SARI-SARING SINENG PINOY

Palengke Queen

Arman Reyes and Freddie Sarrol's Palengke Queen (JayVee Film Productions) is a commercial feature if nothing else. There are the sure fire elements. Rich boy and poor girl, rags to riches, revenge, love. This is a film in the grand tradition of Philippine cinema based on the komiks phenomenon. One minor crisis follows another exactly as one would want to read in a weekly serial. There's always a deep sense of loss when a promising filmmaker such as Arman Reyes loses his touch and churns out a terrible movie. Palengke Queen, no matter how one looks at it is simply awful. Take the characterization of the three brothers for instance. Why are they so ineffectual? How could Tibang (Nora Aunor) have remained the servile sister in such a household? Even the sequence in which Robert  (Mat Ranillo III) offers them two cases of beer is inconclusive. The film didn't bother to show the effect of the bribery on Robert's courtship. Or take Mang Poncing (Joonee Gamboa) who suddenly transforms into a responsible father when he inherits wealth. No logical explanation is ever offered for his sudden change of behavior. Even his chronic cough simply vanished into thin air. How about the supporting characters in the market? They seem merely to have gotten old. If there are going to be minor characters, why not use them to move the story forward.

There is merit of course in the revenge theme. One applauds when Tibang refuses to have Doña  Carmela (Celia Rodriguez) kiss her foot. But someone used to the religious undertones of Filipino movies can easily guess that the heroine, no matter how much she wants to get even will never go through with such an unchristian act. There are, in other words no surprises in this film. Nora Aunor is a good actress. As Tere in Ishmael Bernal's Ikaw Ay Akin (1978), she was brilliant, holding her own against Vilma Santos' challenging performance. As the title character in Lino Brocka's Bona (1980), she was even more brilliant, handling the subtle and difficult role with ease and maturity. Not even Aunor's acting, however, cannot save Palengke Queen from being a very bad film. Reyes succeeds in neutralizing Aunor's magic.  He delivers a story which does not allow Aunor a chance to display her talents. Reyes made a thoroughly commercial film. Perhaps the real problem lies with the material's komiks roots. Komiks is a medium that has, in hundreds of films proven to be unadaptable to the screen. Palengke Queen proves it beyond a doubt.

Directed By: Arman Reyes And Freddie Sarrol
Story By: Pat V. Reyes Serialized In Bondying Weekly Movie Specials Komiks
Screenplay By: Arman Reyes, Ricky Dalu And Freddie Sarrol
Cinematography: Gener Buenaseda
Music: Venancio Saturno
Film Editor: Oscar Dugtong
Production Design: Jeorge Hernandez
Produced By: JayVee Film Productions
Release Date: August 6, 1982
Palengke Queen theme song performed by Nora Aunor