a dream of a film

two things lured me to watch k'na, the dreamweaver. its beautifully shot and colourful poster (luckily, i was able to buy one at the ccp lobby) and mara lopez, who plays k'na, a t'boli princess.

but more mara really. the daughter of former beauty queen turned actress, the feisty but lovable ma. isabel lopez, mara has proven to be one of the country's boldest (in terms of choices of roles and movies that she was in) and versatile young actresses around that made her not only interesting to watch, but endearing as well. too, she registers so beautifully on the big screen.

k'na is a folklore or a local tale, much like ang kwento ni mabuti that also starred mara and superstar nora aunor. mara plays k'na, a t'boli princess who is not only an expert weaver of colourful fabrics, a skill that she learned from her ancestors, with intricate designs that the people belonging to the ethnic group use as clothes, bags, wall decorations, but also a peacemaker.

(by the way, if you are not familiar with the t-bolis, please read this: http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/articles-on-c-n-a/article.php?igm=4&i=253)

k'na is in love with one of the men in her tribe. but her father, the datu, asked her to marry another man from another tribe so that peace may finally reign between their two warring clans. against her will and her heart's wishes, k'na followed her father.

her boyfriend, the love lorn lover, played by the good looking rk bagatsing, died of a broken heart. some say he leaped to the picturesque lake sebu, a character in itself in the film, and died. but before doing so, he never failed to tie or hang a colourful thread (red to symbolize love and profess his undying love to the princess) on every tree in the place where the tribe lives.

after k'na married the prince from another tribe and peace reigned in lake sebu, she went back to her old neighborhood with her children in tow and she was warmly welcomed by her father and her people. as an offering to her ancestors, she brought along a piece of cloth that she herself had weaved with colourful and intricate designs.

during that visit, she learned about the sad fate of her former boyfriend. it was also when she finally saw his tribute to her and their failed lover affair : red threads hanging on every tree.

end.

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the film is not for everyone. while it was a full house when i watched the film at the ccp complex, a man beside me was asleep, snoring even, probably enjoying the theatre's cold, dark atmosphere.

i doubt, which is very sad, really, if this film would be shown commercially. nor if it would find a wider audience other than the cinemalaya lovers who are tired of the usual trashy fares on tevees and the big screens flaunted by the country's big three stations (channels two, five and seven), and top producers regal, star cinema, and to a certain extent viva.

for one, it is written using the native dialect of the t'bolis (there's a subtitle though). so this may turn off those who are not fond of reading subtitles while trying to understand what's going on in the film. it's a good thing then that there's not much happening in k'na, except of course the poetically shot lake sebu, and the mountains surrounding it.

second, it's very quiet with not much dialogues, which i appreciate so much given how noisy our world has become. that's why i commend lucy torres, lawmaker, celebrity, commercial model and most importantly the wife of actor richard gomez, for her proposal to ban the honking of horns on sundays, the days of worship. isn't it brilliant ladies and gentlemen?

third, there's not much going on in the film. well, except for a badly staged fight scenes between the two tribes that drew some chuckles from the audience including moi.

lastly, it has no lavish and grand production numbers. no convoluted plot to follow unlike in the very popular local telenovelas.

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but............

the movie is shot artistically, capturing the quiet elegance and soothing beauty of lake sebu and its mountains. watching it makes me want to book a flight and fly there. i've always wanted to go there, even live along its banks, in a simple nipa hut. i read somewhere that there is no electricity there, no cellphone signal. it will be a lovely place to get lost to and disappear forever. well, someday.

that's actually the film's biggest draw.

then of course, mara. mara is mesmerizing.

she is one of those few gifted actresses whom the camera loves. she has a very arresting presence on the screen. she can convey a lot of emotions with minimal words and actions. just her eyes and lips and a flick of her long, lush hair. i love her since i first watched her in last year's cinemalaya entry debosyon, where she played a mysterious mountain fairy with heartthrob paulo avelino as her lover.

mara was also good in ang kwento ni mabuti (shown at another local film festival last year), where she played nora aunor's daughter who was hoping to finally find the man that would make her happy after two failed relationships that resulted in two daughters. only to be betrayed later on. sad!

k'na the movie also offered us insights about the well-cherished customs and traditions of the t'bolis that they're able to preserve all these years, a feat given how modern technology has changed everything, including the way we all live and relate to each other, in the last decade. well, at least those of us living in cities and places where the internet revolution has taken place or taking place.

i love the tribe's elaborate wedding and burial ceremonies, their costumes, their music, their simple homes, their unhurried way of life. i must have been a member of the t'bolis in my past life.

this probably is the film's biggest gift -- that sense of longing for a life we could never have. that for an hour or more, we are transported to a world, albeit peaceful and beautiful, that's so much different from ours, and live among people where a cellphone or an internet connection is not a necessity as much as living in harmony with nature and other creatures around them.