risk in the realm of style. Apart from its captivating visual sweep of a developing metropolis, it has for its main characters Christine (Elizabeth Oropesa), an ambitious chorus girl who has aspirations of becoming a famous movie star and Fred (George Estregan), a struggling actor trying desperately to make the best of himself, in the worst of times. The film expresses the complex processes by which people are lured into, weakened and trapped by poverty. Speaking in austere cinematic tone and register, Mister Mo finds the means to transform Christine's fate into a transformation in a field of conflicting relations with Manuel (Eddie Garcia), her wealthy paramour. How the film further situates its heroine in a poignant confrontation with Manuel's wife Anna (Paraluman) evokes an imagery that is heartfelt but valiant. This holds true of how the screenplay sets up characters whose lives resonate with the heroine's, like the one intelligently portrayed by Anna Gonzales, Vicky is a contemporary representation of an assertion of female autonomy.

Elizabeth Oropesa's performance in Huwag Pamarisan: Mister Mo... Lover Boy Ko! embodies the contradictions of a human subject mired in poverty and the perversion of her aspiration to transcend it. But this is not as simple as it appears, for her character Christine, reflects on the predicament of her life and the consequences of her adulterous affair with Manuel. Christine's world falls apart, all this tells her that something must be wrong and so does something about it. This something degenerates into a moral world that is threatened by a man who claims to love you, something is, indeed, not right. And something is not right with you if you let your love go on. Oropesa, through a forceful effort driven by physical stamina and emotional range is one the films' graces, the other being Eddie Garcia's inspired performance whose contribution arrests the films' drift into aimlessness because he leavens his persona with character and so reclaims this cinematic project from its plot-centric simplification, always foregrounding the salience of moral choice even in the face of the loss of his wife. All things considered, Mister Mo is almost, but not quite a bold film. Ishmael Bernal, with a degree of compassion for the material carries the seeds of the story to fertile ground tilling a field of fruitful images, motifs, symbols and Ernani Cuenco's wistful music. If what hobbles Philippine cinema is the failure of imagination and initiative, Huwag Pamarisan: Mister Mo... Lover Boy Ko! proves the cynics wrong to some tolerable degree.

Directed By: Ishmael Bernal
Screenplay: Antonio S. Mortel And Diego Cagahastian
Story: Efren R. Abueg Serialized In Liwayway Magazine
Director Of Photography: Sergio Lobo
Music: Ernani Cuenco
Film Editors: Atilano Salvador And Edgardo Vinarao
Produced By: Crown Seven Film Productions
Release Date: February 28, 1975

7 Response to "Of Ambition And Transformation... HUWAG PAMARISAN: MISTER MO... LOVER BOY KO!"

  1. ronald says:
    8:38 AM MST

    Hi Jojo,

    Like all the other stars of 70s and 80s, Elizabeth looks stunning as shown in your video caps. So this is one of Ishmael Bernal's lesser known works?

    Regards,
    RSE

  2. Jojo Devera says:
    11:12 AM MST

    Hello Ron!

    Mister Mo Lover Boy Ko was Elizabeth Oropesa's lauching picture. I wouldn't say this film was Bernal's lesser known work since it made a killing at the box office and catapulted Elizabeth into full stardom making her one of the most sought after actresses of the 70's.

  3. Jason Bruce says:
    2:10 PM MST

    I know I saw this movie but I cant remember anything about it so I cant comment about it.
    Your review in English is refreshing, its a nice change.
    What is the Elizabeth Oropesa-Christopher DeLeon comedy in which they play fugitive conartist? Do you have a review of it?

  4. Jojo Devera says:
    4:12 PM MST

    Hi Jason!

    Most people feel the same way... I'm trying to at least write some of my newer posts in English since most of the blog's regular visitors are having difficulty reading my reviews in Filipino but I'm more at ease writing in Tagalog which makes this blog unique afterall, most bloggers write their thoughts and reviews in English.

    The movie you were asking about is Hide And Seek Sa Quiapo Cubao At Makati which was shown in 1976. Unfortunately the betamax copy I have is unplayable... I wasn't able to transfer it onto DVD...

  5. Jason Bruce says:
    1:19 PM MST

    Thanks for refreshing my memory. May I ask how many pinoy films do you have in your archive? Thats a great collection. You should all keep it in a vault.

  6. Jojo Devera says:
    2:42 PM MST

    Anytime Jason! I really don't have an exact count of the all the Tagalog videos I have in my library but it rapidly grew in the past five years. I cannot afford a vault but they are stored vertically in video cabinets and are arranged in alphabetical order making it easy for me when I'm looking for titles...

  7. Samuel Lacopia says:
    8:45 AM MST

    meron po ba kayong link na pwedeng pag downloadAN ng mga pelikula dito?

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Karapatang Magpalathala 2006-2013. SARI-SARING SINENG PINOY Lahat Ng Karapatan Ay Nakalaan. Disenyo Jojo Devera