the sorrowful and the sexual

two movies at the ongoing two thousand and thirteen cinemalaya film festival -- porno and debosyon -- are using sex to expound their themes, as well as to eventually win the attention of picky cineastes.

one is a long, tedious exposition on the culture of peeping into the most intimate acts between two people in a private room, as well as a critique on the society that condones such behavior; while the other is a glorious meditation on love, life and faith.

&&&&&&&&

porno, as the brave title suggests, is all about sex and is being marketed using sex as the main selling point. no surprise there.

the minds behind the movie released photos of erstwhile bold stars rosanna roces and yul servo, both naked in bed, to newspapers and online media to lure moviegoers.  the two actors, unfortunately, had very small exposure in the movie that did not only dwell on the culture of pornography but a lot more.

the marketing people even issued a press statement that said the movie would be shown only at the ccp complex and no longer in commercial movie houses (greenbelt and trinoma) because of some provocative and sensitive scenes. the announcement further whetted the appetite of some of the audience who were hungry for sights of the flesh on the big screen.

immediately, images of x-rated movies of old such as isla, silip, snake sisters came to mind. these films were shown only at the ccp as part of an international film festival, as well as the experimental cinema of the philippines project espoused and championed by then former first lady, the flambouyant madam imelda romualdez marcos and her daughter imee.

%%%%%%%%%%%

debosyon did it very subtly through its poster that featured the naked paulo avelino, its main star, whose private part was covered only by a snake.

of course the presence of the sultry mara lopez --  daughter of actress and former beauty queen isabelle lopez, who starred in those adult films of old such as isla and silip -- who has also done some sexy scenes on the big screen in her previous films also helped cement the perception that debosyon, sold largely as a movie about faith, will also have some erotic scenes.

ironically, of the two, it was debosyon that succeeded in using sex not only to sell the film but also to expound its narrative.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

of course porno did not disappoint.  in the sex scenes. i mean. the first several minutes of the movie already contained two sets of naked actors, with the first couple (both unknown actors) baring everything on the screen. when i say baring, i really mean baring: penis, boobs, vagina, pubic hairs, butts.

this was followed by the love scenes between erstwhile sex-trip queen rosanna and now politician yul in a motel. but compared to the first set of actors, their bed scene was tame and neither of them showed any of their private parts (rosanna though bared her boobs. but does it count?).

if you are not satisfied with that, there was an x-rated movie shown on teevee inside the motel where rosanna and yul were having cinematic sex.

***************

then yul, a jailed killer-for-hire, who was allowed to get out of prison to carry out assassinations with the help of a policeman, played by the great actor bembol rocco, was shot and killed no less than by bembol himself.

bembol killed yul after the latter failed in his latest assignment -- the priest that yul was supposed to wipe out of the face of the earth survived.

after that, yul, rosanna, bembol totally disappeared from the movie. well, except for the scandalous (in the sense that the already past her prime rosanna still had the nerve to disrobe in front of the camera) bedroom romp between yul and rosanna; the sex scene was played in some scenes in the latter part of the film. confused?

here's why.

it turns out that their motel tryst was being filmed and transferred into dvds. the dvds were then sold as a "scandal" in quiapo and elsewhere where such movies have a market. remember those dvds about the "collegiala scandal", "cebu scandal", etc, that sold like hot cakes at your favourite pirated dvd shops? that's what the movie was all about. but more.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

after yul and company disappeared, the movie introduced carlo aquino, one of the film's attractions. everybody thought former child star carlo would also do a lot of baring in the movie just like yul.

carlo played a dubber, who lent his voice to those stolen videos (including the one starring rosanna and yul), moaning and sometimes saying nasty things.

but to our surprise (chos!), carlo was addicted to porn and cyber sex. in one scene, he showed his penis to his skype partner (known only as lonely girl). but the camera was on his back, so the moviegoers could only see his butt. not a lovely sight, i tell you.

frankly, i don't find carlo attractive at all. so i really don't care if he goes around naked. (also, i still see him as that boy who played vilma santos's child in bata, bata paano ka ginawa.)

then something strange happened. carlo became paranoid and thought that lonely girl was spying on him inside his bedroom. well we can't blame him, the movie hinted at that. after all, it was the central theme of the movie, voyeurism, that is. or so we thought.

then in his final scene, carlo lost consciousness while he was praying along with his father, played by ricky davao, and anita linda (it was not explained what was their relationship with anita, an indie favourite. she is starring in two other cinemalaya entries this year).

*************

after carlo faded, came angel aquino. angel played a very challenging role, that of a transexual or transgender. angel used to be a man. to be specific, she used to be carlo. she was now working as a beautician in a parlor during the day, and at night, as one of the gay performers at club mwa.

she was also living in with an old, horny australian who was supporting her financially. angel had a son, who was living in the states with his mother.

it was not explained if angel slash carlo married the mother before she left with their son. it was not also explained why carlo became angel.

but one thing was clear -- carlo failed to transform into angel. or angel failed to capture the essence of carlo. after all, even with fake boobs and pussy, she was still him.

***************

after that i totally lost interest in the movie. i really didn't care anymore what happened.
so why didn't i leave?

because i was hoping angel, a favourite actress, would somehow soar above the lousy and confusing script. but alas, she could not. her performance was mediocre compared to her previous outings in the indie circuit, notably in donsol, helmed by the same director who directed porno.

sadly, porno failed to bring out the best in her, as well as the other great actors that were cast in the movie particularly bembol, ricky and anita.

what a waste.

(there were also some totally weird scenes in the movie that were not explained at all like:
a.) after yul died, rosanna saw a dog getting out of the motel room where he was killed.
b.) there was a shadow lurking when carlo suspected that lonely girl was watching him inside his room.
c.) angel slash carlo chasing after his young son (who is in the states) inside the club mwa where he works.)

&&&&&&&&&&&

the biggest flaw of the movie is the story, especially its grand ambition to comment on a lot of things in this world, resulting in total disarray and lack of focus. for a two-hour (or was it longer. it felt like forever) or less feature film, it wants to say a lot -- the sick society that encourages crime and violence, corruption, movie piracy, addiction to pornography to make up for empty, lonely lives, etc.

in the end it ended up saying nothing. how tragic.

oh well. so much for art film

as the exasperated mahatma gandah quipped after the movie -- "porno elevated art film into trash!" harsh, i know, but what can i do? she was mad.

))))))))))))))))))))))))

will i recommend this movie? of course. please watch it to experience it. be your own judge if it's worth your while or a total waste of your time. anyway, we have to support these young, brave filmmakers with a vision.

@@@@@@@@@@

if porno disappointed, debosyon more than made up for it.

the tale (or shall i say, fable) between a farmer slash orchids gatherer who fell in love with a mountain goddess was lush, visually breathtaking, sweet, poignant, melancholic, poetic, and divine.

paulo avelino was in his elements in this film, delivering another soulful, quiet but enchanting performance worthy of a best actor trophy or two.

so was mara lopez, as the lonely mountain goddess who lived alone in a forest where paulo used to gather orchids. mara is sensual, innocent, sorrowful, joyful, enigmatic. i also won't be surprised if she gets a best actress nod (although with vilma santos and lorna tolentino having their respective entries in the festival, i doubt if she will stand a chance. but we can always hope.)

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

so what's the story? that's it. it's really very simple. unlike the complicated porno.

paulo fell in love with mara and did everything -- including risking his life and limb in a crowded procession for the lady of penafrancia just to wipe her face with a towel hoping that this would help heal her character in the movie. he even sang a song to mara and played the guitar while they were strolling in the forest -- just to win her over.

 ******************

what about the sex scenes? well, paulo and mara really radiated sensuality even if they were fully clothed. paulo's and mara's eyes and lips are so sensual, it's like they were already making love even if they were just looking at each other. but they had a love scene, certainly, the highlight of the movie and where mara's secret was finally revealed.

******************

perhaps the only flaw of the movie was that the flawless and mestizo paulo did not look a bit like a farmer. even if he was dressed simply, he looked like someone who worked as an executive in a big company in the city. but he more than made up for it by his honest, effortless portrayal.

other than that, the movie was perfect.

go watch it. you will fall in love again. with the story, the sceneries (the famous mayon volcano makes a cameo), the music (particularly a love song in the local dialect), the cinematography, and especially the acting.

you can tell that the director is in control of his material, unlike the one who handled porno. i think that's the key to a brilliant film.

baboosh!

&&&&&&&&&&&

here are the trailers if you care.

debosyon

unfortunately, i can't find a porno trailer. apologies.