YCC bares winners of annual film awards for distinguished achievement in 2008

YCC AWARDS
YCC bares winners of annual film awards for distinguished achievement in 2008

The Film Desk of the Young Critics Circle formally bares its choices for distinguished achievement in films of the past year. Adolfo Alix Jr.’s “Adela” made a clean sweep of all the honors for all the categories of the annual awards.

The gritty dumpsite drama of a grandma awaiting a visit from immediate family members on her 80th birthday was voted Best Film of the Year and conferred recognition for Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Visual Design, Best Film Editing, Best Sound and Aural Orchestration and Best Performance for veteran actress Anita Linda in the title role.

Established in 1990, YCC is the academe-based critics group with members coming from various disciplines. Through the years, they have become attentive observers of Philippine cinema constantly bringing into the analysis of film an interdisciplinary approach.

The organization departs from many conventions of other award-giving bodies both here and abroad in bestowing cinematic honors. For instance, the award for Best Film of the Year is reserved for the director such that no separate prize for direction is needed. The Best Performance award is most coveted as it is conferred on a screen performer whether male or female, adult or child, individual or as part of an ensemble, in leading or supporting role. To uphold a more dynamic and encompassing way of looking at films, technical honors refer to fusion of outstanding efforts in fields otherwise deemed apart. In this case, the Best Cinematography and Visual Design recognition covers both camerawork and art direction. Similarly, Best Sound and Aural Orchestration encompasses not just sound engineering per se but musical score as well.

“Adela’s” clean sweep of YCC awards is the third time for a film to achieve such honor after “Masahista” (2005) and “Inang Yaya” (2006). It won over the only other nominee—Brillante Mendoza’s “Serbis”—in the topmost category. Joining “Serbis” is “Yanggaw” in the roster of nominations for all the three technical categories while nods for Best Screenplay also counted “Imoral”—another Alix megger written by Gerry Gracio—aside from “Serbis” as scripted by Armando Lao. Anita bested nominees in the singular acting category that shows her to be the only female. Said nominees are Paolo Paraiso in “Imoral,” Ronnie Lazaro in “Yanggaw” and Carlo Aquino in “Baler.” “Adela’s” victory also marks the second time for a digital feature to clinch the Best Cinematography and Visual Design prize after “Death in the Land of Encantos ” (2007).

In picking “Adela” for top honors, YCC cited the film’s departure from the usual catastrophic and sensational depiction of poverty in terms not only of economics but also of emotion and imagination. The here-and-the- now small sufferings of a senior citizen living independently are set against the backdrop of the greater suffering of a nation plagued by corruption scandals in high places and a social system that generally neglects the welfare of constituents in the margins of society.

Awarding ceremony with forum to follow is set on Wednesday, 11 March 2009, at 2 o’clock in the afternoon at the Pulungang Recto of the Faculty Center in UP Diliman.


A list of complete winners and nominees for this year’s YCC film awards by categories is as follows:

Young Critics Circle Film Desk Awards
19th Annual Circle Citations for Distinguished Achievement in Film for 2008

Best Film of the Year
Winner: Adela directed by Adolfo Alix Jr. (Bicycle Pictures and Visitfilms; Noel D. Ferrer and Adolfo Alix Jr., Executive Producers; Arleen C. Cuevas, Producer; Maxie Evangelista, Line Producer)
Nominee: Serbis directed by Brillante Mendoza (Centerstage Productions and Swift Productions; Didier Costet, Executive Producer; Ferdinand Lapuz, Producer; Antonio del Rosario and JC Nigado, Supervising Producers; Renato Esguerra, Associate Producer)

Best Screenplay
Winner: Adela (Bicycle Pictures; Visitfilms) – Adolfo Alix Jr. and Nick Olanka
Nominees:
Serbis (Centerstage Productions; Swift Productions) – Armando Lao
Imoral (Videoflick; Bicycle Pictures) – Gerry Gracio

Best Achievement in Cinematography and Visual Design
Winner: Adela (Bicycle Pictures; Visitfilms) – Albert Banzon, Director of Photography; Adolfo Alix Jr. and Jerome Zamora, Production Designers
Nominees:
Serbis (Centerstage Productions; Swift Productions) – Odyssey Flores, Director of Photography; Carlo Tabije and Benjamin Padero, Production Designers
Yanggaw (Cinema One) – Herman Claraval and Lyle Sacris, Directors of Photography; Donald Camon and Michael N. Español, Production Designers

Best Achievement in Film Editing
Winner: Adela (Bicycle Pictures; Visitfilms) – Aleks Castañeda
Nominees:
Serbis (Centerstage Productions; Swift Productions) – Claire Villa-Real
Yanggaw (Cinema One) – Borgy Torre

Best Achievement in Sound and Aural Orchestration
Winner: Adela (Bicycle Pictures; Visitfilms) – Mark Locsin and Jojo Jacinto, Sound Engineers; Ditoy Aguila and Junel Valencia , Sound Designers
Nominees:
Serbis (Centerstage Productions; Swift Productions) – Emmanuel Clemente, Sound Engineer; Gian Gianan, Musical Director
Yanggaw (Cinema One) – Joey Santos and Eduardo Velasquez, Sound Engineers; Von de Guzman, Musical Director

Best Performance by Male or Female, Adult or Child, Individual or Ensemble in Leading or Supporting Role
Winner: Anita Linda in Adela (Bicycle Pictures; Visitfilms)
Nominees:
Paolo Paraiso in Imoral (Videoflick; Bicycle Pictures)
Ronnie Lazaro in Yanggaw (Cinema One)
Carlo Aquino in Baler (Viva Entertainment)



Film Desk of the Young Critics Circle 2008-2009: Dr. Galileo S. Zafra, Dr. Patrick D. Flores, Prof. Eloisa M. P. Hernandez, Dr. Gerard R. A. Lico, Nonoy L. Lauzon, Dr. Flaudette May V. Datuin, Eileen C. Legaspi-Ramirez, Romulo P. Baquiran Jr., Noel D. Ferrer, Eli R. Guieb III, Dr. Jerry C. Respeto, Prof. Neil Martial R. Santillan, Jason P. Jacobo.#

YCC bares winners of annual film awards for distinguished achievement in 2008

THE Film Desk of the Young Critics Circle formally announces the winners of its annual film awards.

Best Film - "Adela" directed by Adolf Alix Jr.
Nominee - Serbis

Best Screenplay - Adela
Nominees - Imoral and Serbis

Best Cinematography and Visual Design - Adela
Nominees - Yanggaw and Serbis

Best Editing - Adela
Nominees - Yanggaw and Serbis

Best Sound and Aural Orchestration - Adela
Nominees - Yanggaw and Serbis

Best Performance - Anita Linda in Adela
Nominees - Ronnie Lazaro in Yanggaw
Carlo Aquino in Baler
Paolo Paraiso in Imoral

The awarding is set on March 11, 2009, Wednesday, at the Conference Hall, Faculty Center, University of the Philippines Diliman.

Details about the films to follow.

Romansa sa mga Pampublikong Espasyo Ni Galileo S. Zafra

from the 2002 YCC citations


Romansa sa mga Pampublikong Espasyo
Ni Galileo S. Zafra

Isang romantikong pelikula ang Ikaw Lamang Hanggang Ngayon. Kuwento
ito ni Katherine, isang empleado sa Manila Post Office.
Kasingrutinaryo ng kanyang trabaho ang kanyang buhay: papasok sa
trabaho, magsasalansan ng sulat, sasagot sa mga tawag sa telepono,
manananghalian sa isang bangko sa parke sa tapat ng gusali, at sa
gabi, uuwi sa bahay. Mahiyain, takot sa tao, walang tiwala sa sarili
si Katherine. Ang malungkot niyang buhay ay hindi itinatago ng
kaniyang anyo: nakasuot ng malaking salamin, mukhang matanda kung
manamit, laging tulala. Isang araw, nang manananghalian siya,
matatapon ang kaniyang pagkain. Gagamitin niya ang tinidor para
ukitin sa bangko ang mga salitang “Malungkot ang buhay ko.”

Isang makisig na golf instructor, si Ryan, ang mauupo sa bangko.
Mababasa niya ang inukit ni Katherine at susundan niya ito ng tanong
na “Bakit?” Kabaligtaran ni Katherine, exciting ang buhay ni Ryan.
Dahil sa kaniyang high profile na trabaho, marami siyang nakikilang
babae at nakakarelasyon. Subalit tulad ni Katherine, malungkot din si
Ryan. Nararamdaman niyang handa na siyang pakasal ngunit hindi pa
niya mahanap ang kanyang gustong makatuluyan.

Magtatagpo at magkakakilala ang dalawa nang minsan, isang gabing
umuulan, magkakasabay silang sumakay sa iisang taxi. Hindi nila alam
na sila ang nagpapalitan ng maiikling sulat sa bangko, ngunit simula
sa maulang gabi ng kanilang pagtatagpo, bubukal ang isang maarugang
pagmamahalan. Kahit simpleng babae si Katherine, makikita ni Ryan ang
kaniyang ganda sa labas at sa loob. Mabubuo ang tiwala sa sarili ni
Katherine dahil mayroon nang nakapansin sa gandang kanyang itinatago.

Kung tutuusin, tulad ng pangunahing tauhang babae, napakakaraniwan at
madaling hulaan ng pelikula. Pinalaki tayo sa kuwento tungkol sa
simpleng babae na mamahalin sa bandang huli ng makisig na lalaki
dahil taglay niya ang malinis na puso at dalisay na pagkatao.

Subalit hindi lamang sa naratibo masusumpungan ang kuwento ng
pelikula. Ginamit nito ang kapangyarihan ng pelikula bilang biswal na
midyum at kinasangkapan ang mga pamamaraan at estratehiya ng
sinematograpiya upang gawing pelikula ito ng mga karakter at lunan,
ng tao at espasyo. Hinuli ng masinop at mahusay na sinematograpiya
hindi lamang ang salaysay ng pag-ibig nina Katherine at Ryan, kundi
pati ang mga makasaysayan at lumilikha-ng-kasaysayang pampublikong
espasyo ng Maynila: ang episyenteng LRT na naghahatid-sundo sa mga
pasahero, ang mataong simbahan ng Quiapo, ang buhay na buhay na
eskinita ng mga pangunahing lansangan ng Maynila, ang makakapal at
matitipunong pader ng Intramuros, ang makapangyarihan at matitikas na
poste ng gusali ng Post Office, ang maalamat na tulay ng Ayala habang
binabaybay ang maalamat na Ilog Pasig, at ang romantikong Liwasang
Bonifacio (dating Plaza Lawton).

Ang mga ritwal mulang pagkakaibigan hanggang pag-iibigan nina
Katherine at Ryan ay naganap sa mga espasyong ito: ang pag-ukit ng
kalungkutan at pag-iisa sa mga bangko ng Liwasan, ang aksidental
nilang pagkikilala sa sakayan ng taxi, ang muli nilang pagtatagpo sa
harap ng simbahan ng Quiapo, ang pagdalaw ni Ryan kay Katherine sa
gusali ng Post Office, ang pagpapalalim ng kanilang relasyon,
paghihiwalay at muling pagkakasundo sa Liwasan. Sa mga situwasyong
ito, ang pampublikong espasyo ay hindi lamang mga lugar na tinatayuan
o nilalakaran, kundi mga lunan kung saan ang mga tao ay pinagtatagpo
at ang mga ugnayan ay binubuo.

Ipinakikita ng pelikula na ang mga pampublikong espasyo ay mga bukas
na lugar na may buhay at may kasaysayan na hindi hiwalay sa buhay at
kasaysaysan ng mga taong dito ay dumaraan at nananahan. Isang ironiya
na ang pelikulang isinadula sa Maynila ay maaaring magsilbi kapwa
bilang pagkilala, gayundin, ng pagtuligsa sa pamahalaang lokal na
puspusang nagpapatupad ng mga infraestrukturang proyekto sa ngalan ng
kaunlaran. Ginawa at ipinalabas ang pelikula sa panahong
nagbabagong-bihis ang lungsod ng Maynila para sa kampanya ng
kasalukuyang pamunuan ng lungsod na buhaying muli ang dating
kadakilaan ng Maynila. Ang pelikula sa gayon ay parangal, kundi man,
propaganda pa nga, sa ganitong kampanya. Ngunit sa kabilang banda,
nagtatanong at nanghahamon din ito. Ilang buwan bago ang pelikula,
kinuwestiyon ng mga art conservationist ang proyekto para sa urban
renewal ng pamahalaang lungsod. Tinutulan nila ang pagwasak sa isang
makasaysayang landmark sa Taft Avenue, ang Jai Alai Building, na
pagtatayuan ng Hall of Justice ng Maynila. Ang gusali na itinayo
noong dekada 1930 ay saksi sa maraming mahahalagang pagtitipon lalo
ng mayayamang pamilya at siyang natitirang art deco building sa bansa
kundi man sa buong Asya. Ang pelikulang nagsasadula ng pagbubuo ng
personal na kasaysayan sa pampublikong espasyo, kung gayon, ay
paalaala rin na may panlipunang kasaysayang binubuo sa at binubuo ng
mga pampublikong espasyo.

Sa pagtatapos ng pelikula, magtatagpong muli sina Katherine at Ryan
na pansamantalang pinaglayo ng pagdududa sa sarili at pag-aagam-agam
sa hinaharap ng kanilang relasyon. Nalutas sa pelikula ang mga
kontradiksiyon ng mga personal na ugnayan. Ngunit ang mismong
pelikula ring ito ang nagtatampok ng di natatapos na mga tunggalian
ng mga may magkakaibang interes sa lipunan, ng usapin ng modernidad
at ng mga pinangangalagaang espasyo ng ating buhay.

The Spirit of Voice By Patrick D. Flores

from the 2002 YCC citations

The Spirit of Voice By Patrick D. Flores

In Mga Munting Tinig, directed by Gil M. Portes, a young teacher,
brimming with idealism, plays the role of a messianic reformer in a
remote town, but walks away from the middle-class sojourn chastened
by the realization that the work of civil society is bound to fail if
it merely foists its vision of change on passive people perceived to
be needing relief. The film resists the temptation to promote a
panacea of social ills. Rather, it intimates a keen analysis of the
social condition of a milieu wracked by corruption, insurgency, and
the seduction of flight. Arising from this commentary is the
well-considered effort to recover the repressed voice of potential
change through music, an allegory of art as an agent of
transformative expression that is collectively performed as a choir
of deliverance.

The tendency for this type of film is to subscribe to what can be
called the “primitive imaginary” in which the reformer-or perhaps,
the reformist-descends on a savage territory in order to colonize it.
Such disposition is clearly imperialist in orientation as it pursues
the trajectory of development as the privileged strategy of progress.
What emerges from this sort of project is a neo-liberal
interpretation of inequity and its solution. The people pictured as
requiring liberation or amelioration, or in some cases even humanity,
are nearly catatonic and merely wait for benevolence to endow them
with intelligibility as subjects of a domain. The film Mga Munting
Tinig departs from this convenient practice by:

investing its heroine not with the full and complete rationality of a
redeemer, but with an enabling ambivalence that allows her to, on the
one hand, doubt her own place in the setting and, on the other, to
act on the condition before her in the manner that her experience
predisposes her. In the end, person and place, self and other
mutually change each other;

putting in place a dialectic that analyzes social reality as at once
a corrupted condition and a transformable possibility. In this
situation, the idealism of the heroine is undercut as an illusion by
a jaded, but nevertheless sensible, colleague, who in turn opens
herself up to a revision of consciousness. This dialectic, or
reflexive reflection, is important to scan the contradictions of
milieu and to probe the context of whatever human action plays out.
Without such dynamic, which eludes some films which dare to tackle
historical reality of epochal significance, all manner of practice is
ultimately facile, sterile, and anomalous; and

rendering the voice as a vital agent in the articulation of
difference, the engagement with a higher force, and the summoning of
a spirit that transcends the limitations of official speech,
comfortable silence, or conspiratorial cacophony. In this scenario,
the recovery of voice in the context of a coming together in a
community that is the choir transposes into some allegory of art as
an interventive gesture of affective power.

A film nourished by this premise cannot fail. The personas of
teachers are rounded out. Students are located in the thicket of
social struggle as apt pupils, children of the revolution, and
singers of their songs. And society is a charged terrain of armed
revolt, State control, tutelage, and resistance. Direction,
screenplay, cinematography and visual design, editing, sound, and the
performance of a sensitive cast contribute to the comprehensive
competence of Mga Munting Tinig.

Diskarte Ni Ariel N. Valerio

from the 2002 YCC citations

Diskarte Ni Ariel N. Valerio

Halimbawa ng isang well-made film ang Diskarte. Kumpleto sa
rekado-sandakot na sex, kumukulong aksyon, isang kutsarang luha,
tatlong kutsaritang romansa, isang kurot na komedi. Tinimpla at
niluto ayon sa panlasa ng Hollywood. Pinakete para sa takilya ng mga
sinehan sa Pilipinas.

Walang duda, natugunan ng Diskarte ang mga teknikal na rekisito ng
isang pelikula.

Masinop at sadya ang editing. Naikamada ang mga eksena nang walang
sinasayang na sandali sa pagpapaigting ng aksyon. Gumugol ng panahon
upang bumabad sa mga erotikong tagpo, alinsunod sa tinataya nitong
kahingian ng manonood.

Kapansin-pansin din ang bihasang paglalapat ng musika at tunog.
Bihirang gamitin ang opera sa pelikulang lokal. Subalit sa Diskarte,
ilang beses narinig ang makabasag-salaming tinig ng koloratura-habang
nagtatalik sina Jake (Rudy Fernandez) at Amanda (Ara Mina), habang
nagpapakamatay si Col. Montero (Tirso Cruz III), at habang
nakikipagpatayan si Jake sa mga kasapi ng sindikato ng droga.

Sa madaling sabi, tinangka ng Diskarte na maging mahusay na pelikula.
Ngunit malaking katanungan kung sapat na ang technical competence
upang matawag na mahusay ang isang pelikula. Kung matawag mang
mahusay, ano ang halaga nito sa manonood?

Pampalipas-oras? Libangan? Tapyas ng buhay? Repleksyon ng realidad?
Kritik ng lipunan?

Sa unang tingin, tinangka ng Diskarte na magbigay ng kritik sa
lipunang Pilipino sa pamamagitan ng pagtuligsa sa militar bilang
lunsaran ng katiwalian at, kung gayon, ng panlipunang diskurso.

Matalas ang patutsada nito kay Col. Montero bilang “hari ng droga.”
Kasabwat ang mga sindikato, ginamit niya ang mataas na posisyon sa
pulisya upang humamig ng limpak-limpak na salapi. Pero mahina pala
ang dibdib kaya nang madiskartehan ni Jake na ipahuli, ipalitis at
parusahan ng batas, nang-agaw siya ng baril at pinasabog ang sariling
bungo.

Nakapanghihinayang. Hindi si Col. Montero kundi ang nabilasang
pagtatangka tungo sa panlipunang kritik. Maaaring ipagpalagay na sa
pagkawala ni Col. Montero, malinis na muli ang militar. Ganoon lang
kasimple ang problema-may ilang indibidwal na naliligaw ng landas.

Nasa serbisyong militar din dati ang grupo ni Jake. Ipinaghiganti
niya ang asawang pinaslang ng sindikato. Nabilanggo siya at natanggal
sa serbisyo.

Kakatwang hindi nakulong o nalitis ang mga sibilyang kasapi ng
sindikato. Sa halip, kailangan silang lipulin ng mga taong tulad ni
Jake na may matinding personal na galit sa kanila. Bakit hindi sila
pinarusahan ng batas? Dahil hawak daw ng tagapagpatupad ng batas
tulad ni Col. Montero. Nang magpakamatay ang numero unong
tagapagtanggol ng sindikato, tinapos na ang kwento.

Kailangang tapusin ang kwento sa yugtong iyon dahil delikado na ang
susunod na hakbang-ilantad ang katiwalian sa militar bilang
sistematikong panlilinlang sa taumbayan. Hindi ito sinugba ng
pelikula. Sa halip, pinanatiling malinis ang institusyon ng militar
maliban sa ilang indibidwal na batik sa serbisyo. Nabigo ang Diskarte
na tuligsain ang institusyong tinutukan ng kritik nito at sa gayon,
nakabig ng dominanteng propaganda ng estado ang pelikula.

Iyon ang diskarte nila kaya pasensya na lang ang manonood kung
patuloy na mambibiktima sa lipunan ang mga galamay ng panlilinlang.

Legal Action By Patrick D. Flores

repost from the 2002 YCC citations

Legal Action
By Patrick D. Flores

If only for its queer and quirky appeal, the news that the director
and a financier of one of the films that competed at the recent Metro
Manila Film Festival are suing the jury of the competition on the
grounds of artistic misrecognition merits a once-over. It could be
dismissed, of course, as just another turn in the silly routine in
the business, but this particular case leads to an interesting
paradox. We remember that the Festival was heralded by a controversy
having to do with the manner in which the entries would be selected,
and it expectedly culminated in an awarding ceremony marred by
walkouts, production glitches, sour graping, and the proliferation of
bad taste. Still and all, its chieftains gloat that the Festival
raked in a lot of profits. Between criteria and cash, it is obvious
which one is paramount.

The crux of the problem at the outset pertained to rules and how they
were, let us say, modified to accommodate certain vested interests.
These were guidelines set by the organizers, who unfortunately found
themselves incapable of strictly abiding by them. With such infirmity
and lack of moral nerve defining the tone of the Festival, it came as
no surprise that the jury, unremarkable by all indications, would be
hailed to court for not honoring one film, which is made to appear as
an important motion picture on Philippine history, and for
complimenting others which, as the spin goes, dwell too generously on
the Chinese and the razzle-dazzle of visual effects. The aggrieved
film is Lapu Lapu, whose hero undoubtedly is of stalwart spirit,
being the slayer of the first person to circumnavigate the globe.
Many doubt, however, if the film may share the same stance of
artistic integrity.

It is, therefore, worth thinking about how a community that trifles
with the policy it prescribes could possibly come before the
institutions of the law with clean hands, and consequently subject
itself to regulation. Such disrepute carries weight. In fact, much of
the fear of government in letting the industry police its own ranks,
which incidentally is propped up as an argument against censorship,
stems from the perception that it simply cannot be governed, or that
it cannot govern itself, at least. The scenario occasioned by the
Festival offers yet another evidence that the film establishment and
the sector it represents do not only glorify outlaws in their
merchandise; they also prosper in a state of lawlessness. This proves
to be doubly worrisome because the captain of the Festival’s ship was
both an elected official of a city known for dirty politics and a
movie actor of meager credentials. Or, on second thought, does this
vital detail actually sort it all out?

The foreign press has cited this sense of general lawlessness
prevailing in the country as one of the burdens wearying the
President, an impediment to the strong republic that she envisions
and a reason to sacrifice her political ambitions. Many of the action
films released last year render this lawlessness visual and
cinematically ubiquitous. Consider how the following titles allude to
the usurpation of the powers of the State to dispense swift and
inexorable justice: Bro, Kahit Saan Enkwentro; Batas ng Lansangan;
Hari ng Selda-Anak ni Baby Ama 2; Pistolero; Sabayan sa Laban;
Hanggang Kailan Ako Papatay Para Mabuhay; and Hula Mo, Huli Ko. It
may seem on the surface of this rhetoric that government has ceased
to monopolize the instruments of violence and that violence has
reached a point of excess that is beyond measure. On closer look,
however, we glean from these stories how the military structure, or
the bureaucracy of government in general, is implicated in the
creation of this condition at the same time that it is also viewed as
being responsible for peace and order.

The film Diskarte, directed by the well-known film editor Edgardo
Vinarao, is able to acutely depict this taxing situation. The plot
revolves around a big drug deal that is intercepted by a band of
police scalawags. The operation is, however, hijacked within the ring
by a double crosser who had wished to reap everything for himself.
The brains of the syndicate, who is likewise hoodwinked, is an
official of the force whose role in the massive network of organized
crime is exposed in the end.

The film redeems the genre from its stock methods by presenting a
complicated social reality the way it knows best. Central here are
the concept of crime and the system that allows it to be committed
systematically and, as we realize soon enough, systemically.
Well-directed and well-made on the whole, though not without its
totally understandable compromises, Diskarte comes at a time when
critics have almost given up on a genre that is held hostage by the
spectacle of fire power, the obsession with ammunition, and the
prowess of the male hero. It reminds us of an earlier Rudy
Fernandez-starrer Romy Suzara’s Pepeng Shotgun and Jose Antonio
Perez’s Mumbaki. While it strays from established norms of mainstream
storytelling, it still significantly subscribes to the action
narrative. The rare effort thoughtfully locates “action” as a social
process that arises from the tension between the control of the
institutions, on the one hand, and the struggle of the ruled to
challenge the very claim to power, on the other.

The action film, therefore, is more than just car chases, blasts, and
exchange of gunfire. It is about violence in society and the heroism
that must be mustered to overcome it. It is also about the futility
of putting too much faith in the law, which has become increasingly
indistinguishable from crime. When last week a cluster of houses was
raided by the police for illegal electric connections, it was
reported that the Barangay Captain himself was one of the violators;
he maintained a car wash service and a gym through such ingenious
means. In the midst of terrorist threats, road rage, hazing in a
military academy, and everyday tragedies, we cannot help waging an
infinite number of “just wars” just to preserve ourselves. And we as
a desperate people are no strangers to these transgressions and
instances of exception; we liberally depose leaders and always
exercise our so-called rights whenever the enjoyment of our
convenience is threatened. Surely, in our times, action is nothing
but “taking liberties” and something like diskarte: a stroke, a modus
operandi, an exit strategy. (Reprinted from Manila Standard)

Babasaging Daigdig sa Itlog Ni Romulo P. Baquiran Jr.

repost from the 2002 YCC citations

Babasaging Daigdig sa Itlog
Ni Romulo P. Baquiran Jr.


Umaasa ang katinuan ng tao sa makataong pagtrato mula sa kapwa, lalo
na sa pinakamalapit na kaanak at kaibigan-ama, anak, at kasintahan.
Sa marupok na pag-iral ng ibat’ibang pagmamahal at paggalang, ang
pinakamatinding banta ay nagmumula rin sa mismong nagsasagawa ng mga
pagpapahalagang ito. Sa daigdig na nabuo sa Itlog, ang ugnayang
ama-anak na nakasalikop rin sa karupukan ng ugnayang tao-sa-tao ay
nabigyan ng masalimuot na pagsasapelikula.

Mumurahing sex-drama ang pagpapakete sa Itlog (sa titulo pa lang)
ngunit ang produksiyon ni Jun Posadas at Romy Vitug sa iskrip ni
Gerry Arcega-Gracio ay lumilikha ng mga signifikasyong makabuluhan
lalo pa sa ganitong genre. Sa pelikula, ginalugad ang isyu kung sino
ang makapagbibigay ng tunay na pagmamahal? Ang sariling anak o ang
sampid? At mapapalitaw sa dramatikong paraan ang pagtugon sa temang
ito, sabay ng pagtaliwas sa de-kahong karakterisasyon. Alibugha ang
tunay na anak na si Eric (Rodel Velayo), mabait na ama si Tonio
(Celso Ad. Castillo), at gustong magbagong-buhay ang ex-convict na si
Dennis (Winston Elizalde).

Sabik sa pagmamahal ng ulirang anak si Tonio kaya laking tuwa niya
nang makatagpo ang bagong laya at estrangherong si Dennis nang siya’y
atakehin sa puso minsang nagmamaneho patungo sa bayan. Iniligtas ng
estranghero ang kanyang buhay. At bilang ganti, kinuha niya itong
katulong sa itikan. Unti-unti, dahil sa kabutihang loob na nabuo sa
kanila, halos tunay na anak na ang turing ni Tonio kay Dennis.
Samantala, nagtungo sa lungsod si Eric dahil kinamumuhian ang gawain
sa itikan. Pinangarap nitong makapag-artista. Ngunit walang nangyari
sa pangarap at bumalik sa lalawigan kasama ang bagong nobyang hangad
maangkin ang yaman ng pamilya. Magiging komplikado pa ang pangyayari
dahil naakit si Dennis sa batang asawa (Diana Zubiri) ni Tonio na
nagbalak ding makuha ang kayamanan ng matanda. Sa wakas, nasira ang
lahat ng makataong ugnayan dahil sa pagkatukso sa salapi at sa tawag
ng laman

Ang daloy ng naratibo ay angkop na nailatag ng pelikula. Ang galaw ng
buhay sa itikan ay mahigpit at natural na naiugnay sa tunggalian at
karakterisasyong tinutumbok ng paksa. Naibunyag kung gayon ang mga
pagkatao ng mga protagonista sa paraang sikolohiko at
kapani-paniwala. Sa Itlog, hindi bulagsak at lantarang manipulado ang
pangyayari at tauhan para lamang maitanghal ang mahahalay na tagpo.
Hindi tulad sa ibang pelikulang sex-drama, kung saan higit na
mahalaga ang pagtatatanghal ng katawan ng mga bold star, dito’y
masasabing may balanseng naisakatuparan. Habang hindi naman lumalabas
sa genre na kinabibilangan ang Itlog, lumilikha rin ito ng mga
pakahulugan na siya namang ikinauungos nito bilang pelikula.

At hindi matatawaran ang pagganap bagama’t hindi pumapailanlang ang
mga ito sa kaganapan ng sining. Maliban na lamang kay Celso Ad.
Castillo na nailahok sa nominado. Naging kapansin-pansin ang simple
ngunit malalim niyang pagdulog sa kahingian ng papel na kanyang
ginampanan.

Patunay lamang ang pelikula sa kasabihan sa industriya na ang husay
ng alinmang produksiyon ay nagsisimula sa konsepto: sa iskrip. At ang
husay ng iskrip ay lalo lamang lilitaw kung mahusay ang produksiyon.