The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Alvin I. Dacanay
A little over a year after it debuted to great acclaim at the 3rd QCinema International Film Festival, Mario Cornejo and Monster Jimenez’s surfing drama Apocalypse Child is set to open in select cinemas nationwide on October 26.
Since its premiere, this film, about a surfing instructor in Aurora province’s Baler town named Ford who grew up being told that he is the son of famed American director Francis Ford Coppola and is challenged to take a paternity test to prove it, has been screened in various film festivals in Asia, Europe, and North America.
The fact that Apocalypse Child is getting a commercial run at all is something that took producer and co-screenwriter Jimenez by surprise.
“Actually, we weren’t expecting to get to this point. To be honest, we were just thinking about special screenings and private screenings,” Jimenez said during the Apocalypse Child press conference at the Meranti Hotel in Quezon City on October 4.
“And then, the momentum [for the movie] just kept on going and going, and people started asking for screenings until Solar Pictures picked up the film [for distribution],” she added.
Having watched Apocalypse Child during its QCinema run last year, I can honestly say it’s one of the finest Filipino films I’ve seen in recent years, and it deserves to be seen by a lot of people.
Here are five reasons Apocalypse Child is a must-see:
1. The cast. Few Filipino movies can boast of a cast as attractive and talented as Apocalypse Child’s. In the lead role is prize-winning actor Sid Lucero, who not only exposes his buff body for much of the film (he plays a surfing instructor, after all), but also his character’s soul.
He is joined by Annicka Dolonius, who portrays Fiona, a college-age Filipino-American who hooks up with Ford while on a visit to her terminally ill grandmother; RK Bagatsing, who plays Rich, Ford’s United States-educated childhood buddy who returns to town as a newly elected congressman; Gwen Zamora, who essays the role of Rich’s fianceé Serena, who has a tragic past and gradually becomes involved with Ford; lauded stage actress Ana Abad Santos, who portrays Ford’s mother Chona, who claims that Coppola got her pregnant while he was filming surfing scenes in Baler for his 1979 Vietnam War drama Apocalypse Now; and Archie Alemania, who portrays Ford’s sensible kabarkada Jordan.
2. The setting. As equally appealing as the sexy ensemble is the Baler captured in Apocalypse Child. Cinematographer Ike Avellana gives the town—regarded as the country’s surfing capital—a polished appearance, with the surfing and underwater scenes looking splendid and sharp.
In addition, he, film editor Lawrence Ang, production designer Christina Dy, and sound designer Corinne de San Jose helped director and co-screenwriter Cornejo capture the relaxed atmosphere and quiet charm of Aurora’s capital, which present an effective contrast to the deep emotions felt by the characters.
3. The awards. During last year’s QCinema awards ceremony, Apocalypse Child emerged as the top winner, garnering prizes for film, director, supporting actress for Dolonius, and artistic achievement for Ang.
Other award-giving bodies have also recognized Apocalypse Child. Two of them, the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino and the Film Academy of the Philippines—which hand out the Urian and Luna prizes, respectively— awarded it with several nominations this year, including for five members of the cast (Lucero, Dolonius, Bagatsing, Zamora and Abad Santos), Cornejo, and the film itself. Only Abad Santos managed to convert her Urian and Luna nods for best supporting actress into wins.
4. The “A” grade. Recently, the Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB) gave Apocalypse Child a grade of “A”, which entitles it to a 100-percent tax rebate.
In its evaluation, the CEB praised the entire cast, saying that Zamora “evokes a simmering sexiness” and describing the support offered by Bagatsing, Abad Santos, Dolonius, and Alemania as “very good.”
The board also lauded Ang’s editing as “sufficiently contained” and Avellana’s lensing as “imaginative.” It said the music provided by Up Dharma Down’s Armi Millare was “apt, as it captured well the [film’s] melancholic surf vibe,” and praised Dy’s work for maximizing the location “to the hilt.”
“It is films like [Apocalypse Child] that remind us that there is always a fresh way of telling a story, and like the director’s maiden project with Monster Jimenez, Big Time, it is a potential sleeper and helps keep the indie spirit alive,” the CEB said.
5. The story. As great as the four abovementioned reasons are, what makes Apocalypse Child worth watching is the story it tells, one that rose from this question: What if Francis Ford Coppola and his Apocalypse Now crew didn’t leave just surfboards in Baler?
The film is not just about Ford and his complicated relationships with Rich and the women in his life; or about Ford and how he’s compelled to confront the myth on how he came to be, which has given him an elevated status in his community.
“It’s about how people tell themselves stories that may or may not be true, but it’s the story they know, so they will stick to it,” Cornejo said.
For more information about Apocalypse Child, visit apocalypsechild.com.