Regardless of artistic intentions and ingenuity, young directors were subject to the norms of the industry, the demands of producers, the caprices of stars, the wrath of critics, the law of the box office. In retrospect, the seventies come off as a glorious moment of innovative filmmaking, but they all faced varieties of deep trouble, many of which come to the fore in Ishmael Bernal's
Pagdating sa Dulo (Frankesa Films, Inc., 1971). So it is with Bernal’s characters, to whose bearing he has always paid close attention. The very bearing and manner of speech that his characters exhibit, a kind of reserved expressiveness, a steadiness that is non-theatrical but in no way natural is itself a reflection of a personal style that flows directly into his films. Bernal's screenplay contains many moments to be savored by those who have enjoyed his long battle with the establishment. The film’s startling point is that none of these aesthetic sensations matter in the face of emotional devastation, in those desperate times where no cultural bauble will distract you from the uncomfortable sight of your deepest interior realms. Ching (Miss Rita Gomez) wields her knowledge around Pinggoy (Vic Vargas) as a way of leveling the playing ground, she’s a classic insecure female wounded by a man she suspects might be out of her league, but even worse, she’s tortured by the suspicions that Pinggoy stirs in Ching about herself. The pretense that
Pagdating sa Dulo is about the struggle to maintain artistic integrity in a debased film community suddenly collapses and the notion is revealed to be indulgent and self-justifying.
Pagdating sa Dulo seethes with ill feelings toward its audience, the industry, its characters and not least of all itself.
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, this new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution and restored by L'Immagine Ritrovata in Italy from a 16mm internegative. There are some extremely light vertical lines that occasionally pop up. Tiny flecks can be spotted as well. Detail and image depth, however, are very pleasing. Generally speaking, contrast levels also remain stable throughout the entire film. The blacks and whites are well balanced and there is a good range of healthy grays. There are no traces of problematic degraining corrections. Also, sharpening adjustments have not been performed. There are no serious compression issues, but I did notice some extremely light strobing during the first half of the film. Still, overall image stability is very good and the film has a very pleasing organic look. Audio clarity and depth are good, but occasionally there is very light background hiss that makes its presence felt. It is not distracting, but more sensitive viewers will obviously notice when the hiss becomes more prominent. The overall dynamic intensity is quite limited, but this should not be surprising considering the fact it was produced in 1971. Bernal’s work here is unquestionably that of a cinematic master, letting the story seep in on every level, creating a film about itself as well as about the sacrifices that any creative force makes willing or otherwise, to their art.
Director of Cinematography: Delfin Carretas
Sound Supervision: Luis S. Reyes STAMP
Editor: Teofilo de Leon
Director of Music: Francisco Buencamino
Screenplay & Direction: Ishmael Bernal
