SARI-SARING SINENG PINOY

Dormitoryo!

Dormitoryo! (All Star Film Production) is a relentless exposition on the kind of dehumanization that occurs in student dormitories around the university belt. It is not entertaining in the usual sense, it is disquieting. The film succeeds in recreating the deplorable conditions of student life in the city. Dormitoryo's power stems from its screenplay which is based on several short stories written by Agapito Joaquin. The most coherent of them involves Gil (Ariosto Reyes, Jr). whose transformation from impoverished to stone-hearted drug pusher serves as the hub of events in the film. Reyes gives a performance decidedly superior to those of Philip (Alfie Anido), Joji (Roderick Paulate), Sonny (Ricky Davao) and the other young actors in the film. Also noteworthy is the production design which positively helps generate sympathy for the characters. Without cluttering the screen with the usual poverty symbols, the designer manages to convey the sense of hopelessness that surrounds student life in the inner city.

Two interesting directorial touches show Arman Reyes' artistic potential. In one sequence, the dorm residents are usually noisy. Having repeatedly failed to study in the past, Alex (Arnold Gamboa) is about to give up all hope of learning his lessons. One of the residents is reading a book entitled Amok. The book's title of course, describes the action in the sequence. Another such directorial touch involves the use of a quick cut to show time lapse. Gil, walking home, exhausted from his job meets the neighborhood pushers. He looks at the face of one of the men, and the face suddenly turns to his own. In the very next sequence, Gil is already the university's established drug pusher. Time lapse was successfully shown through a simple cut. Nevertheless, Dormitoryo! rings several false notes. Cynthia's (Lorna Tolentino) subplot which tries to exploit that over-exploited Filipino situation, the rich girl falling for poor boy Oscar (Mark Gil) is unnecessary. Tolentino appears on the screen so infrequently and her role is so patently absurd that the film would have been much better without her.

Directed By: Arman Reyes
Screenplay: Arman Reyes And Agapito M. Joaquin
Director Of Photography: Mike Accion
Musical Director: Rudy Rivero
Film Editors: Gervacio Santos And Romy Marcos
Production Design: Vic Delotavo
Produced By: All Star Film Production
Release Date: January 8, 1982