Pisay (2007, Auraeus Solito)

High school pics and youth-oriented movies were hugely popular in the 1980s. The teen angst movies of John Hughes made a big star of Molly Ringwald. In this part of the world, the local Brat Pack headed by William Martinez and Aga Muhlach thrilled fans with their own version of adventures and misadventures. The films, booming with generation-defining songs, dealt mostly with common adolescent problems such as fitting in, identity crisis, unrequited love, and strained relationship with parents. However, most of the films are mere teen fantasies. Plain-looking Andie (Ringwald) nabs a date with a rich and good-looking playboy in the cult classic Pretty in Pink. The young lads from Bagets get to drive fancy cars and bed sultry women. The films make it look like it was a good time to be in high school.

But, what is high school life really like during the tumultuous, waning years of the corrupt Marcos regime? Auraeus Solito’s Pisay is probably the definitive high school movie on the era. The production design, slang, and music are spot on. It captured perfectly the spirit of the times. President Ferdinand Marcos lifted martial law in 1981 but the political repression and corruption continue to flourish. Former Senator Benigno Aquino was assassinated in 1983. Yellow fever swept the people until its zenith in February 1986. The zeitgeist molded patriotic students and created courageous young heroes.

The film Pisay takes a look at how the 80s affected eight bright students of the Philippine Science High School. They are part of the so-called cream of the crop. Several of these gifted students have competed, and will compete, in local Quiz Bee contests and international academic competitions. The award-winning script by Henry Grajeda presented a vivid account of student life in a highly competitive national science high school. Important lessons were imparted via science and math themes that are easily understood by ordinary high school students. However, it is the film’s handling of political themes that makes it more memorable and accessible.

Episodic in nature, the movie starts with a ‘love story.’ Rom and Wena’s growing affection for one another gets smothered by their teacher, Ms. Casas. They are likened to planets veering away from their orbits and wrecking havoc on outer space. Ms. Casas reminds them to focus on their studies. The wordless meeting between the two along the hallway is beautifully filmed. The alternate student Rom barges into the honors roll but loses the girl. Parting is sweet sorrow indeed.

Mateo seems to be one of those who cannot focus on their studies. He is a bullied dormer who still yearns for his family in the province. This homesickness takes its toll on his grades. The chubby student gets dropped from the school rolls for failing a college-level math subject. He shares a valuable lesson to others like him who got kicked out. A Bell Curve diagram identifies them as winners who just happen to pale beside more diligent scholars. Mateo returns two years later to tell his teacher that he is taking up Mathematics in college.

There are more stories of other students who did not graduate with the batch. Liway, a student more attuned with social sciences than natural sciences, fights for better school facilities and repeal of the school’s segregation plan. Her courage stems from exposure to the works of her activist parents. The whole family had to go abruptly to Netherlands to escape political persecution. On the other hand, Minggoy is a budding astronomer whose life is cut short by an illness. His early death may be an allusion to numerous students killed by Marcos’ henchmen.

The stench of the crimes of the Marcos regime can not be isolated even from a government-funded high school. I’m not sure whether there was a strong student movement against Marcos in Pisay (Ms. Casas plaintively recalls a rally gone wrong) but surely, the students must have had strong opinion against Marcos after the Edsa Revolution. They will learn that among other hideous things, his crony was responsible for the cancellation of their dearly beloved anime show, Voltes V. Nowadays; graduating students barely have a clue about the legacy of Marcos. There is even an absurd movement to have his remains buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Solito and Grajeda, both members of their school's Silver Jubilarian batch this year, have made their alma mater proud with this excellent film. Solito made a courageous decision to shun science courses by taking up Theatre Arts in college (yes, the character Euri is based on him). He went on to create movies with markedly Filipino sensibilities. I still have a hard time choosing the best film of Solito. My answer usually is the last film I’ve recently seen from among these three movies: Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros, Tuli, and Pisay. The latter film though is still his best directed film.

Congratulations to those graduating this year. Remember you are all winners even if you belong to the left side of the Bell curve’s right half.

In Da Red Korner (2006, Dado Lumibao)

The late critic Alexis Tioseco wished that more Filipinos get to see the following underrated films, In Da Red Korner, and Ray Defante Gibraltar's When Timawa Meets Delgado. These influential movies are indeed little gems of independent cinema. Both films feature innovative approaches to storytelling and tackle major obsessions by Filipinos.

In Da Red Korner deals with boxing, while When Timawa Meets Delgado is a hilarious mockumentary on nursing. It had been a long time since I saw the latter film, so I’ll just focus on the boxing film, which sometimes crop up on Cinema One.

Lumibao's movie chronicles the travails of female lightweight boxer Rhodora 'Doring' Villamor (Meryll Soriano). It is three days before the finals of the National Open Amateur Boxing Championship and she is still struggling to reach the ideal weight of 60 kilos. She forgoes having meals and does extra hours of practice in order to shed some pounds. The early part of the film showcases the training camp for boxers. We see the spartan conditions of the boxers’ quarters. We see the rugged mountains with grazing goats.

After conquering her weight problem, Doring encounters another formidable foe, dysmenorrhea. She prepared for the arrival of this foe by stocking up on essential things. However, a drug addict stole her toiletries and medical kit. She spends the eve of the championship searching for sanitary napkins and pain killers. This middle segment of the film features an influential tracking shot done at night. Doring was out in the rain desperately looking for the precious napkins. She scours the dark streets in search for open retail stores. Dark tracking scenes such as these became common in later films such as Tribu and Engkwentro.

The last part of the film focuses on the day of the boxing championship. Director Lumibao presents a realistic portrait of happenings at a boxing event. The casual and humorous annotations by the ringside broadcaster are mostly spot-on. We see a singer botch up the ending of the national anthem. We see female boxers engage in some bits of wrestling atop the ring.

In Da Red Korner is one of the pioneering ‘real-time’ films of 2006, along with Kubrador and Manoro. All three films have different subjects and directors but they are alike in most aspects. They all feature female protagonists. They employ a 3-day period as time frame. Then, there are the tracking shots showing the places that the leads tread on. Even their endings are the same. Things end up badly for the three leads.

If you're wondering why those films are all alike, then wonder no more. All of them have the creative mark of Armando Lao, probably the best scriptwriter working in the country right now. He started tinkering with the real-time mode in 2004 and perfected it in 2006. That year saw 'real-time' films barge into local film consciousness via film festivals such as Cinemalaya and Cinemanila. Those films prepared the audience to accept future films with innovative and experimental approaches to storytelling.

Yearning to watch some real-time films? Catch the Brillante Mendoza masterpieces, Manoro and Tirador at UP Videotheque, with screenings until Saturday (September 12). Check out also the Sindie Film Festival, which is currently running at Robinsons Galleria. Tribu and Engkwentro will be shown there.

Namets! (2008, Jay Abello)

‘Namets’ is a Hiligaynon slang meaning yummy. This above-average romantic comedy has a certain magical touch that will make you yearn for sumptuous Negrosanon food. I’ve had strong cravings for finger-licking good napoleones and mouth-watering chicken inasal after watching this movie.

Of all the Italian restaurants, in all the towns, in all the world, Cassie Labayen (Angel Jacob) walks into Puccini’s restaurant, owned by Jacko Teves (Christian Vasquez). They rekindle their romance amidst the task of transforming the Italian restaurant into a local restaurant that will feature the best regional food.

Indeed, the revamped restaurant, and the film, became a showcase of popular local cuisine and idiosyncratic local food habits in Negros Occidental. Namets! is the second film of director Jay Abello to deal with Negrosanon culture. Indie filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik praised Abello’s debut film Ligaw Liham. He acknowledged the young director’s ability to bring out the essence of Negros Occidental. The script was full of loopholes but the look and feel of the film was purely magic. Viewers were transported back to the glory days of Negros Occidental.

In 2008, Abello dug deep once again into his ‘sariling duende’ and came up with Namets! The decision to use Hiligaynon language was simply inspired. It enhanced the local flavor of the film, which was shot entirely in the Visayan province of Negros Occidental. Some food segments fall flat but the hospital scene is fantastic. There’s also a memorable scene featuring a father teaching his children how to prepare sauce for chicken inasal. He instructs them how to properly eat the chicken.

A plethora of mostly Ilonggo actors greatly helped in sprucing up the authentic ambience of the film. The pairing of Vasquez and Jacob was pure chemistry. Dwight Gaston was excellent as the right hand of Boss Dolpo. It was nice to see Monsour del Rosario on the widescreen once more. Heavily made-up Joel Torre played a cave man who unwittingly discovered fire in 23436 BC. The cave man tried to put out the fire by throwing a chicken on the flame. He failed to quash the fire but came up with the first fried chicken in Negros. Peque Gallaga, mentor of budding regional filmmakers, had fun with his mumbling Don Corleone-type character. The only intelligible word to come out from his mouth was ‘namets!’

Boses (2008, Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil)

Boses, produced with some help from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, deals with the issues of child abuse and the rehabilitation of abused kids. It also highlights the use of music therapy to heal the emotional wounds of battered children.

Director Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil deftly blends melodramatic scenes with tense, exciting moments such as the initial meeting of the two main protagonists and the chase scene near the end. Add the powerful pull of the music playing scenes and the film ends up an engrossing and touching story of redemption.

I loved the idea of a frail, mute boy turning an angry, reclusive man into a caring person. Violinists attach a device called mute to the violin in order to mellow down the volume when they practice. In this film, the mute Onyok (Julian Duque) softens the choleric music of Ariel (Coke Bolipata). Ariel becomes more caring and loving. He surprises his sister by giving her a buss on the cheek.

On the other hand, Ariel helps Onyok to regain his ‘voice.’ The young boy is finally able to communicate and reach out to other people through his violin. His music nurtures the seed of love in the hearts of people he meets. Indeed, music is the food of love.

The two leads were surprisingly good. Julian Duque is a real child prodigy and it was a pleasure to see him play and act well. Coke Bolipata gave a fairly good performance. Indie regulars, Cherry Pie Picache and Ricky Davao, provide ample support to the acting tyros.

Boses was a last-minute addition to the list of Cinemalaya finalists. It became one of the better films of the Cinemalaya 2008 class. The next Cinemalaya edition is just around the corner, but the film has not been shown in commercial theaters. The highly-acclaimed movie deserves a full theatrical release.

Andong (Rommel Tolentino, 2008)

Andong is a short-feature film that I want to view again and again. The Cinemalaya 2008 movie is a rollicking take on a boy obsessed with television shows. He spends most of his time outside their home because they don’t have a television. One day, he comes across a man selling a raffle ticket worth 20 pesos. The main prize is a television set. Andong then sets out to raise 20 pesos.

Among the best and memorable Cinemalaya images last year are scenes showing Andong and his younger brother trying to get a glimpse of their favorite television programs. It is achingly painful to watch them peering through a crack or tiptoeing just to hurdle obstacles to their television viewing. It’s a good thing the bittersweet images were followed by rip-roaring funny segments. The movie is a laugh fest to the max. The excellent and award-winning script also dealt with the value of hard-earned money.

The two boys were very good actors. I break into a smile every time I recall the infectious laughter of Andong’s sibling. The trailer is right. It made sense to me after I viewed the short film. The two boys are every parent’s nightmare.

I was surprised at the excellent storytelling of competing short-feature films in 2008. My Pet and God Only Knows are some of the standouts. But, the best is still Milo Tolentino’s Andong. This is the second short-feature film of Tolentino to get the Best Short Film Award at the Cinemalaya competitions. He is now working on a full-length film for the Cinema One Originals 2009 and another short-feature film for Cinemalaya Cinco.