Filmmaker Joselito Altarejos, whose artistry has not been channelled toward making a new movie for quite a while, is instead turning back to tinker with his earlier film. He went back and reworked Pamilya sa Dilim changing the order of several sequences and giving it a bold, new title. Guardia de Honor (ADCC Productions, 2076 Kolektib, 2024) better calibrates our expectations for a mournful, elegiac film. The story is identical; so, for that matter, are its emphases. There’s a carefully parsed opulence to Altarejos' direction. Most of the new edits are a matter of pruning, coming into scenes later and getting out of them earlier to provide a momentum. The film’s tautly controlled turbulence guides the eye to salient details, its clarified lines of dramatic tension calmly burst into images of an explosive yet nearly static intensity. Instead, Altarejos has made cuts that make the lengthy film and its sprawling narratives a bit more concise. The difference isn’t in style; it’s that the movie’s theological passion is inseparable from another aspect of the film, one that’s too painful and intimate to discuss in detail. Is redemption hopeless for the Medialdeas?
The biggest structural change Altarejos has made to the movie concerns Mamang Anita (Laurice Guillen) as she recalls how her husband met his tragic fate. This scene used to happen midway into the film, but moving it near the end liberates Mamang Anita from the sludge of her memories. That framing lends Mamang Anita an instant desperation that endows her with a clear purpose that’s powerful enough to persevere against the change that swirl around it. Maybe adjusted expectations are the key to appreciating Guardia de Honor. Altarejos has remade it to fold himself back into the very substance of the film. The changes he has made are interesting and I am glad that he got the chance to make them and bring the film closer to what he originally intended, although I am not sure they have a significant effect on the overall experience of the film. The amazingly striking black and white cinematography adds to the visuals in numerous key scenes. That said, Guardia de Honor gathers force as it goes along. It’s a movie that can sweep you up if you let it.
Production Designer: Jay Custodio
Musical Scorer: Von de Guzman
Sound Engineer: Andrew Milallos
Editor: Joselito Attarejos
Director of Photography: Manuel T. Garcellano
Written and Directed By: Joselito Altarejos
