Rod M. Ortega's "The Firefighters: The Unsung Heroes"

Rod M. Ortega's "The Firefighters: The Unsung Heroes" follows the story of Santi (Jeric Raval) an obedient boy of Abuyog, Sorsogon who grows up from a simple family. At breakfast, he gets a reminder from his morose-looking mother saying, "The family that prays together stays together." I got misty-eyed from such sentiment. We see him chop wood and fetch water. We also see teenage Santi (Paolo Gumabao) loitering the beach with his girl friend (Nicole Gee), just like a normal young man.

One day, Santi witnesses three girls drown from what appears to be the shallow waters of a polluted beach (they sniffed the air apparently, and lost their ability to swim; isn't that tragic?) He charges into the water fully clothed (long sleeved sweat shirt and jeans) - just like a hero should - and tries hard to save them. All three girls drown anyway. It's the thought that counts, debah?

But the incident has scarred him for life that from here on, he shall save drowning girls - by enrolling as a police man at the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA)! Save drowning girls = police! Not as a lifeguard nor a doctor, but a police officer. Get nyo? Fate takes him to the fire brigade where he eventually rises from the ranks, despite conniving nemesis Brando (Jethro Ramirez). He hurts himself during one of their operations while trying to save the life of a guy trapped inside a burning building. But his wife (Hanni Miller) is constantly beside him despite occasional marital conflicts. End.

If there ever was a contest for film making cluelessness, this would be among the finalists. The film is a curmudgeon of genre, and doesn't quite settle into one, simply because its director just doesn't have the facility to do so. When the heavens distributed talent for story telling, Ortega must have fallen asleep. He throws a lot of random scenes together, and prays to the heavens that they organically transform into a coherent story. Wishful thinking, of course. This, it turns out, is one cinematic mess. It's hilarious without meaning to. And in the general sense, annoying for wasting precious time and money. I had to travel far to be fed garbage. It's nothing short of deplorable.

The narrative composition is one big mystery. There are classroom scenes of a boy reciting a gag-inducing poem ("Ang Guro") about a teacher called Mrs. Catapia that concluded with something like, "Hindi lang siya mabait, maganda pa. Ang suwerte ng mister nya." Then the teacher's husband is shown with a wide grin, peeping from the classroom window. Huh? A group of children grilling corn would alternately deliver lines with no rhyme or reason, my niece had better school programs in school, and I didn't have to pay P200 to watch them.

From out of the blue, Joseph Bacareza, head honcho of the Fire National Training Institute (FNTI) suddenly discusses what the institute is all about. I was of course disoriented by Bacareza's sudden appearance because I wasn't there to learn about the darn institute. Then random footages of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) appear. Cadets perform their exhibitional gun drills. This then shifts to a fire prevention training where an instructor is teaching students about clove hitch knot. If you aren't perplexed by this confounding turn events, hang on to your knickers, there's more.

SLIDE SHOW

A powerpoint presentation follows. Yup, a slide show. What is fire? What are its 3 stages? What are the modes of heat transfer? Was I in the right venue? Or was this really a tutorial on fire prevention more than a cinematic event? Ask director Rod Ortega. He must have an idea. The plot returns to Jeric Raval training at the fire institute. While everyone on training is bald, Raval sports a full head of hair replete with his characteristic squint and tough-guy grimace.

Cut to Raval courting his new girl friend who replies with an ecstatic, "Yes na yes na - basta pakakasalan mo ako ha?" He was just asking her to be his girl friend, mind you. The film shifts again to a commercial about "Textfire" and the modern facilities acquired by the organization, including a 10-second feature about a volunteer named Gerry Chua. Someone is shooting blanks in all directions. But wait, whatever happened to Santi?

Santi, now a successful fire chief, complete with Dolphy-and-Panchito channeling bodyguards (comedian Kuhol and another poor soul), returns to visit his hometown in Sorsogon. He donates a complete set of musical instruments for his band, "Santiago Serenade and Friends" whose songs are being played all throughout the movie. If I have to say, these are kakapangilabot original songs about love, written in English, played a la bolero, sang in godawful diction. I wanted to squirm and turn into a prune. Moreover, it inspired violent tendencies - like running amok and start shooting the audience inside the cinema. Population: 2. Believe me, watching this so-called movie just isn't healthy.

Another scene shows Santi briefing his fire brigade during one very sunny day. Listen and learn: "Maghanda tayo. Ang bagyo ay tatama sa loob ng dalawang oras." I shivered with fright.

Jeric Raval, looking youthful, tries to carry the story with a straight face but is limited by the absence of a decent plot. Former sexy star Hanni Miller (as Santi's wife) isn't given much to chew on either. Young upstarts are showcased, albeit fleetingly. Paolo Gumabao plays the teenage Santi. Despite his "baby fats" (check out his scenes at the beach), it is clear that Dennis Roldan's son is his father's spitting image. He actually reminds me of dashing Jake Ejercito - with lipid excrescences, of course. Nicole Gee and Marina Salvador look promising as well.

The film could be any of the following: a biopic; a flight of fancy; an invitation to the PNPA; a tutorial about fire prevention; a political propaganda for C/Supirentendent Santiago E. Laguna. Someone's probably eyeing for an elective position. Inspiring, this isn't. Quite frankly, this won't help Mr. Laguna. In fact, this dug him a hole. Without a doubt in mind, this godawful flick made me want to play with fire: Burn every darn personality responsible for producing this movie - then  feed them to Kuhol. And please include the SM Cinema executives who thought that this movie deserves to be seen by a paying audience. If this is what characterizes an SM Exclusive, I'd rather stay indoors. Thank you for wasting my time.

Gumabao and Gee enjoy baby-fat moments!

Hanni Miller

Nicole Gee

Paolo Gumabao channels Jake Ejercito

Jethro Ramirez plays bad guy Brando.

C/Supt. Santiago E. Laguna

Michael Angelo Dagnalan's Paglaya sa Tanikala - Matteo Guidicelli and the Saint

Berto (Micko Laurente) is a vagrant who roams the streets sniffing solvent. To support this addictive inclination, he snatches cell phones and wallets for a syndicate headed by Nardo (Nicco Manalo) and his ornery minions. One day, Berto, with his head still in the clouds, meets Brother Jerry (Matteo Guidicelli), a cathechist, who invites him to Casa Miani, an orphanage run by the Somascan Brothers. Though dingy and uncouth, Berto is embraced by the congregation who gradually introduces him to the Catholic faith and the prodigious story of St. Jerome Emiliani, patron saint of orphans.

Jerome Emiliani (also portrayed by Guidicelli), son of a noble Venetian family, lived in the tempestuous era of the late 14^th century. Though his lifestyle was fraught with vices, Jerome was a good soldier who, at 25 years old, found himself steward of Castelnuovo, a fortress in the Italian mountains. Maximilian I, King of the Germans, eventually headed the siege of Castelnuovo and took Jerome as a prisoner, throwing him in a dungeon. While incarcerated, the brave and fallen soldier reflected on his life of sin and began praying to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He vowed that if he is freed from his shackles, he would change his ways and work for God’s glory. The Virgin Mary heard his prayers. Once free, he went straight to a church in Trevisio where he hung his prison chains in front of Mary's altar, thus the titular “Paglaya sa Tanikala” (Freedom from Chains). As promised, he was later ordained priest in Venice, devoting much of his time for the homeless orphan children. His story, intermittently told in disparate chapters, becomes Berto’s inspiration as he embraces his new family.

But something sinister is brewing in the horizon. Berto gets a visit from a seemingly well meaning couple, Nardo and Jenny David (Manalo and Sue Prado) who tells the parish rector (Jaime Fabregas) that they want to adopt a child. Once alone with Berto, Nardo – the syndicate head – instructs Berto to prepare for a heist, one that would divest the orphanage of its limited funds. Otherwise, he would hurt the other children. What to do? 

Stories of heroes and saints need to be told because they live an exemplary life. There are pages in their stories other people could cogitate on and emulate. However, it’s imperative that these stories don’t come out like propaganda. Otherwise, people would stay away in droves. Unfortunately, Director Michael Angelo Dagnalan’s work runs like one. It is preachy and brazenly milks its contrived plot with less savoir-faire that the vacillating narratives allow.

Imagine talking to a hungry, sleepy child like this: “In 1523, Father Jerome moved from Venice to…” What child wouldn't lapse into catatonia? And what nefarious couple (Prado and Manalo) would dress up as a decent couple just to blackmail a child in an orphanage? The act of masquerading itself is too fairy tale-ish to be taken hook, line and sinker. Manalo and Prado come off caricaturish, delineating characters too blatantly pasquinade.

Matteo Guidicelli makes for a dashing catechist who moonlights as an arnis instructor. I half expected him transforming into Captain Barbel. But Guidicelli is even more fetching as the valiant Venetian soldier who fought for his castle. He looks and speaks the part. Trouble is, Matteo's delivery requires more conviction as Jerome Emiliani. While I could swallow (well, barely) the soft-and-slow spoken, albeit calculated Tagalog delivery as the demeanor of a “religious” (Guidicelli is said to speak impeccable Visayan), his Italian gent-and-priest is rather tentative; more artifice than insight.

While the handsome star isn’t absolutely successful in his dual depictions, child star Micko Laurente hurdles his part like a pro, enveigling his pertinent transformation from a streetwise dope head to a reformed child with remarkable aplomb. Laurente is a find, and probably the only thing worth remembering in Director Dagnalan’s otherwise maladroit tale. Surely, Saint Jerome deserves better.

Fighting with the "Alemans".

St. Jerome Emiliani, Patron Saint of orphans.

Hit me gently, Matteo. Ayayay! :)

Marco Bellocchio's Vincere - Mussolini & His Secret Bride

Benito Mussolini was a key figure in the establishment of fascism in decadent Europe. He was a politician who eventually ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943. But Marco Bellocchio's "Vincere" (Win) isn't exactly about him, though the story is anchored on his rise to the political arena. He was the editor of Avanti. But writing for the tabloid wasn't enough for the passionate young Benito. He was also impulsive. In 1914, while facing a good crowd, he challenged the presence of God. "If you're real, prove this by killing me in front of this crowd within 5 minutes," he shouts before the shaken townsfolk. In the same town meeting, he meets Ida Dalser (Giovanna Messogiorno) who fell head over heels in love with Benito. He so enamored her that she would seduce him at every chance meeting. When she learns that it was his dream to start a tabloid of his own ("Il Popolo d'Italia"), she sold everything she's got and offered the proceeds to Benito. They secretly get married, and she learns she's pregnant! What a joy indeed! But there's a hitch: she didn't know that Benito was already married man, making hers spurious.

While Mussolini (Filippo Timi) gradually fulfills his dream, eventually becoming Italy's 25th Prime Minister (and employing the term "Il Duce"), Ida and his son are constantly denied recognition by the man who owes her affection and money! But Ida's devotion turns her impoverished - and looney. She would write to everyone, declaring that she's Il Duce's wife - and that their son is Mussolini's first born. Her persistence so disturbed the politician that efforts were made to disenfranchise Ida. The state was soon tasked to separated mother and son. She was sent to an asylum where, for years, she's kept under medication. Her son was likewise taken to an orphanage. They were never recognized by the Prime Minister.

Director Marco Bellocchio's "Vincere" follows Ida's harrowing tale of love, devotion and her descent into lunacy. Is there hope for the lovelorn beauty?

My first Marco Bellocchio film was memorable - "Devil in the Flesh" with Maruschka Detmers. As a young mind, I would then be ushered into the realm of risque subtitled  European cinema. After all, the film had a beautiful lady fellate a young man on screen. Bellocchio always tried pushing boundaries. He was uncompromising where narrative exposition is concerned. I was quite surprised to find "Vincere" (2009) being shown at the Shangrila Cinema last September.

To document specific situations from the pages of Dalser's memories, Bellocchio would film them in the most matter-of-fact manner that they seem detached from an audience's perspective. Many of the earlier scenes were hypnotic glimpses of European chaos in Sarajevo, Hungary, etc. He would also insinuate flashes of European history - from Hungary to Russia. If you aren't familiar or just don't care about them, it's easy to get disoriented with the brisk intercuts. The film tests patience. However, like many of Bellocchio's works, patience eventually pays off rather beautifully. What unravels before our eyes is a stirring tale of passionate adoration and devotion. Despite Mussolini's Draconian ways to isolate Ida and their son, Ida never quite gave up on Benito. Mussolini was the dictator all the way through. It was unfortunate that Ida never found the reciprocal affection that she deserved from her ambitious lover. Her situation allows his audience to reflect. Don't you somehow wish that someone could love you with such magnanimity?

Yet Mussolini never acknowledged Ida and her son.

Ida loves Benito.

Confined to an asylum.

Benito marries Ida, but he's married already.

Giovanna Messogiorno (above and below) plays Ida Dalser.

Filippo Timi is Il Duce.

What the heck is Filippo doing in this magazine fashion spread?

Director Marco Bellocchio

Benito Mussolini - Il Duce - is Italy's 25th Prime Minister.