Ian Loreno's "Chinoy Mano Po 7" - The Inevitable Formula

We don't have a problem with the "Mano Po" anthology because it usually presents different and valid concerns associated with the Filipino-Chinese population in contemporary Philippine society. Theirs are stories we've always been fascinated with because they're a clannish lot that strictly adheres to colorful traditions we're interested spectators of. We even become players in their folktales sometimes.

STORY

Business tycoon Wilson Wong (Richard Yap) runs a tight and disciplined ship, both at work and in his household. He has rules and tradition that allow him to set and achieve goals - and he expects everyone around him to abide by these, including his children Wilson Jr. (Enchong Dee), Katkat (Janna Agoncillo) and Caroline (Janella Salvador). Unfortunately, rules are easier written and enumerated than followed. His children detest that he hardly has time to spend with them. Deborah (Jean Garcia), his subservient wife, feels lonely in a relationship that's more of a bootcamp than household.  

What seems like a progressive kingdom is actually an emotional prison full of weeping souls. Sonson (Dee) has his head in the clouds from booze and drugs. Carol tries to pursue cello playing (her father's choice) when her heart is in vocal performance. 

Devoted wife Debbie is running a jewelry shop and keeping the household together while Wilson Sr. is closing deals. 

It isn't a very contented and happy kingdom, to say the least, and the king is least aware of this. When a charming stranger Marco (Jake Cuenca) barges into Debbie's shop, the latter doesn't mind the attention that the strapping lad showers on her. But is Debbie carrying an affair? 

Director Ian Lorenos' "Chinoy Mano Po 7" is an engaging drama that tries to build up the characters of his cinematic canvas with circumscpect cerebration so we actually understand their back stories and motivations. Enchong Dee particularly sizzles from this forethought. In "Mano Po 7", Dee is the troubled son bearing enough ethos for the whole Wong family. He takes his situation and reacts, and we are a bit unsettled. He pulls off his party pooper scene adequately. In his moments with Jocelyn (Jessy Mendiola), they get to discuss the Chinese ways, i.e. the use of negative language to coax motivation or express affection, but does the "movement" really come from Confucius? I'd have thought that the philosopher was more circumscpect than to use negative psychology in motivating people. 

Kong Fu Tse (551 BC - 497 BC), the philosopher's non-Westernized name, built up his idea about the strength of the Chinese family. What is the proper attitude towards parents? His answer is short and straight forward: "Never disobey." In the 4th concept of Confucianism - filial piety (hsiao), a lot is written about family values: Parents are revered because they are the source of your life. It also says that you have to make your family name known and respected. But there is an unanswered question with regards to the hsiao: "What do you do if your values are different from your parents"? There's a general rule to live by: to "remain unsoured even though one's merits are unrecognized by others." (Analects) This gives authority to the philosopher's advice about never turning bad or selling out, no matter what. It is a rather universal concept, right? 

Jean Garcia turns in a well limned and sympathetic portrayal of a painfully subservient wife. At one point, she arrives into the conjugal bed and starts her romantic overture, only to be rebuffed and told that she had to "clean up first before stepping on the bed." Ouch. Did she smell? Even romance follows a set of decorum? Hmmm. I am almost sure that this isn't a universal practice among Chinoys. Wilson Sr. is a flawed individual altogether, a Shakespearean character that deserves to be extinguished from the face of the Earth. How can you admit loving the people around you when you're so insensitive to their needs? 

Meanwhile, in the midst of the melodrama, Janella Salvador is a breath of fresh air. Her presence lights up the screen, particularly when Marlo Mortel joins her scenes. Her side story involving Kian Cipriano's lecherous music teacher is a misplaced narrative strain. But didn't it merit a considerable reaction from Wilson? His daughter got sexually harassed, for Pete's sake. NR lang?

EXTRAMARITAL

I am somehow concerned about Garcia's "relationship" with volatile Jake Cuenca. Was that really harmless friendship? Though she swears that nothing transpired between them - "walang nangyari sa amin", her frequent meet ups with Marco were "extramarital" enough and disconcerting. A married woman, after all, shouldn't go on intimate car dates with a single man, debah? Unless she plans to do an Angelica Panganiban (and be an unmarried wife), that is.

The narrative convolutions in "Mano Po 7" are engaging enough, but it is nevertheless formulaic and unfortunately, predictable. There's gorgeous photography all over. Sound needs moderation because music is excessively played in some scenes. When louder than what human ears can take, music is nothing but noise. In one party scene, it was so loud it almost challenged the integrity of my tympanic membrane How can a very loud music help move a story, I wonder. 

Now, is this really the best of the anthology? Not really. For the most part, we feel it's an inferior version among the Mano Po tales. Film no. 7 is less ambitious. Heck, even its requisite travel scenes could only afford to take the cast to Taipei instead of mainland China. If its story telling is not "revolutionized" in the succeeding "episodes", this anthology will eventually lose its relevance. 

HAND IN GLOVE

But wait? How is Richard Yap in the film? While he fits the role like hand in glove, the actor conveniently subscribes to his go-to "laging galit" acting schtick. We've seen him in similar persona before, in other teleseryes and movies. Nothing changes much here. No revelations. Even when he turns conciliatory with his wife, I feel Yap's performance was one-note; no emotional variation to speak of. When he sheds a tear (while at the tomb of his stern father), it was screaming for a bit more vulnerability. Most people easily break down the barriers when they're on their own. But Yap was as stern as when he's with others. Is that consistency - or just limitation of capability? The good looking actor wasn't bad, but his performance was nothing to crow about either.  

Janella Salvador is Caroline.

Enchong Dee and Jessy Mendiola discuss Confucius and negative motivations.

Jean Garcia is in top form as the suffering wife Deborah Wong.

Taiwan, this time.

Down time and the music class of Janella, Marlo and Kian.

#manopo7   #chinoy   #richardyap   #janellasalvador   #jeangarcia   #enchongdee   #jakecuenca   #jessymendiola   #ianlorenos

Ian Loreno's "The Leaving" - What Awful Meant in Perfunctory Film Making

I was reeling with antipathy as I left the cinema after watching Ian Loreno's Cinemalaya-entry "The Leaving". There goes my P161 down the gutter! Not only was it rife with an enumerable list of everything you hate from an independent film, it was also careless. And before someone tries to "remind" me again of the "blood, sweat and tears" - as well as the "good intentions" - invested in the making of this abomination, all those gibberish don't mean squat, but the finished product! Truth be told, good intentions don't a good movie make.

The film is subdivided into three "chapters", each one from the point of view of the subset's main character.

"Martin" follows a solitary man (Alwyn Uytingco) who's nursing a broken heart. He's unemployed, unsure whether he'd be content and productive if he joins his folks in the U.S. He lives in a tenement populated by dreadful characters, including a lunatic who recently lost her younger sister from an accident. Though Martin seems to piece the characters together, his side of the narrative is rather dry and uninteresting, as he partakes the role of the lackadaisical observer.

"Lovers" follows an extra-marital affair between married businessman William and travel agent Joan (Arnold Reyes and LJ Moreno, respectively). It soon becomes clear that William's negligent ways eventually lead to Joan's unplanned pregnancy. But on top of her troubles, Joan gets abducted and gang raped the night William stood her up from a date! Joan decides to make a clean break from William, but would he allow her to leave?

"Wife" zeroes in on Grace (LJ Reyes), William's persevering wife. In the course of her sacrifices, Grace rekindles her "friendship" with next-door neighbor Manny who - as it turned out - was her former boyfriend (the one who left a year ago, as narrated by Martin when the movie opened). While Grace begins to unravel William's indiscretions, she gets ghoulish visits from souls that go bump in the night! What's a wife to do.

These disparate characters navigate the bowels of Chinatown, thus we are ushered into a subculture not quite in consonant with what we are used to: Pinoy-looking personalities suddenly lurching into Chinese, spewing alien concepts like "chit gye puah" and "spirit days". It's like "Mano Po" sans the fake eye make-ups. We would have been more tolerant of such inanities if there were more care in the exposition, instead of randomly dropping these concepts like bombs!

Curiously, it's the least developed character that buoys the film into something vaguely navigable, thanks to Uytingco's understated but perceptive performance as Martin who languishes in his own dilemma. LJ Moreno also does well, if a bit too showy as the adulterous Joan. Arnold Reyes, meanwhile, is starting to suffer the Irma Adlawan-syndrome, indulging in livid strokes of characterization that jumps off the screen. He was once a promising indie actor, but these days, he is just too eager to please. And we need to remind him that "less is more". LJ Reyes suffers from irresolute story telling. Was this a dramatic feature? A psychological yarn? A vengeful horror tale this side of Edgar Allan Poe? Baka naman romance? To be honest, it's a bit of everything, making this elementary effort nothing more than a chopsuey of incipient ideas. Its lofty ambition is deemed too unfocused to truly raise any relatable statement.

Now let me veer into its even more annoying aspect: "subtitles"! I am absolutely for the use of English subtitles in local releases as this will open up the film into a bigger, more universal audience. However, if the subtitles are idiotic, it's counterproductive to display it during its local screening as it will expose the cerebral limitations, albeit mediocrity of its makers.

When you're looking at the screen, you can't quite escape badly subtitled lines, and it's very bothersome to say the least. It wouldn't have been too harrowing if these were mere typographical errors, but as the story progressed, it became apparent that erroneous typographs they weren't! Here are some of the several mind-benders:

"Hindi ka pa rin nagbago." becomes "You haven't change."

"Didn't we already talked about this?" (My dears, the word "did" is always preceded by its verb in the present tense! Wasn't that taught in elementary grammar class?)

"You're leaving me for another man, isn't it?" (You must mean, "aren't you?" For a while there, I thought I was watching an episode of "Bubble Gang".)

"Mga jeep na gago." becomes "Rubbish jeepneys." (Again please?)

"Don't let your eyes off our stuffs." (Stuffs?!)

"Salamat doon." becomes "Thank you about that!" (About what? ;-> )

"Why didn't you left with them?" (It's the "did"-rule once again, honey! Why didn't you leave with them!)

"When get home, food is ready." (Ano daw?!)

"If I should leave to the U.S. ..." (Baka naman "leave for...")

Even the use of Tagalog phrases is sketchy, with an oftly repeated "Pumutok na naman ang tseke!" In my world, "pumuputok" refers to a terrorist activity of sending explosives in mails, not of estafa. Is there really an alternate world in the Philippines that uses "putok" when they refer to bouncing cheques? Or were they using euphemisms for "body odor"? LOL

As the movie draws to a close, it further dispenses with more inspiring subtitling: "You look aweful!" (Didn't you mean "awful?" Or did you want to say "awesome?" Those 2 are quite antonymous, even my grade 2 cousin could tell the difference!)

Was my yaya hired for the subtitling job? I could swear she was gone for a couple of days in the last 5 months or so!

As I just came from a visually superior, but atrocious film - Neal Tan's "Tarima", I was desperate for a cinematic salvation to save the day. I should've looked elsewhere.

Consequently, I find it ironic that "The Leaving" actually won "Best Cinematography" at the 2010 Cinemalaya Award when it was obvious cinematography was not among its strong points. Or were the judges visually challenged? Lighting was bad and paucity of resources to design its set was evident. This was a production running on mere nubile ideas - devoid of technical savvy - and the borderline performances of its protagonists (one of whom actually won Best Supporting Actress). This just underlines the obvious - that winning an award is not exactly a pursuit of excellence in this country. How else would you explain "The Leaving's" 3 awards? Serendipity? LOL

We are also seeing Alwyn Uytingco in a different, albeit more positive light. Now that his "baby fats" have pretty much dissipated, he steps up into the limelight as a charismatic, compelling actor. He is effectively subdued as Martin compared to the cloying emotionality of LJ Reyes. And what's with all those ghosts, which I believe was either a misplaced or misused concept!

That they allow the movie-going public to actually dispense hard earned money to waste on this ghastly drivel is nothing short of a criminal offense. That "The Leaving" is borne out of the director's inspiring Berlinale experience is another testament that participation in "prestigious" film festivals shouldn't be construed as synonymous with film making excellence. After all, didn't Mark Shandii Bacolod's "Fidel" walk the same glittery red carpet as did director Ian Loreno?

Now how about this. Let's all line them up. Off with their heads!

LJ Moreno and Arnold Reyes: Are we in a drama? Horror? Comedy?

Alwyn Uytingco: The only glimmer of hope in a sea of banality!