Duterte cinema

Heneral Luna (2015) (d. Jerrod Tarog)
Felix Manolo (2015) (d. Joel Lamangan)

Been thinking about the two unlikely blockbuster films in the Philippines: Heneral Luna and Felix Manalo. These two very different biopics seemed to complement one another. Both features outsider-visionaries of the Philippine State (Luna) and the Philippine Church (Manolo). The former is about political indignation as Luna is betrayed by opportunistic entrepreneurs who quickly switch imperial allegiances and by his fellow rebel compatriots. It’s a story about an interrupted revolution and makes its case, rather remarkably, without any recourse to Catholic religiosity. Instead, the movie features a cut to the moon as the hero woos his beloved with a song. How pagan, indeed. The latter movie is all about the church, just not the Catholic Church, but the cult-like mega-church known as the INC (Iglesia ni Cristo). The film makes the case of the importance of a homegrown national religion by offering an unremarkable crash course in comparative religion. For the uninitiated and uninterested, the movie is a slog, unlike the more entertaining Luna film, which incongruously switches tones to keep things lighthearted at times. Did the unexpected popularity of these films prefigure the Coming of Duterte? A cult-like figurehead for the new national religion of political indignation? Like the Mayor, both protagonists rebelled against the status quo. Both films are considered independent productions in a film industry known to churn out scores and scores of brain-melting trash. The production values are top notch, by Philippine standards, including attracting big stars for the latter film. And all three, Duterte being the Filipino version of Dirty Harry and the bonafide new star of the country, are mega hits. (May 2016)

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Heneral Luna, despite the clunky dialogue, has better than expected production values–maybe just a tad bit good since the costumes are clean and well-made, making it easy to discern the visible cellphone lines on the actors’ pants. Appreciated its lack of Christian sentimentality while its version of nationalism indicts fellow Filipinos who are only concerned about their business dealings. Also, it does a fair job of highlighting Filipino women’s role in the rebellion. Additional points for casting non-famous, non-light-skinned actors whenever film could even as it panders to sensational casting for minor roles. The crowd ooh-ed and aah-ed whenever a heartthrob actor appeared. Sold as a historical film, but clearly a film of the moment as presidential elections are coming up. No one seems to resemble the titular character among present candidates thus the film is really more like a national fantasy coming alive on screen. (September 2015)

#2015 #2016