Kip Oebanda's Liway - Sugarcoating Horrors (Cinemalaya 2018)

Diverse, engrossing, socially relevant, technically well crafted, less artistic pretension. 

This year’s film harvest from Cinemalaya is surprisingly impressive. I was dreading the festival marathon because last year’s entries were mind-numbingly mediocre. They were hard to watch because 4 of them were so darkly lit people had to squint for clarity. That's just for starters. What’s worse, the festival gave awards to the worst offenders. They were even arrogantly unapologetic about it. Why would they apologize, right? There’s a simple answer. But let me not digress. I'd rather discuss this cinematic gem called "Liway".

At the height of Martial Law in the late 70’s, activists Day (Glaiza de Castro) and Ric (Dominic Roco) were apprehended by the military and imprisoned in Camp Delgado alongside criminals and other rebels. 

Day, whose alter ego was Liway in the underground movement, gave birth to her son Dakip (Kenken Nuyad) who was allowed to stay with his parents. Despite the atrocities that were happening in the camp (inmates disappearing without a trace), Liway vowed to shelter her children from the ugly face of incarceration. Sugarcoating the horrors of Martial Law is never an easy task. But how far will a mother go to protect her family?

“Liway” has a straight forward story telling that makes occasional use of flashbacks. The story is easy to follow.

It uses few narrative embellishments. In fact, it practically did away with overbearing sentimentality (which it deserved). 

While some stories are maneuvered to adapt to the cinematic medium, the excoriating details in the film are however veiled by lighter scenes. Truth can sometimes be tweaked as a just excuse for a historical execration, but this isn't the case here.

Emotions aren’t allowed to linger for too long. The brutality of the Marcos regime has obviously been toned down to impart a livable environment that Liway, in her limited capacity, has created for her children. 

Showing the violence of torture as experienced by the inmates would have made a good contrast to the kind of atmosphere Liway wanted Dakip to experience. One cannot gloss over the brutality that transpired because this was one of the essence of the regime's disdain for freedom, and how it imposed an abusive rule to silence dissenting voices. 

In a truly enlightened society, no single soul should justify violations of human rights. But in an ailing society, revising a murky past is becoming common place, which is an insult to those who suffered and perished during that era. These days, such revisionism is gradually unraveling. This is why movies like "Liway" and "ML" serve their purpose in propagating historical truths. These events happened to real people.

There were few scenes within the narrative that hooked me. In a wistful scene, Liway is shown strumming her guitar and singing Lolita Carbon’s “Pagbabalik”. This sent shivers down my spine. It's clear to me how the evils of a 30-year-old history is gradually gaining ground in contemporary society. I have nothing but pity for this country, and contempt to the people who enable this. What do wise men say about people who don’t learn from history?

 

Based on a true story set during one of the country’s darkest era, the film hits you when you least expect it. I shall refrain from divulging too much detail, but people were crying buckets as the credits rolled. I had to rush to the toilet thereafter to give myself a good cry. Make no mistake, the film is hardly structured in melodrama. There’s not a lot of caterwauling in the movie either, but it had an uncanny approach of breaking your heart. “Liway” was my 9^th film so I didn’t expect too much from it. Guess what? The best surprises are those you don’t anticipate.

Oebanda serves up a polished cinematic ouvre that will define his cinema in the years to come. It helps that the story he tells is close to home. Revealing a personal story is reliving a past. That can't be easy. But by doing so, Oebanda shows skills that will help him evolve into a greater storyteller in the future. 

It wasn't always like this. I remember watching his first commercially released film, “Tumbang Preso”. After posting what I thought about it, I received half a dozen vicious mails from anonymous trolls.  Not Oebanda, I presume. But you see, such is the nature of film appreciation. It’s a subjective experience for each viewer. 

The succeeding years were promising. “Nay” wasn’t particularly fetching. Last year’s “Bar Boys” was among my 10 favorites. Look how far Oebanda has come. I look forward to watching his next projects. In a bumper crop year where most festival entries are watchable, “Liway” is among my top choices.

Ysabelle Peach's "Jacqueline Comes Home" - Rousing the Dead and the Incarcerated

Michael Collins' "Give Up Tomorrow" was a compelling investigative documentary about Cebu's most talked about rape-murder case that sent 7 men to jail. Though considered closed, the case continues to keep tongues wagging. After all, there were believable witnesses who swore by Paco Larranaga's alibi at the time of the murder. Unless he had the ability to bilocate, Paco actually attended his culinary class in Manila for his midterm exams - and there were even photos from a get-together in a bar later that night. How could he lead the abduction and rape of sisters Marijoy and Jackie Chiong? Marijoy's body was found lifeless at the bottom of a ravine in Carcar, south of Cebu City. Jackie remains missing. This was 21 years ago.

It's hard to discredit the artistic savvy of "Give Up Tomorrow". It was one of that year's best films. But there were parts we found a bit off. First, it was produced by people close to Larranaga, a great grandchild of a former Philippine President. The element of bias was indisputably possible. Second, they demonized Mrs. Chiong who, need I remind everyone, lost 2 daughters! She was expected to fight tooth and nails to seek justice.

However, you only have to watch a 5 minute Youtube video of Paco's former classmates and teacher talking about Paco's whereabouts on that fateful day in July 1997 to make easy conclusions about the case. Well, Paco was convicted and eventually sent to Spain to serve his sentence; he's Filipino-Spanish. But if he were really innocent, shouldn't we be concerned about the perpetration of injustice? There's something disquieting about Paco's incarceration. Bottom line: no one won from this high profile case. Marijoy is dead. Jackie is still missing. Families continue to grieve. Paco is serving prison in Spain. So do 6 of Paco's friends.

With all these in mind, I was curious how director Ysabelle Peach, Carlo Caparas' daughter, would contribute to the retelling of a story, It would be told from the point of view of Mrs. Chiong (played by Alma Moreno). The screenplay was written by Carlo Caparas who isn't done with those grueling "massacre movies" of the 90's.

In true Caparas fashion, "Jacqueline Comes Home" is overwrought, messy, exploitative and devoid of sensitivity or insight. While Meg Imperial, playing Jackie, breezed through her scenes with a certain commitment and charm, Donnalyn Bartolome, as campus beauty Marijoy, was shrill and cringe-worthy. I wanted a duct tape covering her buccal cavity. And all her cavities for that matter.

The movie is weighed down by a muddled nonlinear storytelling. It didn't help that the suspects were depicted like one-dimensional characters, channeling Paquito Diaz and Max Alvarado of the 70's. The chronicle is populated by cardboard characters that fit into predictable stereotypes with absolutely no redeeming values at all. Even the staging of their scenes was awkwardly familiar - the sneers and jeers, the unkempt persona, the leering gazes, their congregation, etc. Paco and his gang were evil. The Chiongs were innocent and saintly. There were no gray areas in between.

Surprisingly, the story carried the names of the Chiongs: Jackie (Meg Imperial), Marijoy (Donnalyn Bartolome), Thelma Chiong (Alma Moreno), Dionisio Chiong (Joel Torre), and siblings Dennis, Bruce and Debby. The baddies however were renamed: Ryan Eigenmann was Sonny; hammy newbie CJ Caparas was Jeff, and so on. AJ Muhlach was bad so let's forget he's even here. There's no mistaking though who they represented. 

That being said, after the first 30 minutes of this movie's tragically dated film making style, I started getting restless. Caparas was clear in his discretionary exposition who the perpetrators were. There's no narrative window of doubt. The story completely ignored the defense's alibi. They could have pointed that out and countered with an irrefutable proof otherwise. They wanted to point a finger indubitably.

Selfie with God

There were elements worthy of comedy, like questers summoning Jackie. I had to giggle when God suddenly appeared before Thelma and spoke! Seriously! I wanted to snap a photo and send to Malacanang. This was proof of God's selfie with Thelma Chiong. He-who-shall-not-be-named would repent and become a priest, debah? I'd even volunter to send him 23 truckloads of Bactidol full-strength solution to clean his filthy mouth. That's me being nationalistic.

I had flashbacks of Andi Eigenmann playing Hilda Koronel's role in the remake of "Angela Markado" (2015), I was mentally scarred by that movie. I had post-traumatic nightmares that Eigenmann would win a Famas because, in the real world, horrendous performances always win Famas trophies. Guess what? Andi won. You better believe it. I wore a turban and wrinkled face the whole week after her win. I was Madam Auring.

And if I have to re-state the exasperated guy who walked out from the movie: "Ampanget!"

Jose Javier Reyes' "Dilim" - Short on Fright

Boy Abunda, who’s seemingly cured from his fungal hepatic abscess, was in top form and being himself one Sunday afternoon, i.e. trying to appear like an intellectual. “Why is your movie called ‘Dilim’ ?“, he asked with exhaustive gravity as though the fate of humanity depended on it . Kylie Padilla sat on her chair with stunned silence, as though slapped by bitter realization, or the dearth of one. She searched for answers, mouth half open, from The Buzz’s studio audience. Nothing.

She didn't know what darkness had to do with her character, it was almost comedic. Nada. Elvis left the building. She could've gone profound or lazily called it metaphor, but she instead looked electrocuted. Wasn't she the Padilla intellectual who was raised in Sydney, sang "Lonely Without You" and “Sulat” for her own CD outing, painted, wrote blog articles and dreamt of being an actress? The movie title would be the first clue if I were to embrace the character of Marites Almario. That same moment, I saw an expression that permeated throughout all the scenes in Padilla's movie debut.

HOME ALONE

In Jose Javier Reyes’ “Dilim”, Marites (Kylie Padilla) moves from Cagayan de Oro to Manila to pursue her college education. Two weeks prior to the start of her classes, she finds herself alone at the 3^rd floor of a four-story dormitory. Her landlord Mang Damian (Manny Castaneda) has to attend to a family emergency in Pangasinan, leaving the disconcerted girl by her lonesome. “Bukas may kasama ka na, yung taga Baguio,” Damian reassures Marites.

That night, as she navigates the empty hallways of De la Rosa Dormitory, Marites gets acquainted with her new home’s creaky floors and dark corners, acutely aware of the sound of a girl crying nearby. Soon there after, she finds Mia (Ella Cruz) who’s more than convivial to meet her. “Taga Nueva Ecija ako. Nagre-review para sa Nursing Board exams,” Mia shares. 

In the morning, after attending mass, Marites is spooked by an old lady who tells her that she has a special gift, and that spirits are drawn to her ("natatangi... tulay"). She shares this with new friend Emerson (Rayver Cruz), a cheerful Criminology student whom she met at Aling Payang’s (Ruby Ruiz) eatery. 

But when another student Ellen arrives a day later, Marites realizes that the Mia she earlier met was the same who disappeared 5 years ago, along with her friend Aya (Nathalie Hart). They were never found. Marites transfers to another dorm hoping to get rid of Mia, but the latter still persistently appears in her dreams, asking for help. When Marites gets hold of Mia’s diary, their back stories start to unravel; a story that leads them to the son of an influential personality, Quinito Castaneda (Rafael Rosell) and his friend Danny (Joross Gamboa). But why is Marites seeing puddles on the floor and sandy foot prints? Are these tip-offs from beyond the grave?

Regal Films once again delivers the story of a protagonist with a “third eye”. Remember Carla Abellana in Aloy Adlawan’s (hold your breath!) “Third Eye”, the movie that initially toyed around with Earth-bound ghosts that soon transformed into zombies that eventually became cannibals? (Someone got so excited he got confused delineating the differences among his monsters.) A not-so-original variety resurrects 8 months later in "Dilim" (Darkness). Exciting, right?

Kylie Padilla turns in a one-note performance framed by a single facial expression seen from scene one until the last frame. If she wore a mask, it wouldn't have made any difference (reference: Derek Ramsay in all of his film appearances). Padilla’s joyless demeanor is so dour you’d wonder why anyone would even bother to speak to her. While I was made aware of her back story (father left when she was a child; she’s estranged from her mother; her next of kin is an aunt who works as a nurse in Hong Kong), Padilla effortlessly captures the essence of somnambulism in all its clinical criteria.

When Marites tells the police about a new name that could lead them to solving the crime, the cop tells them, “Pakitaan nyo ako ng pruweba.” Wasn’t that his job? Does this mean that in criminal cases, such as this, common people should gather all the evidence and interrogate witnesses? Present the aforementioned to the police before they make arrests? Huh? Then the same police man contacts Quinito informing him of Marites’ interest on the case. Why did the cop even care for Quinito’s sake? The latter didn’t even seem to know him. There is a fragmented series of ideas here too indicative to be real.

In another scene, Danny tracks down Marites’ whereabouts. He then invites Marites and Emerson to go with him to Sirena Beach Resort in Cavite – the same night they were introduced. What was so urgent five years after a disappearance that the meeting would have to be done on the same evening they first met? And why all the way to Cavite? If you were Marites, would you allow a complete stranger to take you to a distant place – just to discuss something that transpired 5 long years ago? Can’t they discuss this over, hmmm, coffee? I’d say a Starbucks scenario would be convenient for a mysterious disappearance, right? (wink wink) So if a stranger took them to Mars, they wouldn't think twice about it? The sense of urgency is baffling.

If Marites indeed was a magnet for ghosts, why was she being pursued by Mia alone? Aya didn't even bother talk to her. Selective affinity, perhaps? Maybe the other ghosts smell something rancid in her - or she just wasn't a very personable seance?

When Marites and Emerson finally meet Quinito, gunfight and fisticuffs ensue. Marites and Emerson were dragged to the sea, a scenario that duplicates Mia and Aya’s fate five years ago. Just before drowning them, our restless ghosts suddenly walk up from the bottom of the sea to help Marites and Emerson. Hell hath no fury like a couple of scorned ghosts, debah? Ay, so kaaliw. Mia and Aya, decked with sea weeds hanging down their heads, attack their murderers as our hapless bidas watch in horror. Then the story abruptly ends. Credits roll.

Quinito and Danny frequent the same beach resort where Mia and Aya were murdered. And why not? Quinito seems to own the resort. But what prevented the "ghosts" from attacking Quinito and Danny before? They obviously don’t need Marites to exact revenge, do they? In fact, Marites did not do anything special to coax our restless ghosts to rise from the bottom of the ocean. No magic spells nor special incantations were cast. What was Marites’ raison d’etre for this story then?   

Jose Javier Reyes is no stranger to horror films. He’s done half a dozen of the genre in the past, including “Malikmata”, “Spirit of the Glass”, “Matakot Ka sa Karma” and “Kutob”. Though not particularly innovative as a film maker, Reyes tells engaging stories. I was looking forward to his insight on the genre. After all, this is one film maker who can dish out about film language as eloquently as the scholars and cineastes. 

Moreover, the director is also a self-proclaimed fan of Stephen King (not to mention Edgar Allan Poe) whose short story inspired Peter Askin’s recent film “A Good Marriage” (2014), thus I was hoping for an unsettling time at the movies. In “A Good Marriage”, a contented wife (Joan Allen) wakes up one morning and realizes that her husband (Stephen Lang) of 25 years could be the serial killer who’s been murdering women all over the state. 

“Dilim” isn't just derivative. It is short on “fright” as well. The narrative details don’t mesh like hand in glove. Detail is usually Reyes’ strong suit, but in a genre where he obviously grasps at straws, Reyes gets desultory. He is technically ill at ease weaving his narrative, especially when he starts building up suspense. At the peak of what could have been the climax, he loses steam and fails to find an appropriate narrative denouement. The sudden ending stunned me as much as it did Kylie Padilla when she was asked by Abunda why her film was called “Dilim”. Here is one unfinished story. Budget constraints? Or just plain lazy film making?

In an interview, Reyes discusses his thoughts, “As a filmmaker, your mettle and technical skills using film language are brought (???) to a test when you do horror projects.” Someone just failed his test.

Rayver Cruz and Kylie Padilla

Pretty Kylie

Rayver Cruz

Rafael Rosell

G.A. Villafuerte's Ghost Lover - Horrific Spareness of Acumen

It’s been awhile since I last wrote about a Pink Film, but people just obviously love my rants about this genre that despite paucity of blog entries in Blush, this site still averages 250 to 400 page views a day! How's that for an inactive blogsite? Before I serve the annual “Best and Worst of 2013”, here’s my “gift” to the pink lovers. 

Film year 2014 has officially started with the release of G.A. Villafuerte’s “Ghost Lover”, before it shifts into high gear next week with Robin Padilla’s “Sa Ngalan ng Ama, ng Ina at Mga Anak”, Benito Bautista’s “Mumbai Love”, and Mae Czarina Cruz’s “Bride for Rent”.

CAPSULE

When Josh (Alvin Duckert), a violinist, and his girlfriend Dianne (Renee Gozon) moved to a recently departed aunt’s old house, they didn't realize they were sharing it with its restless, albeit phantasmal inhabitants. Doors shut at will; persistent knocks are heard in the wee hours; and the weirdest thing: Mobile phones lose signal. Eh? “Di ko siya ma-contact. Ang weird,” remarked Josh who must have never heard of poor signal from Globe and Smart telecom. To keep it interesting, Josh’s cousin and friends join the fray for a rather dubious excuse of a holiday. The young couple hasn't quite settled down, yet they already have guests. How fun.

FAMILIAR TERRITORY

Director G.A. Villafuerte once again dabbles awkwardly into familiar territory (“Lihim ng mga Nympha”, “Bahid”) but like previous efforts, the end product is nothing short of elementary. The sound is uneven; most conversations are unintelligible, scenes are underlit and cinematography is typically Villafuerte’ish, i.e. appalling. You get the nagging suspicion that his scenes were shot using a cellphone camera. This director likewise boasts of having done 15 flicks in film year 2013. Not even box-office director Wenn Deramas can duplicate that feat, having only released 4 movies last year. Unfortunately, Villafuerte’s acumen remains spare of any proof of film making adeptness or writing prolificity.

It’s been 3 years since Villafuerte’s directorial debut but he never acquired mastery of the medium, except for his propensity to finish principal photography in 24 hours. Imagine a gag-inducing flick like “My Little Bossings” shooting for, say two months. For that duration, Villafuerte is capable of churning out 60 flicks ready for exhibition in dingy, sperm-coated, third-rate movie houses. Such source of inspiration, debah?

Alvin Duckert, Renee Gozon and RJ Saycon

Alvin Duckert, also seen in Villafuerte’s “Bagong Paligo” last year, returns to display his bratwurst in two shower scenes. After all, what’s a Villafuerte flick without his male leads tintinnabulating their bells in sheer wetness? This sublime scene was punctuated by Alvin’s use of a foamy shampoo as he lathers his derriere with raw determination. In another scene, a spirit (of a jealous girl) possesses Josh – which conveniently sets the stage for a man-on-man action between Duckert and newcomer RJ Saycon who plays Xander, Josh's childhood friend. In another scene, Ace Toledo’s character Luke couldn't contain his urges so he plays with himself while two of his friends (one of them female) sleep closely beside him. Couldn't he even rush to the bathroom for an accomplished and satisfying, errr… manhandling?

But let’s attribute all these inanities to the director’s myopic vision and extremely limited imagination. Case in point: In his epilogue, the last scene has our characters driving away from the house. Just when we thought they've rid themselves of those pesky ghosts, Josh suddenly kisses Xander, imputing Josh’s possession. Hasn't this been done before in Villafuerte’s “Lihim ng mga Nympha” where the main protagonist is suggested to still be under the influence of a nymph? And wasn't that portrayed also by Alvin Duckert who has since taken 3 dozen energetic showers in various Villafuerte flicks? And wasn't “Lihim ng mga Nympha” a shameless, unattributed remake of a better film? Barely three years into his craft and he's already repeating himself. 

Someone’s artistic aptitude (if you call it that) is in desperate need of inspiration and is dwindling fast – and it’s just January! Tsk tsk tsk.