12 for our 112th: Twelve Films for the long Independence Day Weekend

Until recently, RE de Leon was an Assistant Professor of Development Communication at the University of the Philippines Los Baños. He has since resigned to pursue new creative directions and is now a freelance writer based in Agoo, La Union. He can be reached via email at isangboses@gmail.com

With the long weekend coming up, I had a decision to make: what’s was the best way to celebrate the 112th Philippine independence day?

As I often tend to do, I followed up on a bad pun and decided I’d spend the day watching Filipino independent Films. Which led me to this idea for post on thelandofjuan.  Why not take 12 notable Filipino films and take advantage of the long weekend to promote Philippine filmmakers?

The author's pick of Twelve Filipino Films for the long 112th Philippine Independence Day Weekend:Mangatyanan, Bayaning 3rd World, Imelda, La Visa Loca, Gatas Sa DibDib ng Kaaway, Himala, 100, Namets, Endo, Mumbaki, Dekada 70, and Kubrador

I’ve only been a fan of Philippine cinema for a few years myself,  with Raymund Red’s Palm d’Or winning short film “Anino” opening my eyes to the incredible talent of our Filipino filmmakers.  So I’ve made this list for the Filipino film newbie – to those who have yet to discover or are only beginning to discover how good Filipino films can be, and I’ve tried to come up with a brief description of why I thought they were great.

These films – Mangatyanan, Bayaning 3rd World,  Imelda, La Visa Loca, Gatas Sa DibDib ng Kaaway, Himala, 100, Namets, Endo, Mumbaki, Dekada 70, and Kubrador range from comedy to  period drama to romantic comedy to documentary, so I hope there’s a little something there for everyone.  I’ve  tried to pick films that can be watched by barkadas together,  or, if the children are ready for somewhat mature fare in some of the films, by families.

So here they are.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Jerrold Tarog's "Mangatyanan," starring Che Ramos

1) Mangatyanan

This article begins with Mangatyanan because Mangatyanan got this entire idea rolling. I caught a short film (less than 10 minutes long) on Facebook one day called “Faculty” which was directed by Jerrold Tarog and starred Che Ramos.  When a search of both names revealed that they had both worked on a film called Mangatyanan, I remembered that I had it on my “rainy day viewing” DVD collection. Long story short, I took it out, watched it, and was completely blown away. Before the end of that day, I had seen the movie thrice (there are two commentary tracks on the DVD),  gone through the behind the scenes documentary and the comedy reel (both on the DVD), and written the previously nonexistent Wikipedia page for the movie… and oh, I instantly turned into a huge fan of Che Ramos.

So what’s the movie about? The “Mangatyanan” is a [fictional] ritual performed by the [fictional] Labwanan tribe which writer-director-editor-composer Tarog came up with as an allegory for the Filipino journey. The story of film revolves about travel photographer Himalaya Marquez (Che Ramos) who has been assigned to document the ritual. Laya gets a first hand look at the contradictions and hypocrisies lived out the dying out Labwanan, and begins to see parallels in her own life. In the Labwanan language, the “Mangatyanan” literally means “the blood trail.” Will Labwanan survive their Mangatyanan? Will Laya?

If you get a chance to watch the film, I hope you see why Ramos and Tarog transformed me in the space of two hours from a so-so supporter of the Filipino Independent Film industry into a true “you-have-to-go-watch-this” fan.

2) Bayaning 3rd World

“Hindi pampelikula ang buhay ni Rizal,” argues one of the main characters in this 2000 film. And if the many films out there about Rizal are any indication, they’re probably right.

Mike de Leon's "Bayaning Third World"

A downside of the fact that Rizal wrote so much is that we know so much about him — too much, in fact, to digest properly into two or even three hours of film. Rizal the nationalist, the novelist, the doctor, the poet-orator, the womanizer, the good son, the champion fencer, even Rizal the lousy singer – all of them have to be crammed in there somewhere. While biopics by definition reduce their subjects to caricatures of themselves, the Filipino filmviewer knows Rizal too well to accept an oversimplification. And of course, since answers all too often lead only to more questions, our familiarity with Rizal results in controversy, posturing, and conspiracy theories. So the folks who made Bayaning third world came up with an obvious solution. They didn’t make a movie about Rizal. They made a movie about two filmmakers trying to make a movie about Rizal. The metanarrative structure allows them to explore Rizal with a depth no other Rizal film has achieved so far.

Bayaning 3rd World is humorously irreverent and yet respectful of the subject, skillful in its exploration both of the man and the legend.

In a way, it’s accurate to say the makers of Bayaning Third World cheated. They didn’t make a film about Jose Rizal. They made a film about us, living a hundred years later, trying to make sense of this Bayani, third world or not.

Ramona S. Diaz' "Imelda"

3) Imelda

Another documentary about another enigmatic figure in Philippine history – this time one still very much alive.

Filmmaker Ramona S. Diaz got permission to film former first lady Imelda Marcos up close for this film, but when it was finally released in 2003, she balked, saying that it made her appear like a “cheap flirt” and an “airhead, like a frivolous, wanton, extravagant woman at the expense of the poor”. Claiming that she gave permission for the film to be released only as an educational project, rather than a commercial release, she took Diaz and Co. all the way to the Makati Regional Trial court. Imeldific eventually allowed the film to be shown on the condition that it not be released with the word “documentary.”

Was Diaz’ film biased? Did it present an accurate picture of Imelda Romualdez Marcos? Grab a copy at your nearest DVD store or rental, and Decide for yourself. At the very least, you will have gained a closer look at Apo Macoy’s widow than most of us will ever have.

Weighing in on the National Artists Controversy

• R.E. de Leon is a first time novelist and freelance writer who was once a Professor of Communication for Social Change at the University of the Philippines Los Baños.  His column for Words from The Land of Juan has been coming out on the wrong day of the week lately, but he tries his best to be able to keep up.

As promised last week, my post this week on the Land of Juan weighs in on the National Artists Controversy, of which I highlighted the details in my last piece.

At this point, of course, almost anyone who has anything to say about Philippine art has already had his or her say. So let me just get it out of the way, and state my position: I hope some way can be found to reverse the proclamation.  I suspect the vast majority of my readers feel that way as well, and I am going to write this post with that assumption in mind.

However, my position on the controversy isn’t the point of this post.  I feel that another blog adding its voice to the protest would be superfluous. Instead, I’d like to take a close look at the arguments springing from the controversy and see what insight we might find about the role of art in the life of the Filipino.

Since my last post, there have been a few updates to the situation, but only a few of them substantial.  In essence, everyone has entrenched themselves even more deeply into their respective positions.  Malacañang, the artists under protest, and their various supporters are still defending the proclamation, and the rest of us are all waiting to see if Bienvenido Lumbera and the Concerned Artists of the Philippines do indeed manage to file an injunction at the supreme court so that the formal announcement of the new National Artists can be stopped.  Protesters can also hope House Resolution 1305, proposed by Akbayan Representatives Risa Hontiveros and Walden Bello to seek an investigation into the matter, will prosper.

On top of that, I daresay some of us are eagerly waiting to see if more protests are ahead, since the previous protests have become a gathering of the who’s who Philippine art community, and a chance to gawk at folk like F.Sionil Jose, Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera, Lourd de Veyra, Jim Paredes, and the like.

It’s amazing how the controversy has brought the Philippines’ art literati together – from teenage ballerinas to virtually all the living National Artists.   We have heard from from bloggers, newspaper columnists,  and rock stars.  Why, even the relatives of the dead National Artists have spoken out — Celeste Lagaspi speaking on behalf of her father Cesar (Visual Arts) and Raul Locsin speaking on behalf of his late brother Leandro (Architecture).

Among my favorite voices in this fray is that of the rising Philippine Comic Book industry, as represented by graphic artist Gerry Alanguilan. From the very moment he heard that Malacañang had proclaimed Caparas and the others as new National Artists, Gerry came out roaring in protest on his site, Komikero Comics Journal.  And now he has put all his posts and tweets and together and come up with a time capsule of sorts for the events as they happened.  Someday historians will look at this particular moment in the history of Philippine culture, and Komikero Comics Journal will be a primary source.  The historian in Gerry will be very glad of it, I’m sure.

I hope to talk more about Gerry later, and how this controversy has suddenly given this professional architect-turned-graphic-novelist a much more prominent voice in the Philippine Art Scene.  But for now, let’s move on.

Two Core Issues
Much of the discussion regarding the controversy is muddled because there are two distinct but hopelessly intertwined issues behind it. The first is the question of how the persons ought to be elevated to the Order of National Artist; the second is the question of whether the four artists added by GMA to the 2009 lineup are qualified and/or worthy to be recognized as National Artists.

An Overview of the National Artist of the Philippines controversy

• R.E. de Leon is a first time novelist and freelance writer with a Master’s Degree in Communication for Social Change from the University of the Philippines.  His column for Words from The Land of Juan has been coming out on the wrong day of the week lately, but he tries his best to be able to keep up.

With President Aquino’s passing last Saturday,   I tried to acquiesce one of my fellow Land of Juan columnist Ilia Uy’s request to write down my thoughts on how the last five Philippine presidents have influenced the Filipino citizen’s understanding of who he is and of his place in our national narrative – how they have influenced what I refer to in my lectures as “the epic Filipino.”

Throughout the wake, however, I have been taking time to take stock of Cory’s public life, such that the article has started to evolve. While I am excited to see it in it’s final form, I think I would do a disservice if I rushed it.

In the meantime, however, I’ve had to pay attention to another matter significant to the shaping of our National consciousness – the controversy regarding four of Mrs. Arroyo’s recent appointments to the Gawad Pambansang Alagad ng Sining, with four names added to the ranks of our National Artists without having been recommended by the usual selection committee comprised of their peers.

While I do take a specific side on the matter, I feel that we can pick up a lot of insight from by paying attention to what our artists, Pambansang Alagad or otherwise, have to say about the matter.  In an effort to organize my thoughts, I came up with an article summing up the controversy and uploaded it on another site.  For what it’s worth, I’d like to share that article here.

Two caveats: First, it’s still rather rough, and I expect to tinker with it on both sites, so this is not quite final.  Second, since the article is long in itself, I will save my comments for a later piece.

But I hope that even in this form, the reader from The Land of Juan will find it useful.

- R. E. de Leon

The 2009 National Artist of the Philippines controversy refers to the controversial proclamation as National Artists of the Philippines of four individuals via the Presidential prerogative of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, when the four had not been nominated by the selection committe, comprised of representatives from National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).[1][2]

The 2009 National Artist of the Philippines controversy refers to the controversial proclamation as National Artists of the Philippines of four individuals via the Presidential prerogative of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, when the four had not been nominated by the selection committe, comprised of representatives from National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP)

“The title National Artist of the Philippines,” explains the relevant entry in Wikipedia, “is given to a Filipino who has been given the highest recognition for having made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts. Such Filipinos are announced, by virtue of a Presidential Proclamation, as National Artist, having been conferred membership in the Order of National Artists.”[11]  Benefits enjoyed by National Artists from that point on include a monthly pension, medical and life insurance, arrangements for a state funeral, a place of honor at national state functions, and recognition at cultural events.[2]

Controversy

President’s prerogative

The controversy began when conferred the Order of National Artists to seven individuals in July, 2009.[3] Controversy arose from the revelation that musician Ramon Santos had been dropped from the list of nominees short-listed in May that year by the selection committee, and four other individuals had been nominated to the title via “President’s prerogative” [1][2]:

• Cecilla Guidote-Alvarez (Theater),
• Magno Jose “Carlo” Caparas (Visual Arts and Film),
• Francisco Mañosa (Architecture), and
• Jose “Pitoy” Moreno (Fashion Design)

Members of the Philippine art community, including a number of living National Artists of the Philippines, protested that the proclamation politicized the title of National artist, and made it “a way for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to accommodate her allies.”[1]

Film director Eddie Romero, himself a National Artist for Film and the Broadcast Arts, explained in an interview that the rules allow the President to pick a National Artist. He noted, however, that[1]:

“It seems it’s the first time the presidential prerogative was used to declare four artists. It’s like a wholesale declaration.”