Kit Oebanda's "Tumbang Preso" - Obstacles in Yarn Spinning

Carlo (Kokoy de Santos) dreams of pursuing college education; to become an architect and move his impoverished family away from provincial squalor. When a teacher offers an opportunity (he'll work and get paid P200 a day and, more importantly, he gets a scholarship), Carlo joins his younger cousin Jea (Teri Malvar) to try their luck in the big city.

They instead find themselves working long hours for a sardines canning factory. Once work is done, they, along with other young folks, are kept inside a dark stockroom where they sleep on the floor. What's worse, they are padlocked inside until 5AM when they have to resume work.

They get paid P50 a day (after "placement fee" has been deducted). Conditions in the factory are harsh, what with stern overseer Jose (Ronnie Lazaro) breathing down their necks. They occasionally get reprieve from the owner Miss Liz (Star Orjaliza), a deceptively kind "boss", and her happy-go-lucky nephew Vito (Kean Cipriano).

But Carlo has dreams to realize so he starts planning for an escape. On one such occasion, he falls down a wall and sprains his leg. Unable to work properly, Miss Liz takes him to see a doctor (Jaclyn Jose) who, not long after her examination, realizes the dilemma Carlo is in. The kind doctor hands him a piece of paper with numbers written on it. Carlo then plots another escape, this time for cousin Jea who can call for help. You actually wonder why the good Samaritan in Jaclyn Jose couldn't make the call herself. She wanted to help, didn't she? Isn't it standard procedure that doctors (and caregivers) who suspect abuse on their patients should alert the authorities (Social Welfare, police)? They should do the calling, not the perceived victims - because if they could, they would have done already.

Cocoy De Santos adequately coaxes necessary empathy from his character, making it easy to root for him. He registers well on screen thus this film should rightfully help open doors for the young actor. Teri Malvar, the child who beat Nora Aunor in the Best Actress category of Cinefilipino for her role in "Ang Huling Cha-Cha ni Anita", provided good support, though her character was sorely underwritten. Kean Cipriano, meanwhile, turns in a comfortable performance.

The rest of the cast dove into their characters perfunctorily - Ronnie Lazaro, Jaclyn Jose, Shamaine Centenera-Buencamino, and Star Orjaliza who romps away with the film's most meretricious role. However, the greater injustice was in not giving Dominic Roco enough to "play" with. What a waste. If you edit out his character, he won't be missed.

Kip Oebanda's "Tumbang Preso" ("In the Can") is well intentioned, but it is hobbled by so many shortcomings, both narrative and technical, you eventually end up with a lot less sympathy. Carlo (Kokoy de Santos), our teen protagonist, is an intelligent young man who, just barely two months after he started working for the factory, has forgotten his mother's "face", "how tall she is", "how bad her pedicure was". Two friggin' months in a bright teenager's mind and he's on the verge of expunging all traces of his mother's memory? Maybe he's afflicted with Nora Aunor's "Dementia"? Scary, if you ask me. Give him his share of extreme close ups then. :) If that isn't an illusory bid for sympathy, I don't know what is.

What about Kerbie Zamora's character Don who has been working at the factory for 5 years - he must have forgotten everything, including what he wore when he went to the doctor for circumcision. Tsk tsk tsk! Moreover, what kind of mother would indulge in bad pedicures while his underage son is desperate for tuition? (sniff sniff)

INCISION VS LACERATION

When Carlo was taken out for medical consultation, the physician (Jaclyn Jose) took one look at Carlo's hands. She declared, "Incision... due to sharp objects". Huh? Any physician would know that an "incision" is a cut on the flesh using a blade/knife, usually from a surgical procedure. Butchers, for example, don't make incisions; they cut and slice. Wounds with clean cuts, on the other hand, are called "lacerations". Where did this physician get her education? University of Recto? Anyway, the doctor (Ms. Jose) then takes Carlo to an Xray room. Then she performs the procedure all by herself! I was amazed of course. General Practitioners and clinicians NEVER do X-rays on their own. Heck, even radiologists will not perform the actual procedure themselves. X-ray technicians do! So Jacklyn was essentially the epitome of medical wizardry.

But we're not done with Jacklyn Jose. The first time she saw the child's hands (full of cuts from manually packing sardines in razor-sharp cans), her first impression was classic, "Galis!" (scabies) I almost fell off my chair. So funny.

Some of the lines in the script were flimflammed from random imagination. When Dominic Roco finds Kokoy awake and waiting by the shackled door, he asks him, "Ano bang ginagawa mo dyan at gising ka pa?" Kokoy replies, "Hinahanap ko ang aking mga lata." Roco then shrugs and goes back to sleep, saying "Buti naman." Huh? What's good in finding tin cans? Such writing is feckless and non-contributory to a tighter story. The scenography and the blocking of scenes don't mostly slide as naturally as they should, thus a number of them feel concocted.  

Some scenes are way too stagey or awkward, i.e. Kokoy's "dream sequence" - or was it a "flashback", you're never quite sure. And why was there confetti thrown at Kokoy? Were they celebrating the Edsa Revolution? I never had confetti for my scholastic medals in the past. Poor me!

PERPLEXED

At the police station, Kean Cipriano's character rats out on his aunt (Miss Liz, the factory's operator), and does a long-ish monologue. Ronnie Lazaro follows suit. All this time, the lady police officer just looked perplexed, as though a snake bit her at the vulva. Didn't she realize it was her job to ask more questions - or document their confessions? This floundering scene stretched on while the police officers just gazed at Cipriano and Lazaro - in sheer bewilderment. Starstruck probably? No further investigative work needed since the culprits were voluntarily spilling the beans without getting asked. How convenient. The aforementioned scene was essentially an anticlimax after the build-up towards a suspenseful third part.

The movie could have been an effective cautionary tale about ambition and trusting strangers, but it ended up into one predictable yarn spinning. Requisite happy endings tend to teach less, not that I am advocating the nihilistic approach of Gino Santos' "#Y" which was, thematically, one of the most irritating films I've seen this year. But to imply that one can just as easily switch back to a simpler life (the last scene) after a harrowing experience feels like a sham. Artificial.

"Tumbang Preso" is a product of 2013's Manila Film Financing Forum where it won "Best IFC Pitch". Real Florido's "1st Ko si 3rd" was among the 17 finalists. The movie's subject matter brims with contemporary pertinence. After all, a voice that speaks against child labor and human trafficking deserves to be heard and circulated. Unfortunately, a noble cause doesn't a great cinema make. No amount of A-grade labeling, courtesy of those clueless dingbats from the Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB), can sugarcoat the film's middling artistry.

Jun Urbano's "Ibong Adarna - The Pinoy Adventure" - Cutting Down Classic

In the kingdom of Maharlika, Sultan Mabait (Joel Torre) reigns over his people with Queen Mabuti (Angel Aquino) and their son Sigasig (Rocco Nacino). The royal family is well loved by their people. But not Datu Maimbot (Leo Martinez), Mabait’s ambitious brother, who dreams of becoming king.

When Mabait falls morbidly ill, thanks to the incantations of a witch (Lilia Cuntapay) tasked by the duplicitous Datu Maimbot, the royal family went out of options. No medicine could cure the beloved ruler as his health briskly deteriorates. Sigasig, as "salinlahi" and a dutiful son, is sent to seek the advice of the Nuno (Gary Lising) who then spoke of a magical bird, the Adarna, whose ethereal singing could cure any illness. Moreover, this avian is believed to excrete gold and other riches. But the path to the mythical bird is arduous and treacherous; and death is imminent. Aware that this was the sultan’s only chance for recovery, Sigasig sets off for the bird-catching adventure. Maimbot, along with bumbling sidekick Sipsipayo (Benjie Paras), volunteers to join his nephew, with the intention of stealing the bird from Sigasig.

On his way to Lupang Tigang, Sigasig strays away from his uncle and meets a motley of characters who become either an ally or obstacle: the Aeta child Labuyo (whose task is to assist the gentle heir); fierce Bontok warrior Dulamkaw (Ronnie Lazaro); and a thirsty beggar who transforms into a deity, diwatang Masuri (Patricia Hernandez).

With Sigasig’s benevolence and kind heart, the encantada offers him gifts for his journey: “sagitsit”, a plant to be poured over self-inflicted wounds so he won’t be lulled to sleep when the Adarna starts singing its sleep-inducing songs – and a “salakot” (a wide-brimmed hat) that protects him against bird droppings that turn men into stone. Will Sigasig be able to catch the Adarna for his dying father? Guess.

This folkloric tale is loosely based on a sprawling 18^th century epic called “Ibong Adarna”, aka "Corrido at Buhay na Pinagdaanan nang Tatlóng Principeng anac nang Haring Fernando at nang Reina Valeriana sa Cahariang Berbania" written by someone who goes by the name of Jose dela Cruz – “Huseng Sisiw” – whose real identity was never uncovered.

The “korido”, a Filipino literary form, came about during the 300-year rule of the Spaniards in the archipelago. It has precise measure, i.e. it contains 8 syllables per line, and 4 lines per verse. Moreover, this poetic form was sung through before an audience. In Adarna, we follow the lives of a king and his three sons, Don Pedro, Don Diego and Don Juan. The story itself is convoluted; one that would probably make good material for a protracted “teleserye” because of its plot contrivance and narrative roller coaster.

ADAPTATIONS

GMA Network based its recent television series – “Adarna” which starred Kylie Padilla and Geoff Eigenmann - from this literary work. But there were prior incarnations on celluloid: Manuel Conde, National Artist for Cinema, and more importantly Urbano’s father, directed “Ibong Adarna” twice – a black-and-white flick released in war-torn 1941 which starred Mila del Sol and Fred Cortes, and its color remake in 1945. Dolphy had a couple of Adarna films in 1972 (“Ibong Adarna”) and 1973 (“Ang Hiwaga ng Ibong Adarna”). Even Rene Requiestas had his parody, “Si Prinsipe Abante At Ang Lihim ng Ibong Adarna" (1990).

These loose adaptations are a proof of the creative scale of the story. I can only dream of a more faithful adaptation featuring an all-star cast, duly produced by, hmmm, say the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and directed by either Lav Diaz (because it’s going to be a long movie) or Aureus Solito (because he is familiar with the subculture of ethnicities). Imagine that! This is of course wishful thinking.

Jun Urbano’s “Ibong Adarna”, as homage to his father, takes a narrative detour in more ways than you can imagine to suit (probably) the production’s finances. That the fabled Adarna eventually transforms into a beautiful princess makes the narrative a tad derivative (“Frog Prince”, “Beauty and the Beast”). Production values likewise tend to be mediocre. In fact, the mythologic “richness” could have been mined further but eventually settles into one that’s run-of-the-mill.

Rocco Nacino suits the dashing, kind-hearted and valiant prince, but he’s mostly wasted by the gaunt, if humdrum characterization. Leo Martinez, once again overbakes his comedic affectations, but his slapstick artifice (delivering familiar aphorisms, then clinches his line with, “Ay tanga!”) soon wears out its novelty. Joel Torre makes the most of his underwritten character. Angel Aquino, while decidedly competent, wears her queen a bit too seriously (after all, her “king” is on death bed). However, you get a nagging feeling that she’s performing on a wayward level, like a discordant note playing on a different musical scale.

There are few moments that will entertain: like when Sigasig and Labuyo ride a giant kite flown by a humongous bird; or when Sigasig escapes from a ravenous giant; or when the Adarna (voiced by Lara Maigue) starts singing her dissonant melodies. There are moments that for a split second take you back to your childhood. But these are way too fleeting to really indulge or enjoy. Once reality slaps you right back, you realize that, in this film adaptation, there isn't much to munch on other than its predictable strain.

If you think this is the “Ibong Adarna” assigned for reading among first year high school students (as Jose Rizal’s “Noli Me Tangere” is for sophomores, and so on), you’d be disappointed. This doesn't even have three clashing brothers. But if you like birds transforming into beautiful princesses like that other fairy tale, you may want to reconsider.  

Who wants to paraglide?

Finding the tree of the Adarna.

Hungry carnivorous giant Dagungdong.

Crossing "tulay na poon".

Ronnie Lazaro questions Rocco's motives?

Patricia Hernandez plays Diwatang Masuri

Note:

Please read our featured post on Cinema Bravo and why Web Criticism isn't always about good and credible writing:
- http://makemeblush2.blogspot.com/2016/10/cinema-bravo-film-criticisms-execrable.html

Rico Maria Ilarde's Pridyider - Malevolent Souls

Uncertainty cloaks Christina Benitez’s (Andi Eigenmann) homecoming. It’s been 20 years since she last set foot on the home she once shared with her parents (Joel Torre and Janice de Belen) before the gruesome events that eventually overtook the household. She had since been taken by her aunt (Lui Manansala) to San Francisco where she was raised - beautiful (she is plagued by talent manager Dick – played by Baron Geisler), talented (she finished culinary and is cooking up dishes for a restaurant she plans to open in the Philippines) and conflicted about the fragmentary, albeit sketchy anecdotes she keeps getting about the demise of her mother – and the disappearance of her father. “Bakit nila ako iniwan?” she naggingly asks herself. But she gets no answers.

Home turns out to be a dilapidated house in a desolate fogbound subdivision on the throes of commercial development. Dust has settled long ago as it has been deserted in years. Lights flicker irregularly and a silhouette seemingly hovers around the dark corners. She arrives to an empty abode filled with fading photographs and clunking appliances that have seen better days. Among these is a giant refrigerator – ang “pridyider”.

Tina stays by herself, mostly immersed in experimental dishes. But at midnight, she discerns a presence, and tumbling sounds that bump in the night. And she is made acutely aware of the historical conundrum that inundates her past. She has to know more about her parents. She needs to know what happened to them. Was mother the crazy woman she keeps hearing about? Where was her father? If he were dead, why didn’t they find his body?

The unpalatable answers unravel gradually. Her father was an amorous man who sought the affection of other women while her mother was constantly enveloped by jealous rage. Her love for her husband so consumed her that he made a pact with the devil to summon his affection. She was to perform a ritual involving body parts of all the women he’s had affairs with, capped by the blood of her husband. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to complete the ritual. To avoid getting caught by the police authorities, she hid inside the refrigerator – and died! Since then, the mother’s sinister spirit has possessed the refrigerator. She habitates the household.

To face her dilemma, Tina enlists the help of nosy neighbor Celine (Venus Raj) and her girl Friday Agatha (Bekimon); her childhood friend James (JM de Guzman); a petrified priest, an albularyo and a creepy anophthalmic former investigator, Detective Albay (Ronnie Lazaro) who has lived the life of a recluse after dropping the unsolved case.    

As Ilarde’s story is seamlessly told, the cast renders an engrossing performance all around. Andi Eigenmann limns her character with emotive panache. Her thespic control is remarkably fine tuned, and this is nothing short of admirable. There are no excesses there. Acting prowess must really be genetic. JM de Guzman, stripped of the need to sentimentalize his scenes, is adorable and enjoys great screen chemistry with Eigenmann, which is quite unexpected. Ronnie Lazaro recreates his Inspector Albay with indecipherable stroke reminiscent of his character in Richard Somes’ “Ishmael”. Even Venus Raj is interesting as she is quirky. Joel Torre, one of this year’s busiest actors, is likewise engaging. But it’s really Janice de Belen who runs away with her sinister presence. Malevolent and doomful, De Belen reminds me of Carmina Villaroel’s creepy turn in Yam Laranas’ “The Road”.  Seeing her stand frozen with chopping knife makes you wanna hide in some cave in the far reaches of Vanuatu!   

“Pridyider” pays homage to the original “Shake, Rattle and Roll” (1984). In the original film, Ishmael Bernal directed Janice de Belen for the trilogy’s 2^nd episode with similar title.  In the current version, De Belen’s iconic scene (she opens the ref’s door and thrusts her sweaty body deeper into the refrigerator) is reenacted by Eigenmann. Though the story is different, the narrative arc is similarly engaging.

The cinematic elements work well: the setting renders a spooky atmosphere; Teresa Barrozo’s music eerily lingers unobtrusively; Mackie Galvez’s cinematography sparkles with clarity even in dimly lit scenes; the CG effects are more than commendable as well. In fact, those tentacle-like monsters move with visceral feel. They don’t look artificial. Baron Geisler’s scene (he was being devoured by the ref) was particularly eye-catching. Ilarde and Onay Sales’ script avoids the unnecessary excesses customary in ardent horror flicks. All these result to a coherent story that moves with due pacing.

There are minor cracks in the story that could have been secured and adjusted: if Tina’s father really cared for his daughter, what kept him from making correspondence with Tina? Surely, a snail mail with an explanation could have prevented Tina from eternally wondering why she was “abandoned”. In this age of new technologies, there’s really no logical explanation for staying away from a loved one unless 1) you’re dead; 2) you were swallowed by a Black Hole; 3) you’re all lip service and the truth is, you just didn’t care enough. Twenty years is a long time to be away.

The scene at the hidden basement (or was it a “cave”) was reminiscent of a scene in Katie Holmes’ “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark”. With victims’ heads indiscriminately appended on walls, Ilarde fabricates a gruesome world of the restless undead. This disturbs more than many other horror scenes from the recent past.

“Pridyider” could have floundered in high camp. Venus Raj’s humorous turn is akin to this temperament, but her character was beautifully moderated that her presence didn’t feel importunate to the plot. Otherwise, it could have provided a “major major” debacle. More importantly, Raj provided some welcome quirkiness to an otherwise sedate predisposition. Every aspect of “Pridyider” is well tempered making it one of the year’s most engrossing horror ride.

James fixes Tina's electricity woes.

Inspector Albay aka Ronnie Lazaro aka "Ishmael."

Making pact with the devil - and more.

Tentacled monster and Alfred the cat.

Attack of the hungry refrigerator.

Now what do you call this?

Daughter and father scream for help.

Creepy mama is fueled by her jealousy.

Victims at the basement.

Albularyo fights with the evil spirit.

Andi Eigenmann (above and below)

JM de Guzman (above and below) as James. He manages an electrical shop.

Venus Raj as nosy neighbor Celine

Baron Geisler is Dick., a Hollywood agent. He's attracted to Tina.