Maybe I wasn’t just seeing double

Let’s get this out of the way first – I think I have a slight crush on Nisha Alicer. I just think. Maybe it’s me being an incurable romantic of some sort, but I got the slightest of reminders when I flipped through today’s issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer and saw her uncredited with Nix Lañas. But the other point is, their entry Doble Vista is confusingly amazing.

The reason why I got myself to watch one half of the short features in competition is because, well, Nisha invited the entire FEATURE class a week before. I’ve been emailing her about the schedule, and the apparent fact that the version of the film being exhibited is different from the copy the DLSU Department of Communication has – yes, it is a thesis, and the most outstanding one for 2006 at that – and that was enough to whet my curiosity, somehow. And, okay, seeing Nisha. Maybe I should stop pushing it.

When I finally got to see it – with Karla and Norman – we were surprised at the cut. Karla has seen the thesis copy before and was surprised because she thought the ending was good. I, on the other hand, was surprised because if the ending is good, as they say – Nisha, who wrote the film, personally likes that scene, as she pointed out in her last email – then there must’ve been no plausible reason to cut that, right?

The Lasallian connection

There were some DLSU people in there – friends, CAM majors, us, the occasional surprise – and, of course, there’s the sense of pride. Among the five features two were from the UP Film Institute – Mark dela Cruz’ Misteryo ng Hapis, which, according to Ariane, was also a participant at the GMG’s independent film contest, and Sol Garcia’s Tagapagligtas, which starred Sid Lucero and, admittedly, is one of the best among the batch. (Karla and I were wondering about the cameras they used for the production.)

And, of course, when Sir Groyon’s name finally came up in the credits in ever-so-stylized portions – he mentored Nisha, Nix and Caren Crisologo, who was in the US (according to Nix at least) during the premiere – there was that familiar cheer. The next thing I know, or so did I figure out, he went out of the theater, for some reason.

Obviously the department is proud of their children, to say the least. There is a Doble Vista poster at the bulletin board, even before the Cinemalaya one came up, and later I’d see Miss Diaz post a small annotation at the top of the poster: “Winner of the Most Outstanding Thesis Award for 2006″, it said. I actually wonder why this never got mentioned elsewhere – already these three deserve a slot in the Animo boards – but, then again, it remains to be seen at the awarding ceremonies this coming Sunday. Hopefully Caren makes it.

The Cinemalaya pamphlet given away says that Doble Vista has “shades of Jean-Luc Godard and Peter Wolfen”, a point which I took to heart, remembering those INTROFI lessons (at least on Godard) and reminding myself to expect something a bit confusing. I only got the point while writing this article, and I have still to watch the thesis copy. (TeamComm actually showed it the day before Nisha invited us to the premiere.) Let’s just say Jake Macapagal’s portrayal as Javier (and his somewhat perverted way of saying “Loooo-laaaaaah” in the beginning) got me through the film. It’s one of those hard-to-explain things, much like the story, because you’ll never know when you’re seeing double.

And, about the other shorts...

Misteryo ng Hapis is about a gay man facing his past during his father’s wake. I think it’s one of those things people would probably dismiss as shallow, if not for a convoluted metaphor of a kid in a theater. (Karla, who watches films quite doggedly, didn’t get it at first.) Technically it looks good, and the main character’s portrayal (what’s his name again?) gets into you, especially when he continues to insist to himself to not cry, in his own language, repeatedly.

Nineball is directed by Enrico Aragon, who claims to know more about billiards that filmmaking in the opening spiels – and it’s a welcome comic relief. Although in places it may seem ridiculous – I was expecting humor that’s more misunderstood – I guess there’s no harm in returning to the form of humor that Filipinos in the mainstream have learned to love. Bodyi Borjal plays the main character who just loves billiards so much, he basically got harmed because of it. But the ending was quite unexpected. And so is Efren “Bata” Reyes’ appearance (although I already know of that, since the pamphlet said so).

Alvin Yapan’s Rolyo is set in a Bicol town, where film negatives are used to ward off birds eating their rice plants. The sad thing is, even if the premise of the film is interesting enough, and even if the documentary style of shooting exudes an authentic feel, the reason as to why they use film negatives was never expounded – maybe it was a metaphor, or something with the kid (played by Judith Colar) wanting to watch The Da Vinci Code.

And, finally, Tagapagligtas strikes deep. Technically it looks very slick, and paced quite well. It is about an abortionist (played by Shamaine Buencamino) who is also a strict mother to Cristina (played by Monica Verallo), and how the former realizes the power of karma. Of course, all lies in Anghel (played by Lucero) and I suggest you watch it to be able to get it.

Faking the phone call

In the end I got to talk to Nisha. At least, I thought, I had to show up to her because I got invited, and I said I would come. Sadly I never really got to talk to them about the thesis experience, with me eventually working on a feature for THSCAM1 next term, but I guess it is a mix of fun and stress. I also got to meet Nix, who is an ID 99 student (Nisha’s under ID 102) and Jake, who doesn’t look like Javier in the film.

Jake is, jokingly, an expert at “lovemaking” as Nix put it. The question was actually simple: “so how was it?” And everybody eventually breaks down into a chuckle, before the conversation became pretty short-lived. (“It’s simple,” Nix mentioned. “Just wear a red bra above your head,” she added, referring to the first scenes in the short.) But Jake has much more than that.

He was all praises for his directors. That detail I cannot remember, sadly – I spent minutes faking a phone call while waiting for a chance to talk to these guys – but he similarly feels proud with the film. “It’s very easy to criticize a film,” he says. “But… you have to do one to know.” Chalk up the first lesson for thesis, and before that, for a final project. Then he leaves to talk to the other people at the CCP Main Theater’s lobby.

Lily Chu was also there, but sadly, everybody eventually left, and so did I. I could have taken a photo for this article, but I never got to fake another phone call. Still in my head when I left was Nisha’s advice that I watch the thesis copy – which, according to Karla, doesn’t have the border stylings I saw – and I don’t have the need to (don’t get me serious on this, though!) cut out the photo on the Inquirer today. (I’m more concerned rather with why Ed Lejano’s Sinungaling na Buwan didn’t make it past post-production, and thus, got disqualified from the competition.) And Jake went out of the building, into the cold Pasay air, and took out a cigarette, much like he did for Doble Vista. At least I knew I wasn’t seeing double then.