With Director Joel Lamangan, Director of 'Patikol', which won the Best Film for Children category in the Cinemalaya 2011. It was definitely worth my ticket and audience vote!
Plato once said that "an unexamined life is not worth living". I agree. To examine your life and make sense of all the flurry of one's experiential existence, there are few usual choices --- you write a book, you plant a tree, you serve your country and you earn your keep. The last two is easy. The first two is sort of tricky as one shuffles life's many mysteries and responsibilities day by day. Until they are totally forgotten and not mostly done.
Last January 23, I decided to walk my talk and become a Filipino in my own little way. I joined a company outing to plant a tree in Silang, Cavite with my road running club mates at 6 a.m. I left my sleeping household at 5:00 a.m. to get to the bus that will bring us there. I was sleepy and cramped because my legs were too long for the bus seat but it was worth it! What was most memorable about it? I get sunburned but I planted five narra saplings and three kamagong saplings. Yes, the number may not be impressive but it was some feat for someone who has to trek, to shovel dirt, to plant the sampling, to protect it from elements and to water it for the first time against a migrane-inducing heat of the sun.
Why torture myself? We started living green years before it became in fashion, even before SM and Landmark started selling canvass shopping bags or the use of paper bags in Muntinlupa City became in business policy. I use scratch papers for notepads and notebooks which for sometime our office assistant taught that I was really stingy that she gave me notepads from National Bookstore on Christmas. I grew up in a household that recycle. We use shopping bags as linings for trash bins and we fold them in tiny triangles to save space. Looking back, that assistant was no different to our former house help who was helping me once unwind broken electronic appliances into their plastic, metal and aluminum parts prior to disposal. "Ate, mahirap na ba talaga panahon? Sabi ni Mama mo pati yung egg containers ipunin kasi dadalhin natin. [Pregnant pause as she watch me tinkering with the electronic parts. NOTE: Honestly, I like dismantling electronic appliances, recycling or not, because of the cornucopia of tiny, insignificant looking pieces that makes up a whole may it be a fan, a toaster or what not. It gives me great perspective on things and not to mention, therapeutic.] Pero gusto ko pa magtrabaho at high school na anak ko." I had to assure her that our household finances are okay and we just like recycling because with her help she can buy her extra load to call her loved ones in the province and be kinder to the environment. Hence, planting a tree that day made sense and it was a 360 perspective of the values I learned through the years.
On our way back from Silang, my running buddies decided to watch Cinemalaya at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). My body was really sore all over but hey, lubus-lubusin na. So, I nodded in agreement and followed them silently. My friend, Bryan, had to chat me up constantly so I do not fall asleep from the air-conditioned lobby of the CCP from sheer exhaustion as we were waiting for our turn at the film screening. The lines were crazy. I never thought that Indie has grown this big in Philippine cinema.
We were thinking of seeing 'Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa' as first choice with the hush hush that it was a breakthrough film that actress Jean Garcia has to take special dance lessons for the role but realized as Atty. Mitch read the catalogue aloud that it was a gay film. The boys raised their eyebrows and chimed together with "next...". Another interesting choice was 'Lapit na u, ligo na me', a film adaption of a short novel in bookstores now. We scrapped it because the story is too predictable and due to the sort of jejemon mentality as can be deduced from the title itself. I was one of the loudest who protested of wasting our money on it. Next choice was 'Ang Babae sa Septic Tank' with comedianne Eugene Domingo in the lead role. There were reports that she was hospitalized from doing the movie. From what? From falling inside the septic tank, of course! With all that dirt, there must be something. Curious, we gave Glenn and Bryan a unanimous vote to buy the tickets but after almost a heartbeat, they were back. "Guys, sorry. Sold out. Ang haba rin ng pila sa waiting list for all screenings till Sunday." What? Marge and I said that maybe with that turnout there will be extra screenings in the future.
So, we decided to go to our next choice --- the movie 'Patikol' by Director Joel Lamangan. It was starred by Marvin Agustin, Allen Dizon, Ciara Sotto, Dimples Romana, Jaime Pebangco (Best Supporting Actor), Martin delos Santos, Angellie Nicholle Sanoy and Jeon Macatangay.
Honestly, the movie description was so uninspiring and did not do justice to the heart and research done on the film. I was glad we decided to watch it. It was an eye-opening film about the lives of children caught in the long-standing conflict between the military, the MILF and Abu Sayaff in Patikul, Sulu. We all cried at the heart wrenching scenes with Bryan and Marge most affected since they are both from South Cotabato and Cagayan de Oro, respectively. They said they relate to every scene of the movie.
There was a standing ovation as the credits rolled up at the end of the film. Minutes later, it was announced that our precious tickets entitled us a 20% discount at participating restaurants in Harbor Square. But I made up my mind. I smiled and slipped by ticket stub in Patikul's voting box. This film deserves my vote and deserves a voice. Some of my friends placed their ticket stubs, too. I guess this made Joel a happy guy and chatted with us for a while. I thank him for his genius and congratulated his scriptwriters for such a brilliant film adaption of Kristoffer Bragado's novel (2010 Carlos Palanca winner) of the same title. We left CCP with swollen eye glands and teasing each other but really satisfied.
True enough, 'Ang Babae sa Septic Tank' was screened in SM cinemas the following week with Star Cinema footing the film screening for the big screen. No surprise there. So, we decided to feed our curiosity if all the media furor was true and watch it at MOA SM Cinema on July 29.
Personally, I think the film was creative and Eugene Domingo was in her usual hilarious self but it did not have the heart of 'Patikul' and her getting dunked in all those shit so the movie can be rightly titled as such was quite lame.
Buti na lang me seaside na sa MOA! We bent our frustration on seafood at seaside, instead.
Halaan Sabaw, one of Trinity's signature dish. Has my thumbs up for its yummy factor and clean taste in the palate.
My Indie film loving friends: Glenn, Bryan, Marge and Atty. Mitch
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