gonzagaext

We Filipinos are ashamed of our contemporary national cinema and love to complain about how horrible it is. "It hasn't been the same since the grand old days of Lino Brocka, Ishmael Bernal, and co.," we say. (These 'grand old days' were in the 70's and 80's.) Then we turn around and watch "Chuck and Larry", seriously consider Ashton Kutcher a good actor, and think the world of bubblegum-pop-singer-turned-actress Mandy Moore.

Bear with my bitter(sweet) grumbling. It's just quite frustrating. If a great Filipino film is made but nobody watches it, does it still exist?

Jeffrey Jeturian's "Kubrador" is a landmark film that a lot of Filipinos have probably heard of but few have seen. It garnered a lot of press from traveling the international film festival circuit, albeit not the major ones, and winning some awards both locally and internationally. In fact, it is one of the most-publicized non-commercial films in recent memory, second only to Auraeus Solito's much-beloved "Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros". Both films, in my opinion, are cornerstones in contemporary Philippine cinema.

While there have been attempts to resuscitate the industry, only a handful have made significant marks. Names like Crisaldo Pablo, Mel Chionglo, Jose Javier Reyes, Michiko Yamamoto, and Lav Diaz and titles like "Dekada 70", "Muro-Ami", "Babae sa Bubungang Lata", Jeturian's own "Pila-Balde", "Jologs", "Panaghoy sa Suba", "Bagong Buwan", and "Batang West Side" come to mind. It really wasn't until 2005's "Maximo" though when things started to get really interesting. For me "Maximo" signaled the possibility that there could be more to this cinema than Brocka and Bernal. "Kubrador" assured me that "Maximo" wasn't just a fluke.

Veteran actress Gina Parreno defines "Kubrador" and I'm not just referring to the fact that she is the titular 'kubrador' here, the bet collector. It's impossible to imagine this film without her. With the histrionics school of acting deeply entrenched in the industry, Parreno defies with a very low-key performance. Tough, caring, emotional yet too busy with life to stop and cry, sociable yet occasionally abrasive, annoyingly stubborn and bossy at times, she plays the typical matriarch, Amy (ah-mee--the Filipino pronunciation). She is endearing because she is real. Jeturian expertly weaves her story amidst the maze of slums. Or is it the other way around? The story of the slums intertwined with hers? Cinema verite style, we follow her as she plies her route as her neighborhood's 'jueteng' (an illegal numbers game favored by the poor) collector. It is the view into another world here that gives "Kubrador" most of its magic. The ordinary is the extraordinary.

The acting is superb and amazingly realistic as to be almost documentary-like, from the leads right down to the extras, with a negligible slip-up or two (which, ironically, includes Johnny Manahan, an occasional actor and one of the main players in ABS-CBN/Star Cinema, one of the 2 biggest film studios in the country). For me, some of the scenes are already instant classics: the apo's (grandchild) 'concert', the funeral, and the last few minutes of the film.

"Kubrador" may be too quiet or too depressing, too poor, too ugly, for some, but exactly why it should be watched by all, Filipinos especially, even if--especially since--this is the farthest thing Ashton Kutcher and Mandy Moore would star in.

A brief comment on Bill Condon's "Dreamgirls":

The Hollywood Hype Machine has won. With over 100 comments just 4 days after the film's opening, I normally wouldn't care about adding my own. But it's very alarming to see how excessively overrated this movie is. It has a few entertaining moments and one amazing vocal number at best so I seriously question the multiple nominations and critical praises piled on it. Sure, the Golden Globes isn't really Cannes or the New York Film Critics but as the supposed predictor of that American institution called the Oscars it leaves a big question mark on its credibility as an award-giving body. Could it be that some got too carried away by Jennifer Hudson's Cinderella story? Hudson's (as Effie White) number "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" is monumental, earth-shattering, but the rest of the movie is so mediocre even this level of greatness barely makes it enough reason to watch the movie. Some of the songs are downright cheesy (in a bad way—a very bad cringe-worthy way, esp. that horrible 'family' song). Hudson is an amazing singer and I've been a fan since "American Idol", too, but does her acting deserve a nomination? A showcase role plus an amazing singer doesn't equal good acting. By 'showcase role' I mean it's good for showing off 'acting' but when you take a close look at it, it's but a 2-dimensional prototype, a caricature: the wronged, occasionally 'crazy', strong black woman. It's not that often we see minority actors shine in big budget Hollywood. Can we at least be original? Charismatic Eddie Murphy, handsome leading man type Keith Robinson, and, yes, even that eye candy named Beyonce occasionally make this film tolerable but there's so much empty hype to swallow neither these three nor Hudson can save it. Don't believe the Publicity Machine, this film doesn't even make it as a good popcorn movie. "Dreamgirls" is middle-of-the-road, likable in parts at best, but ultimately a good example of an over-promoted Hollywood product which doesn't deliver as promised. Five out 10.

Just a short note: It seems that a lot of people don't know what to make of Aleksandr Sokurov's "Father & Son". Though more accessible than the monumental "Russian Ark", "Father" is still a baffling, hard film to grasp. Looking like an archival photograph from beginning to end and lacking a traditional story, it very much resembles a dream. There's a lot of vague poetic talk about abandonment, security, being saved, and such. Largely abstract, one of the few concrete elements of the film is the fact that both father (Andrej Shetinin) and son (Alexei Nejmyshev) are beautiful. Shetinin especially is stunning. It's not unexpected for people to see some homoerotic angles. When a film is this abstract I guess the tendency is to latch on to the most obvious, most concrete aspect. And we can never underestimate the fear—possibly homophobia?—of seeing men getting emotional with each other, much less 2 attractive ones. It's a taboo so strongly ingrained in some cultures that it surpasses the simple fact that the 2 men in question are father and son. It's rare for me to see explorations of paternal bonds on film, especially one this deep so I had to readjust my mindset. If one can go beyond these obstacles you may just see an intense, poetic look into the relationship of two adult men, father and son.