The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Late last week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Ampas), the Los Angeles-based organization that hands out the Oscars, released to the media its list of films that will compete for the five slots in the foreign-language film category at the 88th Academy Awards.
Of course, the Philippines’ entry, Jerrold Tarog’s blockbuster biopic Heneral Luna, which is now on its fifth week in cinemas and has earned more than P200 million, is on that list. So are those from 80 other countries, which include the latest films of Oscar-winning Russian filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov (Burnt by the Sun) and Academy Award-nominated Iranian director Majid Mahidi (Children of Heaven).
Many of Heneral Luna’s most ardent supporters—so taken by John Arcilla’s scintillating performance in the title role, the film’s quotable lines, and the parallels between the politics and politicians of Luna’s time and ours—truly believe it is a shoo-in for a nomination.
But, honestly, this is far from certain, especially since the battle for Oscar recognition has only just started. Many things can happen between now and January, when the Academy Award nominations would be announced.
The path to that coveted foreign-language film nod has some major hurdles. If some longtime Oscar watchers in the West are to be believed, two films that have earned great praise and prizes, not to mention incredible international exposure, at this year’s Cannes Film Festival are virtually assured of a slot.
One is Hungary’s Holocaust drama Son of Saul, about an Auschwitz prisoner who has the harrowing job of burning the bodies of his fellow Jews. The other is Taiwan’s gorgeously photographed martial-arts feature The Assassin, about a woman tasked to kill a nobleman, to whom she was once betrothed.
The presence of these two acclaimed films on the list—and we haven’t yet tackled the growing buzz that some entries from Latin America are getting—shows that the competition Heneral Luna faces is very stiff, indeed.
A bigger hurdle is getting Hollywood insiders to watch Heneral Luna. Ampas is made up of them, after all. This entails mounting a solid campaign—not an easy task, as those behind the country’s previous submissions to the Oscars (Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan; Transit; Bwakaw; Ang Babae sa Septic Tank) would attest. In this regard, I imagine Tarog and producers Fernando Ortigas and Eduardo A. Rocha would have an easier time, since they can allot part of the film’s revenues for such a campaign.
Dazzling reviews from well-regarded film critics, a few film-festival citations, and applauded screenings can help a campaign, but as the case of Norte (a much better movie, in my opinion) proved, they’re sometimes not enough.
Even if the right Ampas members get to see Heneral Luna, there’s no guarantee they would like it enough to include it in their nine-film shortlist. These people are no film critics, and, by most reported accounts, watch movies very subjectively. I wonder how they would respond to Heneral Luna’s depiction of the Americans?
I’m quite sure the makers of Heneral Luna are aware of these challenges, and would take all these into account in their quest to secure an Oscar nomination and make the Philippines the third Southeast Asian nation to do so (the first two were Vietnam, with 1993’s The Scent of Green Papaya, and Cambodia, with 2013’s The Missing Picture).
For the full list of this year’s foreign-language film submissions, visit www.oscars.org/news.
Strong theater season
As a fairly regular theatergoer, it’s wonderful to see that Philippine theater companies—new or not, professional or school-based—are having another strong season. The past several weeks have seen productions—from the silly to the serious—opening in various venues in Metro Manila to appreciative audiences.
One of these was Actor’s Actors Inc.’s heartwrenching production of Larry Kramer’s largely autobiographical The Normal Heart, which focuses on the terrifying early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York City. This play’s two-weekend run—which ended on October 11—was actually its second; it first ran for one July weekend at the RCBC Plaza’s Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium in Makati City.
I was lucky to catch that first run, and it was a very sobering experience. The Normal Heart was wonderfully acted by a strong cast; I was particularly impressed by Topper Fabregas, who portrayed Felix Turner, the AIDS-afflicted lover of outspoken activist Ned Weeks (director Bart Guingona). To watch that character’s life sapped out of him—it was quite moving.
Another was Stages Production Specialist Inc.’s Chuva Choo Choo: The Mr. Kupido Musicale, which wrapped up its test run of four performances on September 27 at the new Power Mac Center Spotlight in Circuit Makati, the financial district’s new entertainment hub.
Written and directed by award-winning playwright George A. de Jesus III, Chuva Choo Choo incorporates the hits of prolific songwriter Vehnee Saturno in telling its Connie and Carla-inspired tale of two singing sisters (Joanna Ampil and Morrissette Amon) who, with their dear friend-assistant-choreographer (Ross Pesigan), flee to Manila—where they are forced to pose as female impersonators—after witnessing what they think is a fatal altercation between a Pangasinan mayor and an amateur-singing contest organizer.
Chuva Choo Choo was a diverting production, one that’s light and colorful as cotton candy. It boasted of unsurprisingly strong singing from the leads, as well as a very delightful, scene-stealing multicharacter turn from Via Antonio. I could imagine a mainstream film outfit like Star Cinema taking on this one and turning it into a GP-rated crowdpleaser. Perhaps, studio bigwigs could check out the production when it returns to the same venue in January.
For those who prefer a more, well, substantial theater experience, they can go to the Cultural Center of the Philippines to watch Tanghalang Pilipino’s production of Kanakan-Balintagos’ Palanca Award-winning Mga Buhay ng Apoy, which is now entering its third week.
If there’s one thing in the play that stands out to me, it’s this: Philippine theater titan Irma Adlawan may be the star, but it’s Kanakan-Balintagos’ show, no doubt about it. His control over his material is tight, and he stages his play in a way that I haven’t seen in quite a while.
Though it poses a few unanswered—albeit minor—questions (just one: the time of the play is presumed to be the present; how come there are no mobile devices?), Mga Buhay na Apoy has several things going for it.
One is the uniformly solid cast, with the glowing Adlawan, the touching Malou Crisologo and the entrancing Carol Bello deserving special mention. Another is noted architect Paulo Alcazaren’s terrific set design—inspired by the grounds of Kanakan-Balintagos’ Sampaloc home—that offers a rather pleasant surprise after the intermission. Still another is Dennis N. Marasigan’s wonderful lighting, especially in the last two acts.
But for me, the best thing about Mga Buhay na Apoy is that it effectively fuses the familiar (complex family ties, and their inherent drama) and the unfamiliar (Palawán indigenous culture and traditions). The result? It makes the inaccessible, accessible. Its overall impact is quite potent.