short comments on BABEL

as a film, i appreciate it, maayos ang pagkagawa. magaling ang acting. madaming gustong sabihin including how our globalized world is actually making our worlds smaller and more difficult to move in with borders, air space, etc. how fate and human agency clash every single day/moment.

cate blanchett reminds me of kristin scott thomas in the english patient, so helpless, yet still dignified.

loved the disco scene and the pissing/kissing scene.

inarritu's amores perros had a more raw and visceral feel than babel.

gael garcia bernal. :) the performances of rinku kikuchi and adriana barraza are tour de force.

pero as a control freak, i felt helpless for the characters and their situations. i don't like films that put its characters in such hopeless situations.but it's just me.

YCC citation for Best Performer - Maricel Soriano for Inang Yaya

Mga Nominado para sa Pinakamahusay sa Pagganap

Cherry Pie Picache – Kaleldo
Binangga at binago ni Cherry Pie Pichace sa pelikulang Kaleldo ang talamak, gasgas at maling representasyon ng lesbiana sa pelikulang Pilipino. Mahusay at matalino ang pagbuo ni Picache sa karakter ni Jess bilang lesbiana – malakas ngunit sensitibo, palaban ngunit mapagmahal, at matapang ngunit mapagkalinga. Dahil sa masusing pagganap ni Picache, buo ang karakter ni Jess bilang tao, babae, anak, kapatid, at partner. Isa ito sa pinakabuo at makataong representasyon ng isang lesbiana sa pelikulang Pilipino.


Buong Cast – Inang Yaya
Maingat na binuo ng mga aktor sa Inang Yaya ang kanilang mga karakter kaya naman kumikilos sila hindi ayon sa mga gasgas na karakterisasyon sa melodrama kundi ayon sa maingat at matalinong paghimay sa iba’t-ibang tensiyong kinakaharap ng mga kanilang mga karakter.

Balanse at buo ang pagganap ni Lisa Lorena bilang Lola Toots na sa simula’y mapangutya at mapag-bintang ay siya pang magiging “confidante” ni Ruby at makakatuklas sa kabutihan ng puso nito.

Ang papel na Louise at Ruby ay mahusay at matalinong naganpanan nina Erika Oreta at Tala Santos. Sa murang edad, nailarawan nila na kahit bata ay may kakayahang umarok at umunawa, mag-isip at dumama, magpasiya at kumilos tungkol sa iba’t ibang hamon ng kanilang munting mundo.

Ganap din ang karakterisasyon ng ibang mga nagsiganap tulad nila Zoren Logaspi at Sunshine Cruz bilang mga kareristang magulang ni Louise at Marita Zobel bilang nanay ni Norma.

(ang ilang bahagi dito ay mula sa sinulat ni Leo Zafra)


Maricel Soriano – Inang Yaya
Sa taong 2006, ang pinakamahusay na pagganap ay iginagawad kay Ms. Maricel Soriano sa kanyang pagganap bilang Inang Yaya. Pinamalas ni Ms. Soriano ang matalino at sensitibong pag-unawa at paghimay sa karakter ni Norma bilang yaya sa maluhong Louise at ina sa nangungulilang anak na si Ruby. Ramdam natin na sagad sa pagod ngunit puno ng pagmamahal si Norma habang pilit niyang hinahati ang pagmamahal na ito sa dalawang bata na para sa kanya ay pareho niyang anak. Batid tayo sa pagkimkim niya ng pighati sa pagkamatay ng kanyang ina. Saksi tayo sa pagninilay ni Norma sa desisyon kung sasama abroad sa piling ng alaga o mananatili sa sariling bansa at sa piling ng anak. Sapat at akma ang mga emosyon, damdamin at karanasan na ipinakita ni Ms Soriano sa pagtalakay niya sa karakter. Sensitibo, matalino, maingat, at may dangal ang ipinamalas na pagganap ni Maricel Soriano bilang Inang Yaya.

Hindi na iba si Ms. Maricel Soriano sa Young Critics Circle Film Desk. Dalawang beses na siyang nagawaran ng Pinakamahusay sa Pagganap – una, para sa Ikaw Pa Lang ang Minahal noong 1992, at pangalawa ay para sa Vampira noong 1994. Ilang taon na din ang nakalipas, at masaya ang YCC Film Desk na makapiling muli si Ms. Maricel Soriano para gawaran ng kanyang ikatlong Pinakamahusay sa Pagganap para sa pelikulang Inang Yaya.

Inang Yaya blog: http://inangyaya.blogspot.com/

shameless plug for HOMEBOUND

HOMEBOUND: 19th century Women Visual Artists in the Philippines by Eloisa May P. Hernandez

buy a copy of my book at the U.P. Press and other bookstores. P300 yata. it's on second printing already. may libreng kiss! :)

Some random thoughts about Rome and Juliet

halatang baguhan ang director. handling ng elements ay amatuerish pa. plus, attempt at poetry hindi masyado swabe. minsan out of place na sa mga eksena. parang ginamit na ang poetry as some sort of background music na nasobrahan. of course, yung tunog lata at peripheral sounds na panget ay dala na din ng paggamit ng natural sound sa pelikula at minimal dubbing.

sa screenplay naman, wala matinong resolution dun sa family problem ng isa e. deus ex machina - masagasaan siya at ma-coma para ma-resolve. walang totoong understanding at acceptance mula sa pamilya, forced na kasi coma siya, pag tinakwil pa siya, evil na nanay. at deadma na sa nakasagasa o sa incident na iyun. ginamit lang iyon to enact a resolution at maging palatable ang ending.

hindi lang ako solved sa idea na nung nagmahalan ang 2 babae ay sobrang daming masamang nangyari. matanggal sa trabaho, bastusin, ikahiya, mamatay ang tatay, blame sa pagkamatay ng tatay, itakwil, masagasaan, ma-coma etc etc. parang lahat na lang ng masamang pwedeng mangyari at nangyari nga. at bakit dun sa mas "mahirap" sa kanila? kay mylene dizon, ano nangyaring masama sa kanya? ano ang point? na kapag naging tomboy ka na mahirap ka ay talaga namang kulang na lang kidlatan ka? at kung maging tomboy ka na mayaman ka ay wala namang gaanong mangyayaring masama sa iyo? na-dichotomize lang masyado ang gender issue at malabong na-fuse sa issue ng class. again, directorial and sceenplay problem ito.

mylene dizon is the bright spot in this movie. Mylene gives a nuanced and sensitive performance here. she handled the character with respect and understanding. mylene dizon exudes charm and is absolutely sexy in this movie.

Kaleldo (Summer Heat) Loses Steam

Sizzling summer heat loses steam in Brillante Mendoza’s Kaleldo (Kampanpangan for “summer heat”). Mendoza’s directorial skills turn arid Pampanga into a beautiful setting for a family drama hampered by a problematic screenplay. A story about the Manansala family of Guagua, Pampanga, it stars Johnny Delgado as Rudy Manansala, a woodcarver and father to three daughters: Jess, wonderfully played by Cherry Pie Picache, is the eldest daughter and a lesbian who suffers the scorn of her father; Lourdes, played by Angel Aquino, is the favored middle child who is married to a weakling of a husband, Andy (Alan Paule); and the youngest daughter, Grace, played by Juliana Palermo, who is married to a mama’s boy Conrad (Lauren Novero).

Kaleldo is a movie in three parts; each daughter’s story is prefigured by an element. The first part, Wind, is Grace’s story and how she tries but fails to integrate with her husband’s family. Fire prefigures the story of Lourdes, her failing marriage and costly indiscretion. Water, the last part of this trilogy of elements, is the story of Jess and her girlfriend Weng (Criselda Volks), and is highlighted by the death of the father and ends with Weng walking out of Jess during the father’s wake. The fourth element, Earth, is the landscape of Pampanga. The importance and purpose of these elements in the narrative is never clear. Are these just devices to divide the narrative? Or are there stereotypical characteristics of the elements that are present in the stories of each daughter? Are the daughters’ personalities akin to the elements? The screenplay is out of its element. The three parts are not woven tightly and is far from seamless; the division is more disruptive than unifying. It is safe to say that the sum of the three parts did not achieve a cinematic whole.

Kaleldo created a buzz in the public’s imagination with a lesbian, Jess, as one of its central characters. Once marginalized and close to invisible, there has been an abundance lately of lesbian representations in Philippine cinema with Joel Lamangan’s Sabel, Connie SA.Macatuno’s Rome and Juliet, Auraeus Solito’s Tuli, and Babae by Sigrid Andrea Bernardo. Though films with lesbian characters offer a deeper understanding of the woman-loving-woman relationship, some representations are problematic (Carlos Siguion Reyna’s Tatlo…Magkasalo comes to mind as one of the most). Even if these films render lesbians visible in predominantly patriarchal representations in Philippine cinema, the discourse about lesbians that these films generate leaves much to be desired. Most lesbians are represented as drunkards (Jess’ lesbian friends in Kaleldo spend most of their screen time drinking or drunk), confused, criminals, evil, violent, and spurned by men they love and so turning them into men-hating lesbians.

Most films also dichotomize lesbians into butches and femmes (for lack of more appropriate terms). The butches are depicted as very macho and patriarchal, and the femmes are depicted as very feminine and subservient. At the end of the film, the lesbians are turned straight, made to go back to the altar of heterosexuality, and married off to the next available bachelor, thereby fulfilling the heterosexual happy-ever-after plot. Kaleldo places itself in this quandary. After exposing the flawed heterosexual relationships between Lourdes and Andy and younger sister Grace and Conrad, and portraying the lesbian relationship between Jess and Weng as a stable, loving, caring, and supportive partnership between two women, it chooses to break up and destroy the lesbian relationship and marry Weng off in a church wedding. Why deny lesbian love its much-needed and deserved happy-ever-after? Why succumb to the heterosexual and patriarchal notion of relationship?

A voice-over narration feebly attempts to explain that Jess had to let go of Weng because she loves her, unlike the kind of love her strict father had for them that left her scarred. Whatever happened to fighting for one’s love? Where is redemption here? Where is empowerment? Instead of liberating Jess from the scarring and stifling patriarchal love of her father, she succumbs and is defeated by it.

Brillante Mendoza, winner of last year’s Young Critics Circle Film Desk awards for his first film Masahista, creates some stunning picture-perfect scenes with sparkles of cinematographic brilliance that turns lahar-stricken Pampanga into a beautiful setting, albeit some scenes are devoid of context.

The acting is uneven and inconsistent, making it difficult for us to empathize with the characters. Johnny Delgado’s acting during his daughter’s wedding seems more lustful than loving. Angel Aquino, Alan Paule and Lauren Novero render forgettable performances. Liza Lorena is over the top. Juliana Palermo and Criselda Volks are competent.

The bright spot in this acting ensemble is Cherry Pie Picache who turns in the most subtle yet searing portrayal of a devoted and dutiful lesbian daughter that still does not command the love and respect she deserves from her father. Picache’s transformation is effective and detailed - in small quiet gestures, a painful look, a longing stare. Her characterization is intelligent and void of histrionics. Picache inhabits Jess in a convincing manner and blends with the landscape that is Pampanga. We ache as she strives for her father’s respect, acceptance, and ultimately, his love. We cringe as she is constantly berated and publicly embarrassed by her father for how she dresses. We cheer as she defends her sister from a rampaging husband with a leg of pig as a weapon. We experience her love for her girlfriend Weng with her intimate caresses. We flinch as she is slapped by her father for answering back and standing up for herself and Weng. We sense her fear as she ever so slightly recoils in the presence of her domineering and violent father. We empathize with her vulnerability as she mourns his death.

Contrary to prevalent, albeit erroneous, representations in film and other mass media where the lesbian is typecast as macho, brusque, uncouth, and abrasive, Picache’s portrayal of a lesbian is strong yet sensitive, willful yet tender and loving, and impenitent yet compassionate. Defying pervasive filmic and societal lesbian constructs, she intelligently captures the nuances of Jess’ character portraying her as a dutiful, hard-working and responsible daughter, a protective sister, and a loving partner. Picache does not characterize Jess solely as a lesbian, but more importantly, as a person. This is reminiscent of Jeanette Winterson’s musings on being a lesbian in Art Objects, “I am not a lesbian who happens to write. I am a writer who happens to love women.” Cherry Pie Picache’s Jess renders more depth and humanity into a lesbian character than most of lesbian representations in recent Philippine cinematic history.

Cherry Pie Picache is the saving grace of Kaleldo, and yet it is her character, Jess, that suffers the most tragic loss as lesbian love wilts under the sweltering heat of summer in Pampanga.

Zest and Zany Zsazsa Zaturnnah Ze Muzikal

He is not faster than a speeding bullet, nor is he more powerful than a locomotive and he cannot leap tall buildings in a single bound – he becomes a she, and she is Zsazsa Zaturnnah, the Philippines newest, zaniest, and funniest superheroine. Zsazsa Zaturnnah Ze Muzikal has put back the zest in the theater scene in the Philippines.

Based on Carlo Vergara’s Manila Critics’ Circle National Book Award winning Ang Kagila-gilalas Na Pakikipagsapalaran Ni Zsazsa Zaturnnah, a 2-part graphic novel about a parlorista gay named Ada who transforms into Zsazsa Zaturnnah by swallowing a mysterious stone that fell from the heavens. Zsazsa defends her small town from a giant frog, rampaging zombies, Queen Femina Suarestellar Baroux together with her Amazonistas from Planet X, and while doing all these, she captures the heart of the handsome debonair, Dodong.
Zsazsa Zaturnnah Ze Muzikal is as zany and witty as the comic book. Once you hear the famous line “Yu get yor big prag en go hom en plant kamote, yu samababits, maderpaker shet!!”, you are definitely hooked. Zsazsa Zaturnnah Ze Muzikal is one of the best laugh you will get this year – this is the ROTL (rolling on the floor laughing), LOL (laughing out loud), and DDF (drop dead funny) play of the year.

Eula Valdez is perfect as Zsazsa Zaturnnah - her strong singing and speaking voice, sexy body, irresistible lips, and competent acting brings Zsazsa Zaturnnah to life. Her arch enemy Queen Femina Suarestellar Baroux is played with less zest and energy by Agot Isidro. Isidro often sounds like she is losing gas and oxygen while singing. Tuxqs Rutaqio’s Ada, though competent, is eclipsed by the delightful performance of Ricci Chan as Didi, Ada’s best friend and parlor assistant. Chan’s Didi emerges as the unexpected star of Ze Muzikal, with her laugh out loud, drop dead funny lines delivered in sometimes deadpan manner and perfectly timed adlibs, almost stealing the show from Zsazsa and Ada. Arnold Reyes as Dodong has the perfunctory sexy body complete with noodles for abs but his singing voice is weak and his characterization bland. Wilma Doesnt, Deeda Barretto, Mayen Estañero and Tess Jamias are all fabulous as Amazonistas Dina B., Vilma S., Sharon C., and Nora A. Mia Bolanos is hilarious as Aling Whitney.

Directed by theater veteran Chris Millado, Ze Muzikal is held together by the music of Vince de Jesus and the adaptation of Chris Martinez. Clearly, they wanted to stay true to Vergara’s graphic novel but still managed to effectively update the lines to respond to present day situations, but the Ze Muzikal proves too long for comfort with too many songs as fillers that do not really move the story.

Thankfully, Carlo Vergara’s oeuvre remains intact and complete with the “Pagoda Cold Wave Motion Gun” and “Transmorphication Execute.” These famous lines and the unforgettable characters certainly make Zsazsa Zaturnnah Ze Muzikal one of the best and delightful plays of the year.