David R. Corpuz & Cenon O. Palomares' "Kusina" - Nurture and Her Nature

Nurture is the sweeping theme that fuels this brave cinematic experiment. In its every yarn-spinning stride, Corpuz and Palomares' "Kusina" is meticulously conceptualized. I was hooked from beginning to end. 

The story follows Juanita (Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo) from her precarious arrival on a kitchen table. As mother Emilia (Angeli Bayani) succumbs to childbirth, the young and cheerful girl (Princess Ortiz) is left to the care of her grandmother (Gloria Sevilla). Puten (Bong Cabrera) mostly ignores his daughter. But her Inang often reminds her of  her father's loss and inconsolable grief. 

Influenced by the doting grandma, Juanita spends most of her time learning the joys and clutter of gastronomy.  

Time moves along. Juanita grows into a peppy teenage girl (Katrina Legaspi). She meets and falls in love with handsome engineer Peles (CJ Navato) who eventually marries her. A daughter (Elora Espano) comes into their lives. They would live happily ever after, but things don't always turn out the way we want them to. 

Peles (Joem Bascon) hardly comes home anymore. Somehow, Juanita longs for her husband's affection. But Alejandro (Luis Alandy), Peles' friend, comes into the picture. He falls for Juanita and insinuates himself into the household, Juanita's loneliness turns into indiscretion; one that bore her a son Adrian. This further strains the couple's relationship. One day, Peles abandons his family altogether. Juanita vows to take care of her family the only way she knows how - through her cooking. Would her affection and determination be enough? 

"Kusina" is a master class in theatrical story telling. Though others called it "messy", I celebrate its impeccable composition. Entrenched in a one-piece kitchen set, Juanita's life unravels around this limited space, which is a tall artistic order to pull off. Lars von Trier employed this style in "Dogville". The kitchen essentially becomes an important actor in the movie.Take note that the film has a single exterior shot: As Juanita carries a basketful of goods, she ushers us into her home.

A TOUCH OF OZU AND HIS ELLIPSES

As the story progresses, touches of director Yasujiro Ozu's style emerge. His narrative artifice never conforms to the usual convention. He'd occasionally employ static transitions between scenes. But what we've noticed, as consequence of a single set, is his figurative "tatami shots". He would use ellipses, i.e. the decision not to show major events in the story. To eschew a few key scenes, he would pass over moments that would otherwise stir excessive emotional reaction. The effect is more staggering because the audience is tasked to imagine. And nothing supersedes the power of imagination.

In the movie, these ellipses occur outside the camera frame: fighter planes heralding the arrival of the Japanese; soldiers ransacking the neighborhood; a festive wedding is being celebrated; people scurrying off to Bataan, Isabela or the mountains of Sierra Madre; military personnel arriving outside to capture the boy who eloped with a general's daughter, etc. 

Another stroke of inspiration - the assignation of a character's favorite food: dinuguan with puto for Puten; pinakbet for Inang; Adrian's ginataang monggo and sapin-sapin; Myrna's leche flan; Alejandro's biko; and the dish that never gets served until the very end - adobo! Attributing catharsis in a serving of adobo is nothing short of brilliant.

Even the costume changes are deliberately planned, probably to signify hierarchy, permanence or even mood or state of mind: gray for Inang; blue for Puten; bluish green for Alejandro; pink for Myrna; and hues of brown for Juanita. This story telling method inspires expostulations from a myopic audience (i.e. those noisy geriatric audience in Glorietta during our Cinemalaya viewing), but let's leave them to their naivete. Even Toni Munoz's music is well conceived as it calls attention to itself, thus it avoids overpowering a scene.

These elements allow us to concentrate on the motivations, missteps, and reflections of its central character. The film delves deeply into Juanita's human frailty and strengths. Inherent traits sometimes dictate a character's tragedy or victory. More importantly, there are aspects in life that require attention other than servitude. Humanity is a complex creature that also requires nourishment of the other aspects outside physical sustenance, the same way that society has concerns outside the dimensions of peace and security as prerequisite for development. We aren't fulfilled by mere food or affection alone. These are realizations ponderously derived from Juanita's life.

In Kusina, Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo delivers a complete character exposition. We see her evolve. We become witness to her joys, frustration, pride and defeat. She is, in fact, a virtual force of nature. If there's an injustice in the world, it is the fact that a film festival's best feature didn't win a single award at the Cinemalaya. 

Jose Javier Reyes' Mga Munting Lihim - Acrimony and the Ties That Bind

Mariel and Carly (Judy Ann Santos and Iza Calzado) have been inseparable since they were little girls; they might as well be sisters. As adults, their exclusive circle has grown when Sandy and Olive (Agot Isidro and Janice de Belen) decided to join them.

Carly (Calzado) is a prosperous, albeit ball-busting lady executive who gets whatever she sets her mind to. Despite her triumphs, Carly feels incomplete. Her view on most things is met with apprehension and she jadedly believes people have unflattering motives for the things they do. In fact, when a relative asks for help, her thoughts would meander: “May mga kamag-anak ako, pero walang pamilya.” More than anything, she’s envious of her friends for having started families of their own. Meanwhile, romance seems to keep its distance from her.

On the other hand, Mariel (Santos), with feet firmly planted on the ground, is happily married to Vince (Roeder Camanag) - with children to boot. Her life is so domestically chaotic, she frequently bemoans her hectic routine and the absence of personal space. She hasn't even been to nearby Hong Kong because more urgent priorities always supervene. Sandy (Isidro), who’s eternally and intentionally late for their soirees, is married to a filthy rich geriatric. She doesn’t waste time flaunting her designer wardrobe and her jetsetting lifestyle. Olive (de Belen) is married to a much younger guy whom she met from a chatroom. He now works in Dubai, so money is occasionally scant. Though the girls occasionally squabble and annoy each other, they all manage to thrive in their respective domestic anarchy.      

SPOILERS

One day, Mariel drops a bomb. She has pancreatic cancer, a proverbial death sentence in most cases. This brings the friends closer than ever. But when Mariel eventually dies, she leaves a box full of journals. And she has tasked Carly to peruse through her entries – entries that contain her deepest thoughts about each of her friends; entries that reveal specific moments in their lives, underlining the weakest links in their relationships: like when Mariel had to clandestinely sequester Eman (Gino dela Pena) from Carly, just to prove that Carly does not always get everything. Sometimes, these friends aren’t always emotionally supportive: they tell thirty-something Olive that her 21 year old chatmate (a former actor) is a “kabit ng bakla”; that she never pays what she owes - and even lies about them. Carly muses that Olive isn't the smartest girl. And they even conclude that Sandy’s marriage to an older guy was merely for convenience, inferring that Sandy’s an inveterate gold digger. What’s happening here? With friends like these, who needs enemies? More importantly, is this friendship even worth keeping?     

Mariel

Carly

Olive

Sandra

It is instructive how scriptwriter and director Reyes is able to delineate his characters with luminous contrast. Mostly, it’s thanks to the intuitive performances of Santos, Calzado, Isidro and de Belen. Iza Calzado confidently glides through the cinematic palette with persuasive charm. She reminds me of Bea Alonzo’s character in “Sa Yo Lamang” – the iron butterfly with an emotionally-charged back story. And why not? She lost “the one” who could have given her happiness – from her deceptive best friend. Judy Ann Santos’ role is surely a walk in the park for the effulgent Santos who doesn't succumb to the theatricality of Mariel’s situation. She displays adequate control of her emotions, avoiding mawkishness. Agot Isidro is venomous without being irritating, while Janice de Belen is compelling. And it is high time de Belen, one of our better actresses, graces our celluloid dreams once again. A regular date with the treadmill would have her in perfect form.

INABILITY TO CHOOSE

While it is true that the four actresses provide a variety of clamorous and symbiotic emotional landscape for this narrative, it is also clear that Calzado and Santos’ roles weigh more than their co-stars. It is thus ridiculous not to be able decide and pick a single “Best Lead Actress” from the four actresses. Iza Calzado stands out from this amazing ensemble. What I’m saying here is, giving the Best Actress and Supporting Actress plum to the four actresses is a cop out – and the product of lazy or inferior minds. It’s a matter of discussion among the Cinemalaya judges to peel through the individual aptitude and merits of each actress. Kaya nga contest para may isang mananalo... then we end up with FOUR winners for TWO categories! If this isn't ridiculous, then it’s hilarious!

IDIOCY vs GENEROSITY - CINEMALAYA'S INEPT JUDGES

The awarding ceremonies of Cinemalaya have always been sketchy. Jim Pebanco won "Best Supporting Actor for "Patikul", remember? Ina Feleo won Best Actress for whatever role she played in any Cinemalaya entry. Heavens, where has delicadeza gone, amigas y amigos? Next thing you know, sister Ana Feleo would headline another entry - and win an award! We then have one award-winning happy family, don't we?

Back to the topic at hand, we have 4 winners for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. Does that make sense? Once upon a time, people used their cognitive functions to choose one that's best among the rest. After all, "best" usually denotes a singular presence or entity, NOT FOUR! People used to "boo" at contemptible ties during awards night. Remember Sharon Cuneta and Nora Aunor sharing the award? How do we react to an atrocious FOUR-WAY tie spread between two categories? More importantly, what's the need for judges if they can't even decide on a singular winner? The world is sometimes full of lazy minds, isn't it? Next year, they should open up the categories to Best Actresses, Best Actors, Best Pictures. We've opened the flood gates of generosity, anyway. Let's all be generous and give everyone awards. Para masaya, debah?

Back to the movie, the pacing of the story is brisk, and the editing (by Vanessa de Leon) is dynamic. The atmosphere is bright and breezy, unlike most movies that deal with mortality. Among the Cinemalaya entries, Reyes’ “Mga Munting Lihim” (Those Little Secrets) is the most accessible for mainstream viewers. In fact the sensibility of the film is too far removed from what we perceive as "indie" fodder.

I also have to mention the participation of former Survivor castaway Gino dela Pena who captivates with his short, but attention-catching cameo as Eman, the “man that got away”. Dela Pena maybe tentative at times (it's his film debut), but there’s no denying his strong screen presence. More of Gino, por favor!       

Director Jose Javier Reyes fills his plot disclosures with a hundred and one acrimony. Some issues leave you with mouth agape; others leave you laughing hard on the floor. Countless times, you weep like a baby. Such is this cinematic dilemma. The narrative is a roller coaster ride of emotions filled with insightful situations reflective on your own relations. You find situations that are easily identifiable among your own group of friends. This makes the viewing so much entertaining because of its "participatory" characteristic.

On point of logic, revealing the unpalatable details of Mariel’s diary seemed pointless. Intimate thoughts of a dearly departed friend should never create dissension among the living. The act itself is counter productive. People should never dwell on the negative aspects of their past. Besides, which friendship is free from altercation and disagreements? Moreover, isn’t it clear that despite their differences, they still end up lending hand whenever one of them needs it? You may not always agree with each other. You may scoff at their choices. You may cringe at their manner of deduction and call them simple-minded. But you will always pick them up when they stumble. That is the magic of friendship.  

The revelations

Iza Calzado, Judy Ann Santos, Agot Isidro and Janice de Belen.

Gino dela Pena invites you to his table. Where do I queue? :)

Gino dela Pena: Captivating!

I'd prefer this more apropos theatrical poster over the more commercial one they are using in cinema lobbies.