Ganito Kami Noon…Paano Kayo Ngayon

I first saw this movie when I was in grade school. Our school scheduled a fieldtrip to Magallanes theatre. This was way before the shoot-out at the same place or demolition of the theatre. It even had love seats. You could raise the armrest and convert chair into a sofa.

This was one of the movie trips scheduled by our school. The other one was a movie called "Lies My Father Told Me".

Zoom in several years later. I am at the Gateway Mall. Waiting for my friend who also wanted watch Ganito Kami Noon. This was the second time I would be watching the films. Of course I did watch this several times when it was aired on television, but when a motion picture is aired it gets cut up a lot to satisfy the sensors and commercial requirements - paid advertisements.

There is nothing like watching movie on the silver screen. The width and scope of the screen gives the movie a majesty it deserves. Perhaps that is why people would like to get a home theatre. Quite expensive though. An LCD projector seems to be a good alternative but that is also expensive.

The film is about the adventures and misadventures of Nicolas Ocampo or Kulas a country bumpkin during the waning days of Spanish Colonial rule and the advent of American Colonial rule. Kulas by an odd twist of events gets involved with the search and care of a boy who is the son of a wealthy priest. While acting a guardian to the boy he meets several characters from Filipino society at the time and learns what it means to be a Filipino.

The movie is not preachy. It lets the different characters say without the hint of what they were saying was right or wrong. This is quite clear in terms of understanding what a Filipino is. For the Spaniards the Filipinos were the Spaniards and their heirs (we were Indios); For the Tagalogs who believed in independence they were the Filipinos. One will often find that there will always be more than one side to an issue and this movie says that. It also allows the viewer to see the humanity of each character, their good and bad side. As such it is endearing to watch.

There were several lines and scenes in the movie that I could not forget. Like Padre Gil's advise to Kulas before he left was to take care of his newly acquired wealth, as the guardian of Padre Gil's son he had control over the dividend of the friar's share in the Tabacalera, and reminded him that it was only God that loves the poor. This advice from a priest! Well it’s not that surprising but it never fails to illicit laughter from the audience. Or when Leopoldo Salcedo's character was comparing life under the Andres Bonifacio's Katipunan with his life now with his present compatriots (entertainers) someone heckles him and said that Bonifacio was dead. Or Eddie Garcia's remark about those educated as having the right to be called Filipinos. Or the boy , played by the way a young Dranreb missing his two front teeth, smart-ass remarked to Kulas' questions. And even the naivete of Kulas when he shares his insights or when he honestly answers rhetorical and serious questions.

Watching more than once though brings to focus some of the things that could improve the movie. Flaws in the costumes of the extras and even with landmarks bearing signs that existed after World War II should have been corrected. This is a period piece and stuff like that sort of destroys that you are watching a story from the past. Also, the Spanish, Chinese and Ilongo dialogue should have subtitles. A great part of the message of the movie was lost when you did not have subtitles state what the Spanish characters were talking about.

But for me it is still a great movie. Entertaining and provocative.

After the film showing they even had an open forum with Gloria Diaz and other directors. The forum was an eye-opener in terms of how things were done. How things were done before and now. What is the future of the film industry.

There was one person who asked what was the relevance of this movie.

I thought that it was obvious. The story portrayed not only the story of Kulas but of the different people in society at the time. It embodied the change that was taking place. The formation of our cultural identity. No matter what you were Tagalog, Tsinoy, Ilonggo, or Tisoy we are all Filipinos.

One question though was left unanswered. During the open forum the deplorable state of our film heritage was revealed and it was not a pretty site. It would appear that they do not seem to be properly maintained, even the films that were restored like Noli Me Tangere and Tinimbang Ka Ngunit ka lang were physically deteriorating. Solutions were offered like storing them in the proper archives but one solution seemed to have been missed and this was also one solution to allow a wider audience access to these films. It is probably time to have these films released in DVD format.

Transferring it to a DVD format will ensure that future generations will be able to see it and a wider audience will see it. Despite the threat of piracy I think this can be done. A proposed cost-wise production of the film will make sure that the DVD is affordable to the level that piracy will not be able to copy and abuse it. Nearly all the classical films are archived and digitized, perhaps its time we do the same.

I do hope that one day this film will be available in DVD or whatever the existing format will be.

Some facts about Ganito Kami Noon...Paano Kayo Ngayon?
Direction: Eddie Romero
Screenplay: Eddie Romero and Roy Iglesias
Cinematography: Justo Paulino
Editing: Ben Barcelon
Sound: Demetrio Santos
Production Design: Laida Lim-Perez and Peque Gallaga
Music: Lutgardo Labad

Cast:

Christopher de Leon
Gloria Diaz
Eddie Garcia
Leopoldo Salcedo
Dranreb Belleza
Rosemarie Gil
EA Rocha
Tsing Tong-Tsai
Johnny Vicar

A Filipino Film Retrospective

If you are interested in the classic Filipino films the Directors Guild of the Philippines, Inc (DGPI) is holding a film retrospective at the Gateway Cinemas this week. I saw the announcement on my way home the other day. The films to be shown includes the work Gerry De Leon, Ishmael Bernal, Lino Brocka, and Eddie Romero.

A quick check on the website of Gateway showed that the screenings are at 1:00 and 5:00 in the afternoon at Cinema 1. Its not the biggest cinema at Gateway but it is adequate and the tickets are reasonably priced, by present standards anyway.

It is a pity not much information was available. The set of films to be shown today is interesting Gerry De Leon's movie ,anadaptation of Jose Rizal's novel, Noli Me Tangere (1967) and Lino Brocka's Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang (1974). Both films were restored with the help foreign grants and aid.

I saw the restored version of De Leon's film at the UP film center. It remained true to the spirit of novel. Although it is not as voluminous as Eddie Romero's mini-series it was faithful in spirit. And I think no one can outdo Johnny Monteiro and Oscar Keesee playing Padre Salvi and Padre Damaso respectively. Or even Leopoldo Salcedo as Elias and even Eddie Del Mar as Ibarra, although I thought it would bave been better if a mestizo played the role.

There have been attempts to restore also the movie El Filibusterisimo but it has been said that the present owner of the only intact movie reel does not want to part with it. In this movie Pancho Magallona, father of Francis Magallona, essayed the role of Simoun. I saw this film a few times, they used to show it during independence day, unfortunately the film was not in good condition.

De Leon did another Rizal-related movie entitled Sisa with Anita Linda playing the ill-fated Rizal character. This film I saw only once, they had a program on channel 5 that showcased a couple of the classic Tagalog films.

Do not get me wrong I enjoy the occassional FPJ or Ramon Revilla movie but I wished we still had a lot of the classic Tagalog movies.

Tomorrow, they will be showing Eddie Romero's Ganito Kami Noon Paano Kayo Ngayon 1976. I will make it a point to watch this film. The first time I watched this film was when our school took us to watch it at the old Magallanes theatre. I think its one of Eddie Romeros that he should be proud of...I think its his best work. Hopefully it is in good condition. The one they show on tv has many cuts and this destroys the story.

Ganito Kami Noon is a non-preachy and entertaining movie about life during the close of Spanish rule and the advent of the American colonial period. The viewer experiences all this through the eyes of Kulas (Christopher De Leon) a Tagolog engulfed in changing tide of fortune during that period. It helps that Kulas is a simpleton with a hear of gold. Unforgetable performance by all actors, which include Gloria Diaz, Eddie Garcia, Dranreb Belleza, Jaime Fabregas and the guy who played the Spanish priest father of Dranreb was unforgetable.

Its a pity Romero never had this film transferred to DVD.

Incredible DVD sale

If you wait by the river long enough you will see the body of your enemy float
by - A Japanese Proverb

I guess this true not only for enemies but for prices of DVDs. Last week, I was able to buy an original DVD of the movie the Incredibles, the two disc version.

It was while I was on my way home that I saw a lot of booths in Gateway. The booths were selling cds, vcds, and dvds at discounted prices. The price difference seemed not that much. I was just hopping from one booth to the next. The people manning the booth were really trying hard to sell their ware; some were despondent, it would seem that the total sales so far was not that encouraging. So there I was just flippin one dvd after another. A few interesting films were there, I saw the Jeffrey Quizon and Ruffa Mae movie Radyo , I liked that movie but I already have a copy of it in vcd - the dvd version did not have enough features (I think this is downside of Filipino DVDs not enough useful special features). Then there it was The Incredibles DVD, the two disc version and at 299 pesos, its original price was 899 (The Filipino dvds were priced at 150 pesos, still a good buy because they go for around 475 pesos).

The Incredibles, this was the DVD I was waiting for. This version had three extra cartoon featurettes as part of its special features section. For those interested in how the movie was made the other features will probably be as interesting, but for me these three featurettes - Jack-Jack Attack, Boundin and Mr Incredible & Pals (Watch the first version and the second version with commentaries of Mr Incredible and Frozone , you will not regret it). Again there were other cool features, but for me these cartoon shorts were the best.

Yes, It was worth it. The wait was worth it. My nephews, who enjoyed the movie at the cinema house, watched it again. They also like the cartoon featurettes. Unfortunately, the opinion among us is divided as to what is the best cartoon short. My older nephew likes Jack-Jack Attack ; while my youngest nephew likes Boundin, because the sheared lamb reminds of his older brother (unlike him his brother is skinny); and I prefer the Mr Incredible & Pals with the commentaries provided by Mr Incredible and Frozone.

My father was always correct when he told me, "Son, It pays to wait...sometimes".

A spot of BBC in your telly?

One alternative station I have been watching is the BBC channel. Their news coverage is as extensive as CNN and offers a fresh perspective from the other side of the Atlantic pond. However, what I find interesting with several of BBC programmes are more interesting than those produced by National Geographic and Discovery Channel.

If you are bored with mummies, crocodiles and assorted crickey related fauna, cars or you are just looking fo something new BBC documentaries are the fare you are looking for.

Let see if you like cars there is the Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond on the Top Gear Show . Clarkson irreverent style and forthright opinions makes this a must watch for car enthusiats.

Other shows I was able to see included John Cleese and Elizabeth Hurley's documentary about the face, several months later it was shown on Discovery. Then they had Simon Schama's show about the history of Great Britain. And the life of Great Britons, featured several well-known historical figures like ElizabethI, Cromwell, Winston Churchill, Darwin and Florence Nightingale. Then there was the documentary about the arts, where they showed the shift of art from period to period or how artists with the use of lenses were able to produced portraits and paintings photorealistic, the lense were used to project the image on canvass. Most documentaries if not entertaining done were spiced with dramatisation and creative story telling techiniques.

Two of my favourites shows were Holidays in the Axis of Evil and Places that don't Exist.

HOLIDAYS IN THE AXIS OF EVIL

This is a two-part travelogue of reporter Ben Anderson as he spends his holiday/vacation in the six rogues states identified by George W Bush as the "axis of evil". Anderson, equiped with a hidden camera and a tourist map attempts to discover how life is inside North Korea, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya and Cuba.

PLACES THAT DON'T EXIST

Have you ever been to Somaliland, Transdniestria, S.Ossetia, Georgia, Taiwan and Nagorno-Karabakh?

Ok. Taiwan is not far off. But have you been to other countries. These are countries that do not exsist due to politics. Most of them are considered break-away states, some are still considered provinces. I really like this show, reporter and writer Simon Reeves effectively blends journalistic curiosity, cheerful disposition and revealing observations through out the travelogue. Go to country that seems to be trapped in the Old Soviet Republic, go to a military base , where there is a huge stockpile of military weapons and ammunition, guarded by five guards, go to a country where the KGB still exsist, or meet a president whoses region has broken away from his republic. I missed his documentary, Meet the Stans, all about countries like Kurdestan and maybe Afghanistan. Hopefully, they will show it again.

If you find yourself getting this feeling of ad-naseum from mummies and crocodiles why not check the BBC channels documentaries. Or you find yourself viewing the soliloquy of a Filipino politician on tv or promises of a better world . Change channels and go see the latest BBC documentaries and non-news shows believe me they are interesting.

Horror

My first encounter with horror fiction was a radio play during the 1970s called Gabi Ng Lagim (Night of Terror). The show would start with howl from a dog and a creepy voice over stating the shows title and episode. The show was about the local supernatural monsters and ghosts in the Philippines and their encounter with the people. I used to listen a lot to that show, but the funny thing is for the life of me I cannot remember a single storyline.

I do remember the movies . The Vincent Price-Peter Lorre movie the Raven, the Black cat, House of Usher, A Cask of Amontillado all movies based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Then there was the Dracula films from Hammer Films. For most people when you say vampire the word Nosferatu comes up along with the name Max Shreck or Bela Lugosi, but for me it will always be Christopher Lee. Hammer Film's resident Prince of Darkness. The Dark and Campy Count scared, ravaged, died and was resurrected again for several Vampire films and as he rose from his crypt he faced Van Helsing, another Hammer main stay Peter Cushing. Through the years because of the weekly late night movies on channel 9 and 2 I was able to watch several other horror films - the Roddy McDowelll movie with a Golem, Vincent Price in the house of wax, John Carradine essaying the role of Dracula in Billy the Kid vs Dracula. Or Even Blacula Dracula's soul brother!

Mid-afternoon Tagalog movies had horror films like the movie were the character turned into a bat, demonic/ghostly posessions, a baby was thrown into a mud hole and who comes back years later to inflict revenge, and other creatures common in Filipino horror films tianak, cafres, nuno sa punso, aswang, mangkukulam the list goes on and on. And the impakta in Darna vs the Impakta used to give me the heebeejiibees.

But what is the purpose of horror films or fiction? Maybe its a safeway for us to experience terror. It may also satisfy our curiosity without suffering the consequences, the tale of Dracula is widely believed to be a tale of the triumph of Victorian prudeness over the Count's personification of what was believed then baser instincts. And at the same it is a tale of caution that tells the repercussions of evil outside and within us.

But then again there is a saying that explaining the joke ruins it. Deconstructing takes the fun out of anything. So I guess I will leave at that a horror story like any other story is interesting because of the tale, no explanation needed.

Kolchak: The Night Stalker

Do you remember this series? It starred Darren McGavin as Carl Kolchak - wisecracking, abrasive reporter who has the luck and the nose to get the lead in supernatural news stories. Much to the chagrin of his editor Tony Vincenzo and the local authorities.

I later learned that the series was based on two succesful tv movies, The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler. The Night Stalker movie was set in the 70s and had as its protagonists a wisecracking newsreporter dressed in an old suit and a rumpled straw hat investigating a serial killer who he suspects is a vampire. His belief that a vampire is the perpetrator leaves him isolated, the police actually run him out of town. Alone the opinionated Van Helsing armed with a cross, a stake, tape recorder and his flashbul camera tracks down the vampire. The movie was directed by Dan Curtis and written by Richard Matheson the quirky mix of humor and horror made the Night Stalker an instant hit. I actually saw Night Stalker years later after seeing the series. The success of the first Nightstalker movie led to a second tv movie The Night Strangler and the TV series Kolchak: The Nigth Stalker.

X-Files creator Chris Carter is a big fan of the Kolchak tv movies and the series. It is said that the series is the father of the X-files and Fox Mulder is the decent son of Carl Kolchak. A plan to cast Darren McGavin as Mulder's father was planned but did not materialize. Well Mulder does have Kolchak's wit but he does not have the opinionated annoying effect Kolchak has on everyone he meets.

Some of the episodes I remember:

DEMON IN LACE - Kolchak versus a succubus. A couple of college guys found dead after a night of rompy-pompy. The supposed cause of death, demise by fornicating with a succubus.

LEGACY OF TERROR - Kolchak tries stop the sacrifice of young man to a Aztec/South American God/Demon (?). The sacrifice is pampered for before he is to be sacrificed. The cerermony takes place in an open auditorium. Erik Estrada , pre-CHIPs days, as the young sacrifice, method of sacrifice cutting the heart out of the boday. See Aztec.

ZOMBIE - Kolchak against a criminal who continues his crime spree with the help of his mother who turns him into a zombie.

FIRE FALL - By an odd set of circumstances a Doppleganger is created. This evil entity is out to kill his enemies(?) by setting them ablaze once they fall asleep. Kolchak versus a fire-empowered Doppleganger. I specifically remember this because of the scene where the doppleganger is looking at Kolchak through a Church window. Behind the Doppleganger seemed what to be a curtain of flames.

CHOPPER - Headless apparition of a bike rider out to seek revenge and mayhem. Nightstalker take on the headless horseman myth. Predates the creepiness of Tim Burton's movie of the same theme.

According to Darren McGavin, he departed from the original clothes concept of Kolchak and adopted a look like he was fired from a reputable newspaper years ago and still wore the last seersucker suit he bought then.

They are actually re-launching the series this year with Stuart Townsend playing the rogue Kolchak. Will it work? Will the series depart from the original storyline? Has it been succesfully retrofitted for the new millenium. The original series ended after 25 episodes lets hope the new lives up to its predecessor's cult status or least improve on the concept and does not end up just a shadow.

Jim Henson's Story Teller

I grew up with Jim Henson. My generation was the generation of Sesame Street. I remember watching Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Ernie & Bert, Grover and Oscar the Grouch. I can also recall the lines to the song "rubber ducky" and "C is for cookie". Later on I got to enjoy the Jim Henson's Muppet Show, Kermit the Frog succesfully transferred from Sesame Street and joined Miss Piggy, Fonzie the Bear, the Swedish Chef, Prof Bunsen and Beaker, and the rest of new muppets. I also enjoyed the show.

Then there were the muppet movies and fraggle rock, which were...so so. Then came the Jim Henson Hour - Kermit and friends at it again. Extremely funny, at least for me, was the commercial for the Screamin No-Nos and the Predator-Prey song. One thing though I look forward to every time the muppet hour was shown was the Story Teller.

Henson and team take on a couple of old European fairy tales. Henson used a actors, muppets and subdued but creative special effects to bring about a story. In more than one story he used shadows and a painting to tell part of the story. The look of the muppets added credibility to these tales of fantasy.

One of the strength of this series was that it had as its writer Anthony Minghella (writer and director known for mnovies - Cold Mountain, The English Patient and The Talented Mr Ripley) who placed, probably, the most melodious lines in any Fairy Tale Production, with except of the Princess Bride or Shrek. And one other strength it had was its cast - John Hurt as the storytller and Jonathan Pryce, Miranda Richardson, Joely Richardson, Sean Bean, Brenda Blethyn, Gabrielle Anwar and a score of others. Theatric and subdued when the need calls for it, they were effective. And Hurt as the verbose and witty storyteller was animated and his interactions with his wise-cracking Dog (as voiced and operated by Jim Henson's son Brian Henson) were entertaining.

I like this show so much that these one of the few DVDs I bothered to order from Amazon.com. The nice thing about DVD is now I can share the experience with my nephews. Although our favorites episodes do not necessarily match, my oldest nephew likes the tale of the True Bride and the Three Ravens and a story short. His younger brother likes, well he likes what his eldest brother and his tito likes. My personal favourite is the tale of the Heartless Giant, Death & the Soldier and the Luck Child.

Through my search for the Storyteller I came across an entry and a DVD about the The Storyteller:Greek Myths. I have not seen a single episode of this show but it might be worht getting. At least some time in the near future.

Other Fairy Tale shows worth getting is the Fairy Tale Theatre. Perhaps some time in the distant future. And there is of course the first installment of Once Upon a Time by ABS-CBN. This was during the first years of their operation after the company was restored to the Lopezes.

I think they are all great. I end this post with an introduction from John Hurt the Story Teller in the tale of Hans the Hedgehog or is it A Story Short? I must ask my nephew or watch it again.

"I am a teller of stories, a weaver of dreams. I can dance, sing, and in the
right weather I can stand on my head. I know seven words of Latin, I have a
little magic, and a trick or two. I know the proper way to meet a Dragon, I can
fight dirty but not fair, I once swallowed thirty oysters in a minute. I am not
domestic, I am a luxury, and in that sense, necessary."