Vicente-Ignacio S. de
Veyra III's
Sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag
(notes on Pinoy films in his collection)
"HERE are listed some of our established Filipino filmmakers' oeuvres that found their way into my video shelf for third-world cinema (Philippines section). For these films, I'm providing my fellow Filipinos my own recommendation notes. But why do this at all in English (my writing language), given the fact that a Filipino film like, say, Tuhog, must needs have American actors first and be adapted into the Hollywood situation before it can summon a line of interested ticket buyers from the middle class? And given the fact that, leaving that movie alone, the middle class would be quite embarrassed to fall in line at the booths and watch the film, for the Tagalog language as drama medium is generally regarded as for the laundrywoman and the household au pair? This is obviously the reason why most Pinoy screenwriters would only write about lower class or rural concerns, or otherwise about poor-falls-in-love-with-rich characters or rags-to-riches-through-luck plots. It's verily a seeming fact that our middle class is quite a nation of import-worshippers and self-deprecators, and it doesn't matter whether it likes the label or not. So, again, Why do this at all? -- went your question. I say, are those serious questions up there or are they already answers?
"Sure one might say, 'Yeah, Vicente-Ignacio, but it's not as if Lino Brocka hasn't already died. And Eric de Guia won't do average-moviehouse films. Nor Lav Diaz anymore after Batang West Side.' Another might second, 'Yeah, that's right, so why bother?' And I would tend to agree Brocka and Kidlat Tahimik (de Guia) are treasures of Philippine cinema. However, as I'm wont to say, it's not true Bob Dylan was the beginning and the end of rock music. So, in Philippine cinema, why wait for our living directors' works to go antique before we consider watching them on Cinema One? Appreciation is possible on/of both the living and the Manila-based, and a variety of genius (or quasi-genius) is already here if only we'd take the various names involved on their own terms, or better yet, on our own environ's terms. Besides, given the above mental background of prejudice against ourselves and our artists, we might debate on the merits of our directors' movies rather than on the directors' own worthiness in our personal Cinema shelves.
"I'd agree it's quite a tall order handing out positive notes on Pinoy films, indeed given the truth that a Filipino middle class movie-goer would demand double on Filipino films and directors the suspension of his disbelief, this while he'd have ready generosity towards foreign films. This demand, however, is not entirely without good reason, our movies being about things close to home (and thus require perfection?) and also admittedly mostly less exacting on acting and dubbing (third-world nga e). Well, at least I can try. . . .
"So, go now and check my mostly positive angles on these movies. Oh, you'll find they might be the movies you've been wanting to puke on all these days, but at least I hope not because they're Filipino like you (that is, not foreign-produced or foreigner-inhabited like theirs). It's quite unfair to your own kind and yourself that, while you'd have that aforementioned ready appreciation for foreign films (ample generosity, as I said), you'd yet have nothing but pre-arranged disappointment at the door before a Filipino film would even get to its middle. So, okay now. Before I become horribly repetitive, let's now to the movies and see if you can agree with me!"-- (VISV III)
FULL-LENGTH FEATURE FILMS:
MARILOU DIAZ-ABAYA
Muro-Ami (Reef Hunters, 1999)
(nominated, Best Feature Film, 2000 Hawaii
International Film Festival)
(Audience Favorite Choice Award - Honorable
Mention, 1999 Cinequest San Jose Film Festival;
FIPRESCI Prize, 1998 Singapore International Film
Festival)
--------------------------------------------------
TIKOY AGUILUZ
--------------------------------------------------
LINO BROCKA
(Golden Montgolfiere, 1983 Nantes Three Continents
Festival)
Claws of Neon, 1975)--------------------------------------------------
MIKE DE LEON
--------------------------------------------------
MARYO DE LOS REYES
(International Grand Jury Award, 2005 Madrid
Children and Youth Film Festival, Audience Award,
2005 Sheffield Children and Youth Film Festival;
Glass Bear and the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk
Grand Prix, 2004 Berlin Film Festival; Grand Prix
for Best Picture, 2004 Rome International Children's
Film Festival; nominated, Crystal Globe, 2003
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival; nominated,
Best Feature Film, 2003 Hawaii International Film
Festival)
--------------------------------------------------
NICK DEOCAMPO
--------------------------------------------------
LAV DIAZ
2002)
Moon, 1999)
(nominated, Golden Screen Award, 2000 Singapore
International Film Festival)--------------------------------------------------
RAMONA DIAZ
(nominated, Grand Jury Prize, 2004 Sundance Film
Festival)--------------------------------------------------
PEQUE GALLAGA
--------------------------------------------------
JEFFREY JETURIAN
(nominated, Golden Pre-Columbian Circle, 2001
Bogota Film Festival; Gold Award, Independent
Theatrical Feature Film - Mature Audience, 2000
WorldFest Houston)
--------------------------------------------------
LUPITA AQUINO-KASHIWAHARA
--------------------------------------------------
JOEL LAMANGAN
--------------------------------------------------ERIK MATTI
--------------------------------------------------
MARIO O'HARA
1998)
(in the meantime that Warphoto's recommendation note
is being hatched, may we refer you to Noel Vera's own
notes on the film here)
1984)--------------------------------------------------
RORY QUINTOS
--------------------------------------------------
CHITO ROŅO
The Woman Without Rest, 1998)
--------------------------------------------------
CARLOS SIGUION-REYNA
(Grand Jury Award, 2001 San Diego Asian Film
Festival; nominated, Golden Spike, 2000 Valladolid
International Film Festival)
SHORT FILMS:
CHUCK ESCASA
--------------------------------------------------
JUAN PULA (JON RED)
--------------------------------------------------
DANIEL LUCAS RED
--------------------------------------------------
RAYMOND RED
(Palm d'Or - Best Short Film, 2000 Cannes Film
Festival)
Copyright Š 1999,
2000, 2002 Vicente-Ignacio S. de Veyra III. All rights reserved.
Readers are welcome to view, save, file and print out single
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Also check out Vicente's column for March 2, 2005
in the ezine Bananacue Republic titled "Uncle Oscar":
Click here.Also check out Noel Vera's take on
his 13 Most Important Pinoy Films of the Century:
Click here.
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