MY LIFE AS ART

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BY PETER SOLIS NERY
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A film with balls

WHEN was the last time you saw a movie with balls? Yeah, those balls, too, if you are into those kinds of things. Let’s not be coy. What was the name of the movie?
Now, when was the last time you saw an Ilonggo film with balls? Yeah, and I also mean those kinds of balls. Never? Never ever? I wouldn’t be surprised. While there is an emerging filmmaking culture in Iloilo, we still aren’t there. There is hardly an Ilonggo film industry we can talk about at the moment. But we are getting there. And trust me, we will ultimately get there.
It’s just that I’m a little impatient. I want to get there fast. No, not fast to the balls, but to a filmmaking attitude with big balls. We are Ilonggos, and we have been to the forefront of so many things, so why not ballsy films? Okay, put those kinds of balls in, too, if you want. But to me, they are accidentals, not essentials.
My new film, Ikapito nga Adlaw (7th Day), is decidedly a ballsy film – okay, a film with balls. Ugh! Anyway, I wanted my 15-minuter of a film to be bold and daring, and if I am worth my name, I want it to be the most controversial Ilonggo film of 2016. Trust me, it’s not the size, or length, that matters in this one.
Imagine Adam in the invention of man, in the creation of human. How high do you think are the balls? How big? How precious?
Now, imagine Adam and Steve. Are they playing ping-pong or Jackstones? Mini-golf? Tiny billiards? “Bury the Treasure”? “Where’s the Butter”?
Imagine Romeo and Juliet. Imagine Juliet being ravaged by a lion. Oh, no! It’s Pyramus and Thisbe. Still, Romeo and Juliet. The lover and the binukot maiden. Imagine the binukot maiden and her lover. Remember the long forgotten Hiligaynon legend, “Why Lizards Kiss the Ground at Dusk.” No memory? I can’t blame you. Nobody has yet made a movie of that material. Until now. Until me.
So, yes, I have Pyramus and Thisbe from Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”. I have Romeo and Juliet from Shakespeare. I have the binukot maiden and her lover. I have Hiligaynon literature’s “Why Lizards Kiss the Ground at Dusk.” Check, check, check, check.
Sure, I applied some creative changes, artistic license, like employing rapists instead of the lion (because although I am not a lion tamer, I’m a really good rapist whisperer), but I’ve kept some dagger action in the movie, promise, just for the fun of it.
Sure, there is almost nothing new to the story, but if I tell it again with two Romeos; and again, with a 55-year old Juliet and a barely legal Romeo, I don’t think you’d still be alive when you come out of my movie.
You see, I made this movie with the intelligence of a literature and film buff. Watch the movie, but don’t judge until the final frame. In previews, a viewer laughed at an “actor’s mistake,” an acting weakness, an inadequacy supposedly; barely 43 seconds later, the same viewer had an A-ha! moment. Either the mistake was intentional, or the “mistake” was carefully planted by a brilliant director for the scenes to truly make sense.
Sure, sure. I was working with neophytes and amateurs in this film; most of them, first-time actors. But precisely because I understood they were newbies, I was able to adjust the tone of my film to suit my actors. Nobody’s going to win an acting Oscars for this film, unless you consider my fearless cameo. And what a ballsy cameo it was, if I may say so myself! But this film is toned and balanced as best as it can. The film is not heavy, but pleasant. It has heavy social themes and issues, but you forget about those for a moment. You let your eyes feast on the intelligent cinematography, and you cry a little with the Romeo and Juliet narrative told thrice.
And if you have any love for me as the screenwriter, you’ll appreciate the brilliance of my dialogues, the great conceit of lines spoken as if in a song’s refrain, and the buildup of each scene towards the inevitable climax. If you are smart, even if you don’t love me, you’ll also see that this is just one story with scenes enlarged at every “stanza” as in the lyrics of really good songwriting.
Of course, I will forgive you if you think that this is really three films in one. It’s an easy mistake to make. And maybe I wanted you to think that way, if only to prove to myself that I am smarter than my audience. But really, I want you, more than anything, to be smarter than your usual self during, and after, you watch my movie.
Funny, but one of the most common comments during the previews was that they wanted some closure for the older woman and the younger boy. They can’t quite see the closure offered by Romeo and Julio. I like that. That makes for a richer movie to me.
I like it that most people don’t recognize love if it slaps them on the face. It’s irritating, true, especially if you are the one offering the love. But I like it that only a few people are smart enough at a certain time. I mean, that keeps me ahead of the game.
You see, some people need to see some real balls (yes, those kinds!) just to be convinced that some films are ballsy. Well, I got that covered. Now, let’s see if we can elevate Ilonggo filmmaking into some level of real art faster by breaking some taboos. Remember the film’s name: Ikapito nga Adlaw (7th Day). Now, speculate!/PN
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