SARI-SARING SINENG PINOY

Ang Daigdig Ay Isang Butil Na Luha

While other Filipino movies of the 1980's predictably focused their lens on abject conditions of economic displacement and hardship (e.g. Hinugot Sa Langit by Ishmael Bernal) and human rights abuse (Sister Stella L. by Mike de Leon and  Kapit Sa Patalim by Lino Brocka), Ang Daigdig Ay Isang Butil Na Luha (JPM Productions) turns its gaze away from the heavy social realism of many Filipino films. Celso Ad Castillo himself also takes a sharp and refreshing detour from his directorial style in past works like Isla (1984), Paradise Inn  (1985) and Perfumed Garden (1986) and succeeds in presenting a competent melodrama. At the beginning of the film, Castillo presents Malou (Gloria Diaz) staring like an automation into a rundown tenement building with daughters Catherine (Manilyn Reynes) and Jovy (Monique Castillo) as they move into a new apartment while framed in a compressed two-dimensional space to illustrate her self-imposed suffering in a dry and flat existence. In contrast to this, her search for companionship of Jessie (Leroy Salvador), an immigrant from the United States and later on of Jack (Ronaldo Valdez) are composed with a long depth of field to suggest mobility and freedom. With these two spaces, Castillo sets up a dialectic as the film moves from one space to another. The dynamic opposition and fusion of these spaces shape the flow of the film and the progression of the other production elements. The background of the imposing window bars in Malou's apartment which represents Malou's compartmentalized life transmutes in another scene in Malou's apartment to a foreign news program on television which signifies the thoughts of departure and companionship percolating in her mind. On the surface, the film appears to be a melodrama sans the usual highly charged dramatic scenes that mainstream counterparts often show. But behind the stolen glances and quiet pining from Malou's tenement neighbor Berting (Dennis Roldan), Castillo's screenplay peels away in a slow and sympathetic manner their struggles to honor and pursue their ideals or accept the painful truth of their illusions. For example, Catherine narrates her initial passion in becoming a singer when she was forced to sing at Berting's birthday party. Berting invites Malou to watch a movie in which he plays the lead role. On the other hand, Malou shares to Berting her dislike of tagalog movies.

In Malou's case, Castillo traces her journey in highly visual terms with first, an engrossing cinematography and second, a deft production design. Castillo also employs a soulful and insightful music soundtrack to unravel Malou's mercurial moods. Vehnee Saturno's ruminating music and eloquent lyrics are smoothly woven into the narrative and its rhythms and tones epitomize Malou's maturity and self-acceptance. As Malou, Gloria Diaz effectively underplays her character's angst, restlessness and succeeding catharsis. Her sullen face in the early part of the film richly conveys a recognition of her personal turmoil and makes us understand her sudden decision to search for male companionship. Diaz' reaction to Jessie's return near the end is likewise restrained. The heartbreak she projects through her eyes is devoid of hysteria or sentimentalism yet is full of palpable pathos. As her daughters Catherine and Jovy, Manilyn Reynes and Monique Castillo deliver remarkably competent performances, exhibiting not only skill and talent but fine dramatic sensibility as well. Dennis Roldan expresses desire in all its discrepant aspects breathes a different rigor into the tradition of acting for the screen. Malou's dilemmas may not be as staggering or confounding as the other characters in many issue driven films. But like many Filipino films, Castillo's Ang Daigdig Ay Isang Butil Na Luha examines its characters with a sense of sobriety and honesty. Castillo's film rejects the manic rantings and nostril-flaring highlights that one often has to endure in commercial films. Instead, Castillo this time chooses to serve the truth of human pain in an unvarnished and understated way.

Screenplay And Direction: Celso Ad Castillo
Photographed By: Romeo Vitug
Music: Vehnee Saturno
Film Editor: Abelardo Hulleza
Production Design: George Vail Kabristante
Produced By: JPM Productions
Release Date: September 26, 1986

Hamog

On the surface, Romy Suzara's Hamog (Regal Films, Inc.) is a seemingly earnest expose on the notorious form of pearl hunting furtively practiced along the endless coastlines of the Sulu Archipelago. In itself, Hamog is a subject full of pathos and human interest as well as ecological and sociological implications. More than a mouthful, one would think it would have sufficed for at least one movie, a cinema vérité documentary or two and a handful of government shorts underscoring the human dangers it poses and the environmental damage it leaves in its wake. But alas, Hamog is also a star vehicle for the studio's most bankable name at the time, Alma Moreno. And as so often happens, when a star attains such prominence, more important considerations are pre-empted by the appeal of popularity and the promise of box office. Thus, to do justice to Moreno in the film, Suzara and screenwriter Pierre Salas have grafted upon the clear-cut issues of the film's subject. Pieta, Moreno's character is a woman obsessed with her responsibilities as a pearl diver. Taking place against the backdrop of a large-scale pearl farm, her quest goes awry against the forces of nature and human weaknesses, eventually taking her to a watery grave.

In a role quite impossible to perform plausibly, Dante's (Rafael Roco, Jr.) character is a study in restraint or appears so alongside the outsized posturings of Moreno. But the performance to watch here is that of Mary Walter in an ineffably nuanced cameo. As Impo, the island gypsy, Walter's performance speaks volumes with the minimum of means exuding a knowing world weariness and a redesigned despair that is at once touching and indelible. Given the portentous dimensions of its plot and the ambitious themes it essays, man against the elements, greed against good, love and lust, it is a wonder that the film has time for its avowed subject, pearl divers and the flagrance of their situation. As such, their plight while documented, are touched almost in passing, enumerated as a matter of course, the long hours of work and the fatal dangers of the deep, these issues, rather than being observed in depth merely frame the unraveling histrionics of Pieta's downward spiral. Her dark past is accorded more significance, raising interestingly enough, varied thematic inferences in the process. Ultimately, the blockbuster demands of the production override the the innate humanistic concerns of its material, the accelerated events of its denouement piling betrayal and murder in quick succession. As things stand, the pearl divers will continue to swim the high seas as surely as they are paraded for their topical value within the context of this ambitious but deeply flawed film.

Directed By: Romy Suzara
Screenplay By: Pierre Salas
Cinematography: Ernesto dela Paz
Music: Ernani Cuenco
Film Editor: Ben Barcelon
Produced By: Regal Films, Inc.
Release Date: January 27, 1978
Hamog theme song performed by Hajji Alejandro

Wanted: Perfect Mother

Ang Wanted: Perfect Mother  (LEA Productions) ay lumabas nang panahong masasabing hindi pa gaanong masalimuot ang buhay. Sinasabing ang anyo ng pelikula ay nakabatay sa anyo ng musikal. Masinsin ang pag-aaral ni Lino Brocka sa matalik na ugnayan ng musika at pelikula. Isa ang Wanted: Perfect Mother sa nagpamalas sa mga aspeto ng musikang nakaukit sa naratibo ng pelikula. Mabisa man ang mga elementong musikal , hindi naman maaring ikulong na lamang sa mga kumbensiyon nito ang pelikula. Maaaring tukuyin ang ilang aspeto ng musikal, ang paggamit ng awiting Wear A Smile ng maraming beses at ang pagtatanghal ng ilang mga eksena na tila nasa loob ng teatro. Kung titingnan ang paghubog ng mga karakter at ng kanilang kinasasadlakan pati na ang paglutas sa mga suliranin ng salaysay, masasabing ito ay nakatahi sa tradisyon ng melodrama. Nakahabi ang hilahil ni Carla (Boots Anson-Roa) sa bawal na damdamin, ang kanyang pag-ibig kay Dante (Dante Rivero) at pakikitungo kay Elsa (Liza Lorena), magulang ng inaarugang mga batang sina Doreen (Gina Alajar), Rex (Ariosto Reyes, Jr.), Zaldy (Arnold Gamboa) at Ellen (Snooky).

Nang magpasiya ang mga anak ni Dante na bumuo ng isang pamilya sa pamamagitan ng paghahanap ng perfect mother, isang desisyong dumaan din sa mahabang proseso ng negosasyon halos umatras ang naratibo sa ideya ng pag-aalaga at pagpapalaki ng anak bilang pangunahing responsibilidad ng ama. Nasa bana ang bulto ng suliranin kaya sa kanya umiikot ang kuwento. Relasyon niya sa asawa, relasyon sa mga anak, pakikitungo sa governess at pakikitungo sa mga anak sa konteksto ng bagong pamilya. Sa gayon, mahirap umawain ang tumatagaktak na luha ni Carla. Minsan, matalino at malawak ang kanyang pang-unawa, minsan, makitid at makasarili ang kanyang nasa. Hindi konsistent ang karakter na hugot ng hugot ng sentimyento sa kanyang puso. Samakatuwid may internal na tensiyon ang pangunahing tauhang babae ngunit hindi ito napatampok sa antas ng kontradiksiyon, sa halip, hinayaang lumutang-lutang ang tensiyon sa dagat ng luhang hindi nagkaroon ng matalinong resolusyon. Umayos ang buhay ng governess nang maayos ng bana ang mga tensiyon ng kanyang pamilya. Nakabatay, kung gayon ang mapagpasyang kilos sa lalaki at hindi sa babae. At sa yugtong ito nakaalagwa ang Wanted: Perfect Mother sa kahon ng musikal. Sa ibang kamay, marahil naging hungkag ang mensahe. Ngunit naiwasan at nalagpasan ng pelikula ang mga kababawan sa pamamagitan ng maingat at sensitibong pagsasadula ng direktor sa premis ng pelikula, sa pamamagitan ng masinop na paglinang sa screenplay, sinematograpiya at editing, sa matimpi at sensitibong pagganap nina Dante Rivero at Liza Lorena kasama na ang kolektibong kontibusyon ng buong kast. Samakatuwid, tinuhog ng pelikula hindi ang tensiyon ng pagiging perfect mother kundi ang tensiyon ng patriyarka kung saan nakapailalim ang anumang nasa ng babae.

Direksiyon At Dulang Pampelikula: Lino Brocka
Hango Sa Nobela Ni: Mars Ravelo Mula Sa Pilipino Komiks
Sinematograpiya: Conrado Baltazar
Musika: D'Amarillo
Editing: Felizardo V. Santos
Disenyo: Ariston dela Paz
Produksiyon: LEA Productions
Release Date: June 14, 1970

Sugat Sa Ugat

Isang naratibong dramatiko ang pelikulang Sugat Sa Ugat (Communication Foundation For Asia) ni Ishmael Bernal na nagsikap talakayin ang suliraning domestiko sa konteksto ng pulitikang agraryo o kuwestiyon ng lupa. Masidhi ang mga damdaming nasasangkot dito dahil sentral na tema nito ang tunggalian  ng mag-amang Enteng (Van de Leon) at Ramon (Christopher de Leon) tungkol sa kahalagahan ng lupa at pamilya. Nasa puso rin ng pelikula ang suliraning humahadlang sa pagsasakatuparan ng tunggaliang ito. Masasabing matagumpay ang pelikula sa pakay nitong isalunan ang hilahil ng mag-anak sa masalimuot na usapin ng lupa at pag-angkin nito idagdag pa rito ang samu't-saring puwersang humahamon sa mga mithiin ni Ramon. Matutukoy rin ang paghulma sa taumbayan bilang karakter at hindi lamang kasangkapan. Sila'y aktibong kumikilos sa pagsulong ng partikular na interes. Maaari rin banggitin ang mga sumusunod bilang salik sa paghabi sa drama ng pamilya at proseso ng pakikipag-ugnay ng lipunan sa mga buhay-buhay ng pangkaraniwang tao. Si Ramon ay hindi de-kahong karakter. Ang kanyang ambisyon ay binuo ng paghihirap ng bayan. At ang bayang ito ang nais niyang tulungan, sa isang banda naman'y ang bayan ring ito ang umaasa sa kanya at umaasam ng katarungan tungo sa kaginhawaan nito. Sa madaling sabi, maraming kontradiksiyon ang namamagitan sa mga kategorya ng taong labas at bayang binabagabag ng kahirapan. Magkasalikop ang dalawa sa isang mahigpit na ugnayan.

Nasisinop ng pelikula ang maselang isyu ng piyudalismo at pati na rin ang tunggalian ng kulturang bayan at kultura ng siyudad. Ipinamumukha ng pelikula na ang lungsod ay kalawang ng magandang asal. Mababanaag ito sa pakikitungo ni Christy (Hilda Koronel) kay Ramon. Dahil dito nakapagpundar ang pelikula ng kapital para itangi ang bayan bilang mas higit na makataong lunan. Ngunit matutunghayan din sa pag-usad ng naratibo na hindi maaaring gawing romantiko ang pagtingin sa bayan dahil nililigalig din ito ng mga kontradiksiyon sa larangan ng uri o kasarian, mga pagpapahalaga at tradisyon. Mababakas din sa karakter ni Ramon at mga kasama nito na ang tao ay hindi likas na mabuti o masama, napapanday ang kanyang loob o pagkatao sa mga relasyong panlipunan o di kaya sa puwersa ng kapital. Sa pag-usisa nito sa mga panlipunang isyu, natatanganan din ng pelikula ang usapin ng kasarian sa konteksto ng bahay at bukid. Gayunpaman, naipamalas din ng pelikula na ang mga nakamihasnang papel na itinalaga sa mga lalaki at babae ay natitinag din ng sitwasyon at kondisyong historikal. Halimbawa, nakipagtuos din naman si Meding (Amy Austria) kay Ramon at naitaguyod nito ang sarili kahit wala ang kanyang nobyo. Susi sa temang ito ang masinsin at maningning na pagganap ni Amy Austria bilang Meding. Nagpamalas siya ng tatag ng kalooban, kahinahunan at marubdob na pag-ibig. Nasaling din ng pelikula ang pinagpipitaganang imahe ng pamilya bilang institusyon. Sinasabi ng pelikula na hindi naman abstrakto ang konsepto ng pamilya, ito ay isang praktika na isinasabuhay sa konteksto ng mga espesipikong kondisyon. Nasigasig ng Sugat Sa Ugat ang wika ng pelikula bilang sining sa paglalahad ng mga ideya at sentimyento nito. Makabago at progresibo ang paggamit ng pelikula sa mga anggulo at pag-organisa ng mga imahe. Nakayanan ng pelikulang maghain ng bagong panlasa sa pagkonteksto ng domestikong usapin sa uniberso ng kontradiksiyong panlipunan.

Direksiyon: Ishmael Bernal
Dulang Pampelikula: Diego Cagahastian At Jorge Arago
Sinematograpiya: Sergio Lobo
Musika: The Vanishing Tribe
Editing: Ike Jarlego, Jr.
Produksiyon: Communication Foundation For Asia
Release Date: October 17, 1980

Dyesebel (1953)

Dyesebel (Manuel Vistan, Jr. Production) is a mermaid driven by curiosity into visiting the upper world and is hunted down by the village people. Dyesebel (Edna Luna), who would be bare breasted save for an abundance of hair prudishly covering her whole upper torso is no siren in the connotative sense of the temptress who lures men to their destruction. The village people who hunt her down do so not because she has brought pestilence and illness. This makes her more analogous to the Greek she-monster Medusa who turns men into stone rather than Odysseus's sirens whose enchanting voices lured sailors to their deaths. But the story itself refutes this demonization of her and in fact idealizes her by describing Dyesebel in Fredo's (Jaime de la Rosa) words as being angelic and like a dream. Dyesebel is a symbol of innocence, untouched by the moral filth of the upper world, the microcosm of which is the carnival where she is held captive and exhibited as a freak show. A montage of carnival vignettes showed the human capacity for evil in various degrees. This brings home the significance of Dyesebel's fishtail. Like a a chastity belt, it functions as a shield against male prurience and protects her from sexual violence that is the common lot of ordinary female mortals. The underside to this however, is that the chastity belt also prevents a woman from engaging in erotic pleasure of her own volition. In the end, the granting of Dyesebel's wish to lose her fishtail and posses a pair of legs so she can be with Fredo implies the price she must pay to be an ordinary woman. She becomes part of the human world where women are natural victims of men's animal instincts simply because of their female anatomy.

Dyesebel is the result when a technically oriented filmmaker decide to have some fun. Gerardo de Leon's propensity to visualize the fantastic world of Philippine mythology and his research and knowledge of the arcane in local culture have produced a well made movie that tackles the theme of the supernatural as it makes its presence known in present day society as fairy tale. Dyesebel succeeds because De Leon has used the magic of cinematography and editing to give shape and reality to creatures of the imagination which continue to create anxiety and fear in the Filipino consciousness. Moviegoers are hysterically fond of mythological creatures such as Dyesebel especially if the mermaid is as pretty as Edna Luna. This need to verify a mental construct makes the Filipino feel that we have the ability to control the unseen and thus not to be totally powerless. But a fantasy movie is not easy to make. The screenplay has to invest the material with several levels of meaning to satisfy not only the childlike but also the mature viewer who secretly longs for the verification of his deepest fantasies. The film also needs a technical mastery that requires the filmmaking team understand cinematography, editing, musical scoring, optical effects and other celluloid manipulation. Jaime de la Rosa's Fredo works well with Carol Varga's Betty and Fernando Royo's Gildo while the reliable Etang Discher, playing against type, contributes the role of Dyesebel's faithful friend and companion Banak, with conviction. Trust Gerardo de Leon to make Edna Luna emote, project and render an acceptable piece of acting. In Filipino movies, De Leon has staked his claim on the production of fantasy films that is both intelligent and technically advanced for its time.

Directed By: Gerardo de Leon
Story By: Mars Ravelo Serialized in Pilipino Komiks
Screenplay By: Pierre Salas
Cinematography: Emmanuel Rojas
Musical Director: Tito Arevalo
Film Editor: Frank Estepa
Production Design: Joe de los Reyes
Produced By: Manuel Vistan, Jr. Production
Release Date: July 2, 1953