It’s clear while watching Langis at Tubig (Sining Silangan, Inc., 1980) that try as he may, director Danny L. Zialcita and his cast can’t quite capture what makes studies of love and desire so achingly vital. Instead, the movie plays like an inept domestic drama. While the performances are outstanding across the board, make no mistake, this is Amy Austria’s show all the way. She plays the wounded, broken-down Pilar with an end-of-the-world fierceness. Austria’s Pilar is a spitfire and that only adds to why Dindo Fernando’s Bobby is so mind-boggling. What makes him so acerbic toward a woman who clearly loves him. And exactly what attracts him to Vilma Santos’s Cory? Indeed, the sum total of Santos's appeal hardly compares to a single one of Austria’s stabbing, penetrating looks. But the chief culprit here are not the actors (they’re all first-rate) but the script’s lack of a point of view. Arguably, the movie wants to pivot around Bobby. Zialcita even favors him in one brief scene but then, oddly enough, abandons it. Truly, every character suffers from Zialcita's dissipated approach, limited to ridiculous shows of brow-beating and glib, self-consciously revelatory remarks. Perhaps the worst casualty of this is Ronaldo Valdez, a charismatic actor whose Charlie is strictly window-dressing. If anything, the surfaces are where the movie excels. The lived-in spaces inhabited by its characters, their work lives, all feel vivid and authentic. But surfaces are finite and when Zialcita reaches his boundaries, they drop off into nothingness, having no sense of his characters’ souls to catch their fall.
This new high-definition digital transfer was created from the only existing projection print. Thousands of instances of molds, warps, specks, unsteadiness, scratches, film grain, splice marks and static debris were hand cleaned. Some close-ups look quite pleasing, but elsewhere the image is rather soft and textures are problematic. Clarity, however, is mostly adequate and with a few minor exceptions, contrast levels are stable. Some extremely light grain has been retained, but it’s quite inconsistent and mixed up with light noise. The good news is that there are no traces of serious post-production sharpening. Unsurprisingly, the film does have a pleasing organic look. It is often weak but nevertheless a preferable one. Finally, some small damage marks and tiny horizontal lines are occasionally present, but I assume that they could not have been removed without dramatically affecting the integrity of the image. All in all, considering Central Digital Lab's strong record and dedication to high quality presentations, I think it is fair to speculate that this is likely the best Langis at Tubig could look at the moment. Generally speaking, the dialog is crisp, stable, and easy to follow. The few sequences where the music becomes prominent are also convincing. There is, however, some light background noise that occasionally pops up here and there. It is definitely not distracting, but its presence is certainly felt. At times, Langis at Tubig becomes predictable and ponderous but the accomplished performances keeps you wanting to know more.
Art Director: Peter Perlas
Sound Supervisor: Rolly Ruta
Musical Director: George Canseco
Cinematography: Felizardo Bailen
Film Editor: Ike Jarlego Sr.
Screenplay: Danny L. Zialcita, Baby Nebrida
Direction: Danny L. Zialcita
