John Paul Su's "Toto"- The U.S. Visa as Measure of Success

Toto (Sid Lucero) has but one dream - to go to America. So he's turning every rock to find the means to get there. But the American visa is a huge stumbling block. It doesn't help that the amiable hotel bellhop has very few treasures to show at the embassy. His checklist is a tall order: a rich family, a fat bank account and the steadfast resolve to hurdle every rejection. Now where can he acquire the aforementioned?

Toto's prospects aren't promising. His head is up in the clouds, barely looking over his shoulders to realize that his girlfriend Tessa (Mara Lopez) and best friend Yam (Thou Reyes), who both harbor feelings for him, are conveniently being taken for granted. But this is his "show", not theirs, so he's all too willing to dance to the popular tune, the "Macarena", no matter how cheesy it is, to find his place in the American sun.

On the side, Toto peddles pirated DVDs and postures like Tom Cruise. He meets Eve Porter (LIza Dino), a fil-am guest in the hotel where he works, who accepts his marriage-for-convenience proposal, But it will cost him. Another guest, David (Blake Boyd), a gay businessman from Texas, becomes an unexpected mentor and friend. But even the best laid plans don't always turn the way we want them to. 

John Paul Su's "Toto" is a comedy of manners, though this time it zeroes in on the working class. Many stories have been told about the much-vaunted American dream. Heck, even Cameron Mackintosh's "Miss Saigon" (recently screened in SM Cinemas nationwide) sang-and-danced for it. Bela Padilla's more recent "I America" was screened at the Cinemalaya with very similar story and setting, it even has Thou Reyes playing another gay friend named Whitney! 

THE AMERICAN DREAM

People dream for different reasons although most Filipinos do it for the opportunities they present. Economic and financial security are, after all, as basic a need as breathing air. Sid Lucero, in an Inquirer interview, mentioned that he dreams of just flipping burgers, feeding people and surfing - that's his piece of the American dream. I don't have an American dream. I may be as colonial in manner and sensibility, but my heart lies in this archipelagic mess. This takes me to the wayward ideation that getting to America is, by itself, a measure of success. Babaw huh. Filipinos should put a lid on this and readjust their criteria to something more substantial. Your stepping on American soil does not automatically make you the epitome of success, but a mere statistics of migration.

This exactly is the reason why I am hardly fond of movies with such themes. Opportunities are available right within our shores. You don't need to go to, say Hong Kong, earn P7,000 a month as a domestic helper, and call yourself an achiever, do you? Propagating the mystic of migration does a disservice to the talent of the Filipino. Despite all these, the diaspora continues.

"There is desperation all over, but one tendered with glee and enthusiasm.

"Toto" makes the journey to acquiring a visa more upbeat, and Sid Lucero does a great job depicting the resolute spirit of the Filipino dreamer. There is desperation all over, but one tendered with glee and enthusiasm. This is the Filipino's penchant for seeing the silver lining in the midst of misfortune and apathy. Doing Toto is like walking on thin ice because it is a crucial balancing act. Besides, Lucero once admitted that he isn't too crazy about slapstick comedy - or just comedy, in general. Thou Reyes is adorable as the protagonist's gay best friend who would rather go behind bars than see Toto fail. In some ways, he mirrors what true love is all about, i.e. that sacrifices are part of the package. Reyes is insightful, vulnerable and funny. 

COMPANION PIECES

I saw this movie last year at the Indie section of the Metro Manila Film Festival. I wasn't over-the-moon then, but I wanted a second viewing this time so I could place it alongside "I America" which is one of the better outputs from this year's hundred-and-one film festivals. Both movies are a companion piece. Robin Padilla's "La Visa Loca" (2005) is a distant cousin. I may have readjusted my perceptions about it but I am of the opinion that stories like these should be given a rest. Make no mistake, Director John Paul Su's movie is well made, adequately paced, entertaining and has great performances all around. But the subject matter is a bit of a pickle.

In my book, getting an American visa is a mere procedure and doesn't deserve a parade. Or a whole movie for that matter. More importantly, stepping on American soil is not a measure of success, and shouldn't be celebrated as such.          

Toto, Tessa and Yam share more than friendship.

Pitas and The Cinema of the Poor

After failure to pay for yet another monthly rent, Regie (Francine Prieto) and her children were thrown out of their house. They find themselves in slum's urban squalor just a stone’s throw from Malacanang Palace, where locals are constantly showered with “presidential” give-aways (noodles, rice).

Jasmine (Kristel Moreno) is discontent, but is constantly comforted by her mother’s (Francine) optimism that her beauty will eventually take her away from the slums. But the slums is a tenuous and testy environment for a lovely young girl like Jasmine. After all, the streets are populated by the dregs of society. One of whom is the amorous Rafael (Sid Locero) who sneaks glances at Jasmine's way. Rafael is unemployed but occasionally dabbles on tandem snatching with his friend Joven (newcomer Greggy Santos) – thus the title “Pitas”, a street slang for snatching. For a menial commission and territorial protection, he takes his “harvests” to Cabo (Bembol Roco), a former policeman (the barangay chairman) who has his eye on Jasmine’s mom, Regie.

It isn’t long before Rafael catches Jasmine at her most vulnerable. After getting her drunk, he takes advantage of her stupor, succeeding in what would be the movie’s second attempt to find cinematic context – “Pinitas mo si Jasmine.” says Joven.

This is where tension is eventually derived. Lourdes (Rio Locsin), Rafael’s prayerful and hardworking mother decides to go home to Marinduque. She is stricken with cancer. But she learns that Jasmine is tagging alone with Rafael. The girl is pregnant! What becomes of Regie’s dreams for her family? Something has to crumble from these convoluted situations, and it does, rather awkwardly!

I was mildly surprised by the easy storytelling that characterizes the first half of Joey Romero's “Pitas”. It is peppered with socio-political issues (if a tad too obviously) : politicians buying people's allegiance in the form of P500 pesos and a packet of noodles; presidential propaganda about government programs like the TESDA; desperate women turning to foreigners (like Regie's exes - "isang Kano, isang Hapon, isang Italyano") to flee from the clutches of poverty; companies shutting down or letting employees go; petty crimes as part of the slum's daily existence. Vignettes of apathy flash before us in enumerated succession, we felt like this was part 2 of "Puntod" shown last January!

The story is something that you’ve seen several times before! New artists bring life to these predictable narrative strings. But the cast deftly buoy up the story’s nondescript substance, so we take interest while watching the film.

For years now, Indies (aka the Digital Wave) continually mine the country’s abject poverty, sensationalizing the demoralization of a sick society. Exploitation cinema is upon us! In fact, by accounts of the foreigners who get to watch Filipino films abroad, Philippines is a metropolis of makeshift dwellings whose source of inspiration is the numerous rosaries we can pray from Wednesday to Sunday and back; the Philippines is the land of nubile macho dancers with prevalent homosexuality at every nook and cranny; we are a country of slum-dwelling, cockroach-infested (Claire Danes, hello!) whorehouses; our cinema halls reek with semen, our toilets are populated with flesh hungry critters; and our houses are inhabited by those who dream of leaving this god-forsaken land. I am so proud. Thank you, cinema.

Spoilers here!

What confounds us is how the story around Jasmine's rape was played out! There was a rape, wasn't there? With Jasmine lying down a bed heavily inebriated but obviously conscious, Rafael forces himself on her, as she struggles against his groping advances. Cut to the succeeding scene. We see Jasmine and Rafael walking side by side in blissful harmony. Regardless of how much I am attracted to a guy, once he forces himself on me and takes advantage of my vulnerability, I shall not see him as my Romeo. In my book, he shall cease to be the decent man that I was once attracted to, and I will not be found walking hand in hand with this scum who slithered his way inside me! That much is what common sense dictates!

The second half of "Pitas" down to its ending is a conundrum. The storyteller suddenly loses steam and ends his film abruptly, and I am not talking about the screening time! First, Jasmine had to participate in a dance contest, but even before the number is over, she falls down the floor. Lahat nakatunganga - while blood splatters down her pants! Of course that is more cinematic instead of just waiting for the performance to end and have her fall backstage, is it? Yet, despite her unfinished dance routine, “nanalo kayo anak”, reports her optimistic mother Regie! They suddenly forget that Jasmine just lost her baby! But what the heck, not only does she get a winning trophy, she also gains a scholarship for an unfinished dance number! Clap clap clap! Isn't life grand? Now tell me this isn’t escapist?

Sid Lucero is good, in fact he’s better here than in his mawkish teleserye for ABS CBN ("Magkano Ang Iyong Dangal"). Kristel Moreno looks fresh – perfect for the titular picking, but she is really out of her depths. No worries, it’s her first movie! She can get better! She does remind me of Mutya Crisostomo. Rio Locsin and Bembol Roco give gravitas to what should otherwise be a trite story. Francine Prieto looks a bit too heavy on screen, which should make her the perfect mother? Not really. Miss Prieto, despite her seniority in the business, looks too raw for her role. She needed spice, needed some shaking, needed more emotive insight to make her a believable, boisterous mother of three.

On the eye candy side, the film introduces Greggy Santos as Joven, Rafael’s friend and literal partner in crime. Santos is too goodlooking and too “scrubbed” to be taken for a slum dweller. But just when you’re about to write him off, he comes up with a very comfortable performance. He struts his stuff with confidence sans the awkwardness of a newcomer. He becomes the snatcher from the slums who drops neologisms like “namumuki” like it was vernacular. Ateneo should be proud!

Greggy Santos - Strong screen presence. Good thing Sid Lucero is a seasoned and confident actor!

Joven runs for his "harvest" (pitas) and hands it to Rafael. This is one snatcher that makes me blush! LOL