"MANILA," directed by prize-winning directors Adolfo Alix Jr. and Raya Martin, will open the 2009 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival and Competition on July 17, 7:30 p.m. at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (Main Theater).
This will be the film’s Philippine premiere after its successful screenings in the 62nd Festival de Cannes and the 31st Moscow International Film Festival.
Actor Piolo Pascual co-produced and stars in this film that pays tribute to great Filipino directors Lino Brocka and Ishmael Bernal.
Manila boasts of a powerful cast—a mix of some of the country’s best actors including Rosanna Roces, Jay Manalo, Alessandra de Rossi, Baron Geisler, Iza Calzado, Angelica Panganiban, Jiro Manio, William Martinez, Anita Linda, Marissa Delgado, Menggie Cobarrubias, John Lapus, Katherine Luna, Aleck Bovick and Jon Avila. The film’ screenplay was written by Ramon Sarmiento and Alix, who opened last year’s Cinemalaya with Adela. Alix’s first film, Donsol, and Kadin were both past Cinemalaya finalists. Raya Martin, whose other film Independencia was also screened in this year’s Cannes Film festival, is also honored as one of the 13 Artists of the CCP.
More film details:
OPENS JULY 22 IN SELECTED THEATERS:
SM North Edsa, SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia, SM Manila, SM Fairview, Robinsons Ermita, Robinsons Galleria, Gateway, Trinoma, Glorietta 4, Sta. Lucia, SM Davao, SM Cebu, SM Pampanga, SM Taytay
Released by Star Cinema
Official Selection, [pic]Festival de Cannes 2009; Official Selection, Moscow [pic]International Film Festival 2009; Opening Film, Cinemalaya V
Directed by Adolfo Alix, Jr. and Raya Martin Synopsis: [pic]Piolo Pascual portrays two characters in a split day/night story that exposes the seedy underbelly of the city as he grapples with the darkness around him.
A MJM Production and Bicycle Pictures production Written by Ramon Sarmiento and Adolfo Alix, Jr.
Executive Producers: Piolo Jose Pascual and Edgar Mangahas
Producer: Arleen Cuevas
Associate Line Producer: Maxie Evangelista III
Director of Photography: Albert Banzon
Production Designer: Digo Ricio
Editors: Jay Halili and Aleks Castaneda
Music: Radioactive Sago Project
Sound Design: Ditoy Aguila
Cast: [pic]Piolo Pascual, Rosanna Roces, Jay Manalo, Alessandra de Rossi, Baron Geisler, Iza Calzado, Angelica Panganiban, Jiro Manio, William Martinez, Anita Linda, Marissa Delgado, Menggie Cobarrubias, John Lapus, Katherine Luna, Aleck Bovick, Jon Avila
Composed of companion pieces titled "Day" and "Night." In the "Day" segment, William is a drug addict who tries to rebuild his life and reconnect with the friends and family. For the "Night" segment, Philip works as a bodyguard for a mayor's son and believes that his boss considers him part of the family. After a shooting incident, he comes to realize his real place in his boss' life. As he struggles to hide, he is slowly consumed by the underbelly of the city.

Manila (Adolfo Alix, Jr. & Raya Martin, 2009)

Adolfo Alix, Jr. takes the experiment seriously. The latter half of Manila, a modern reiteration of Lino Brocka's Jaguar (1979), tackles Philip (heartthrob Piolo Pascual, artificially darkened to match his character's lower income roots), the personal bodyguard of an ambitious although reckless scion (Jay Manalo) of a big-time politician. After shooting and killing a man in defense of his boss, Philip is suddenly left on his own when his boss abandons him for fear of getting involved in the murder. Alix directs with admirable restraint and his portion of the film operates with the same energy and rhythm that Tambolista (Drumbeat, 2007) possesses which gave his visualizations of urban squalor a treacherous personality. Albert Banzon's black and white cinematography, jerky when necessary but never disorienting, contributes to the prevailing unease. While adeptly filmed, Alix's portion is more repetition than anything else. He does not even attempt to stray from what every Brocka disciple, from Joel Lamangan (Bulaklak ng Maynila (Flower of Manila, 1999) and Hubog (Wretched Lives, 2001)) to Mel Chionglo (Sibak (Midnight Dancers, 1994)), have made careers out of.

A belated colored credit sequence, which separates Raya Martin's first half and Alix's latter half, showcases something bizarre: Lav Diaz, director of films whose average running time is seven hours, is filming a romance starring Iza Calzado and Jon Avila, both of whom are popular television stars. It's an unlikely scenario (especially since Diaz seems to be quite comfortable in the set where he has klieglights, a sizable crew, and teen idols, at his disposal), both improbable and impossible. The credit sequence, funny, ironic and bursting with subtle sarcasm, gives an adequate outlook point to view Martin's portion. It begs to ask the question "do we simply believe the images as projected in the big screen, no matter how improbable and impossible they are?"

There is something subtly subversive in Martin’s portion, which opens the film. Seductively immaculate in the way he captures the city as atmospheric backdrop to the tale of William (Pascual, with whitened hair), perpetual drug addict who we first see escaping a police raid, the day portion of the film, loosely based on the characters of Ishmael Bernal’s Manila by Night (1980), is driven not by narrative or a set of written characters but by an indescribable force that fuels the titular metropolis. Martin’s Manila is formless, like a nebula of rustic landmarks thinly connected by a shared motif. As with its first few minutes where Martin economically introduces his characters as cued by a jazzy soundtrack, the film exists primarily as a montage of exquisitely photographed (again by cinematographer Banzon) sequences that celebrate the allure of the city despite the thematic corruption that pervades its citizenry.

Pascual walks around a park only to lie down the grass. Martin cuts to his face. He cuts to show the sun. Martin cuts back to Pascual's face, now glowing with the sunlight, slowly being illuminated and fading to divine white. In an earlier sequence, Martin features Pascual being chased by the police after the raid of the massage parlor Pascual's character frequents. Out of the darkness, Pascual's worried but still very handsome mug appears. The subversion lies not with how expertly crafted these sequences are but by how his camera lovingly lingers to catch Pascual's face, to the point of utter ridiculousness. The visual satire of Pascual's celebrity reaches a climax during the confrontation between his character and Charito (Rosanna Roces), where an onslaught of maternal violence, tears, screams, and pleas, is captured in slow motion and extended much longer than necessary. It is supposed to be Pascual's moment to showcase his acting chops after being plastered as ornament to Manila's landmarks but Martin steals the show and creates a sequence so cinematically absurd and enthralling, that everything else, including Pascual who struggles to be convincing in slow motion, is overshadowed. Hitchcock once said "all actors should be treated like cattle." Thus, if you only have one cow and it is a goodlooking cow, you put it on display, and when it tries to do something it cannot convincingly do, you do something spectacular so attention is diverted somewhere else.

We actually never get a feel that Bernal is the driving force of his portion, except for the characters and the slow motion sequence in the hospital, all borrowed from Manila by Night. Given that Pascual seems to be a permanent fixture in Manila's seductive beauty, Martin's portion is more a hilariously surreptitious sabotage of a mainstream icon than a tribute. Pascual is the sole driving force, and Martin acknowledges it and to my mind, creatively pokes fun at it. Pascual, who after being groomed by the country's biggest television station, has turned into an insanely lucrative commodity. Pascual is not only a matinee idol, he is also a singer, a commercial model (Alix and Martin shares credits with Bench, a clothing line, Sanmig Coffee, a brand of instant coffee, Centrum, a brand of multivitamins, and a few other brands which Pascual endorses), and now, a film producer. Manila, more than a tribute to Brocka and Bernal, two of the Philippines' most prized filmmakers, is a vanity project for Pascual, and I suspect, whether it is voluntary or subconscious for Martin, is not satisfied with keeping it at that.

Sir, black and white po iyung pelikula,’ reminded the ticket seller at the movie theater. Cineplexes must have received complaints from avid fans of Piolo Pascual during the first few days of the film's screenings. I bought a ticket and went in to see this two-part film. Lo and behold! There were just a handful of moviegoers at the movie theater. This is the only Piolo movie I’d seen that failed to bring in the crowds at a theater.

More than the black-and-white images of Manila, I thought the junkie role of Piolo must have turned off fans. Manila’s Day segment, helmed by Raya Martin, takes off from the last few scenes of Manila By Night. Drug addict William (Piolo Pascual) is able to elude cops chasing him and Cherie (Aleck Bovick). He spends the night at Luneta. He wakes up and loiters aimlessly. The rest of the segment, which shows William being rejected by people, is entirely new material based on a script by Ramon Sarmiento.

I didn’t like the Day segment of Manila. Martin took a big risk creating a sequel to what he considers the best Filipino film of all time, Manila By Night, directed by Ishmael Bernal. The time frame is too short to give some meat to the story. The acting and casting are not that good. Cry-baby Piolo is not credible as a hopeless druggie. He is simply too healthy to portray a young man desperately hooked on drugs. Rosanna Roces seems too young to portray his mother. John Lapuz is no match to Bernardo Bernardo.

Martin knows every sequel or homage film will pale in comparison with the Bernal classic. I think his real objective, then, is to espouse the original, pre-censorship ending of the Bernal classic. As far as I know, the ‘happy epilogue’ ending, which was tackily attached to the DVD version of Manila By Night, was a concession made by Bernal to censors. In his Day segment, Martin rejects the ‘happy ending.’ He posits a bleaker ending for the character played originally by William Martinez.

The Night segment, directed by Adolfo Alix Jr., is based on another film classic, Jaguar by Lino Brocka. Never did I imagine liking an Alix film over a Martin film, but, in this case, I loved the Night segment more than the Day segment. My minor complaint with the segment is Philip (Piolo Pascual) was too much of an idiot. Director/scriptwriter Alix should have given the character stronger reason for blasting away. There is a major difference between this segment and Jaguar. Alix veered away from the latter’s ending. Just like Martin, he presented a bleaker ending.

The two segments present a dark, almost one-dimensional portrait of the city of Manila. The bleak endings give a scary, heartless picture of the city. There is nary a tinge of hope left for the main characters. The beautiful black-and-white images of police road blocks, flooded streets, mounds of garbage, and filthy ocean trap the protagonists looking for the exit. Death seems to be the only way out.

It is a good thing that jazzy and cheesy segments involving a film shooting were inserted at the middle and end of the movie. The film City of Love is an over-the-top romance story between a nurse and her remorseful boyfriend. The cheesy reconciliation of the couple happens in the middle of the night at the Ospital ng Maynila. The funny romp was a nice ender to an ambitious but uneven project of producer Piolo Pascual.

He nearly spoke no words. All of the emotions were in his eyes and demeanor. The despair was in every step that he took. Hunched shoulders, head and eyes looking down gave him a look of defeat. The mean streets of Ermita, the alleyways of Sta. Cruz, the open but immensely crowded Plaza Miranda in Quiapo had broken him down. Perhaps no other actor of his generation could have pulled it off. We are referring to Piolo Pascual, the lead actor of “Manila.”
“Manila” by Adolf Alix Jr. and Raya Martin, required an onscreen presence that unquestionably demanded audiences’ attention. Each filmmaker directs his own portion of the two-part film. Both needed an actor who could convey feelings with a subtlety and economy of movement. They knew Piolo Pascual may be the only one worthy of their homage to Lino Brocka and Ishmael Bernal. And there it was on screen, for the first time it had come home to the Philippines by opening Cinemalaya 2009. A rousing standing ovation was given after the showing in a packed CCP Main Theater.
“Manila” was initially premiered to the world at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival. The film had its regular showing at Robinsons Galleria starting July 18. Cinemalaya Film Festival is considered to be the home of burgeoning local independent films, hence the homecoming. CCP President Nestor P. Jardin said, “Cinemalaya belongs to the filmmakers. Their vision here is free from the influence of commercial productions.” He credited the success to longtime support and participation of veteran film maker Laurice Guillen, philanthropist and patron TonyBoy Cojuangco and Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) Chairman, Rolando “Jacky” Atienza.
The gritty black and white treatment of the first part recalls Brocka’s classic “Maynila sa Kuko ng Liwanag.” Bembol Roco was then starting his career, both of them ran and walked in the same side streets and dingy dark corners. Piolo, however, has that commanding presence that draws sympathy and even understanding for a character. Instead of searching for Hilda Koronel, Piolo looks for the young, innocent, yet sexy Angelica Panganiban. The other major character is a similarly strong performance of Rosanna Roces.
The brilliance of the film is in the ability to tell a story, via a journey, or a series of strolls in the city with a minimum of dialogue. Without the credible acting of Pascual, the whole movie falls short. There’s a biting realism in the simplicity of the visuals. Poverty, prostitution and drug use are all part of daily life in the city. They are shown without fan fare and glamour. In one scene where he takes “shabu,” his face is completely stoic and yet tears slowly stream down his cheeks.
The second part of the film employs dialogue but is not any less challenging for the young actor and producer. In one scene, he lies face down in a mountain of garbage, trying to elude police. In it he plays a bodyguard of his boss played by Jay Manalo. The seductive and sophisticated Alessandra de Rossi plays Manalo’s girlfriend. The second part is based on characters created by Ishmael Bernal, Ricky Lee and Jose Lacaba.
Pascual also produced “Kimmy Dora” the launching movie of Eugene Domingo. The trailer was shown for the first time before the screening of “Manila.” Pascual said, “We are very lucky that we were able to get Eugene to agree for us to produce her first starring role. There were a number of production outfits competing for the project.” Pascual also has a much-awaited telenovela entitled “Lovers in Paris” with KC Concepcion. Rachel Anne Wolfe plays Pascual’s sister in the show airing in early August.
The two directors also paid homage to another great filmmaker with a cameo appearance by Lav Diaz. In it he directs Iza Calzado and Jon Avila in a shoot. The seemingly behind-the- scenes portion of a telenovela gives a partition between the two distinct portions of the film. Fans approach Iza with fervor grabbing pictures with her using the ubiquitous cell phone. It creates a light interlude to separate an otherwise dark rendition of the city. Radio Active Sago Project provides a jazzy, but light ’70s inspired track in this sequence. Urian award-winning film editor Aleks Castañeda was credited here. Another Aleks signature is showing credits in the middle of the film.
The Cinemalaya filmfest is on its fifth year hence the title “Cinco” and the tagline “all roads lead to the big small film festival.” Cannes Best Director Awardee Brillante Mendoza is an alumnus of the festival. Mendoza talked about its importance in discovering new talents as reported in Manila Bulletin Entertainment. His film “Serbis” will also be shown during the filmfest on July 25. The masterpieces of Brocka, Doy Del Mundo, Maryo J. Delos Reyes and Peque Gallaga will also be shown in the festival that runs from July 17 to 26.
By JUDE BAUTISTA of MB.COM.PH
July 22, 2009, 1:41pm
Hunk Piolo Pascual, one of ABS-CBN Star Magic’s pride, has turned producer and his initial venture, “Manila,” will open the 5th Cinemalaya Film Festival today, July 17, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. The indie movie was first exhibited at the recent Cannes International Film Festival and then at the 31st Moscow International Film Festival and to this day has received eight other invitations from international film festivals either for competition or exhibition.
At the press conference for the movie held at Max’s Restaurant along Sct. Tuazon, Piolo expressed pride that he and his group (directors Raya Martin and Adolf Alix, Jr. among others) through their movie “Manila” represented the Philippines in the prestigious Cannes filmfest. “It was truly an overwhelming feeling, because our film was screened by a foreign audience; this certainly gave us great pride,” he said. He was also thankful of the big support that the Filipino community in France gave them.
The film’s inclusion in the 62nd Cannes filmfest came as a surprise to them, according to Raya.
“We just submitted the film, there was no lobbying done, we didn’t have any distributor in France, and so we were surprised to be notified that ‘Manila’ has been accepted for exhibition.” Raya said there were over a thousand entries.
Of the 50 films exhibited, there were three from the Philippines. “Actually, it was a double whammy for Raya because another film of his, ‘Independencia,’ was also shown,” Piolo said. The other Filipino film shown was Dante Mendoza’s “Kinatay.” Dante of course is the winner of the Best Director Award.
In “Manila,” which is co-produced by MJM Productions and Bicycle Pictures, Piolo plays two different roles. In the “Day” episode which also stars Rosanna Roces, Angelica Panganiban and William Martinez, he plays William, a drug addict and the son of a popular and controversial sexy actress. In the “Night” episode, Piolo plays Philip who works as a bodyguard for a mayor’s son who later suffers a lot of misfortune and desperation in life.
Also in the “Night” episode are Iza Calzado, Alessandra de Rossi, Jay Manalo, Baron Geisler, Jon Avila, Jiro Manio and Anita Linda. Also in the cast of “Manila” are John Lapus, Katherine Luna, Menggie Cobarrubias, Aleck Bovick, and Marissa Delgado.
Piolo’s drained bankbook
Piolo said he has almost drained his life’s savings but he isn’t complaining, because he has always wanted to grow more as an artist and to explore more avenues in the field he has entered. Raya and Adolf came to him at the most opportune time, he said. He will continue to produce and the next project will be his own album. In forthcoming projects, he said he would also want to work with the likes of Vhong Navarro, John Prats, John Lloyd Cruz ,and Luis Manzano among others. “I envision us doing something like ‘Ocean 11,’ but I know this would be too ambitious, but who knows, we would be able to do it someday.”
He is grateful to his ABS-CBN and Star Cinema family for their support as his film’s distributor. He said he owes the success of “Manila” to the production staff especially to his co-stars. He related that Angelica did not want to accept her talent fee. “Tulong na lang daw niya sa production,” Piolo revealed.
“Manila” pays tribute to two great Filipino filmmakers, Lino Brocka and Ishmael Bernal.
By CRISPINA MARTINEZ-BELEN of MB.COM.PH
July 16, 2009, 1:48pm
Since last year, Adolf Alix Jr. has been talking with Piolo Pascual about an indie film that would pay tribute to two of the most influential directors in the Philippine movie industry: Lino Brocka and Ishmael Bernal. The matinee idol liked the indie film so much that he chose not only to star in Manila but also serve as a co-producer. The script is co-written by Adolf and Ramon Sarmiento.
PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) interviewed Adolf regarding this twin-bill indie film that will be shot on 16mm black-and-white film before being transferred to 35mm. Titled Manila, this two-part movie is divided into a Day episode (which is loosely based on Bernal’s 1980 film Manila By Night) and a Night episode (inspired by Brocka’s 1979 film Jaguar).
Why did you choose to do Lino Brocka’s Jaguar and Ishmael Bernal’s Manila By Night?
“Raya and I feel that the themes of both films are still relevant,” explains Adolf. “Both films also speak of how cruel the city can be to people…its also about men trying to belong and reconcile with their past.”
In the Day segment, Piolo portrays the role of William, a drug addict who tries to rebuild his sense of self and reconnect with the people around him. Piolo’s character is named William in honor of William Martinez who played the lead role in Manila By Night. The Day segment also stars Jodi Sta Maria and Rosanna Roces who is tapped to play the role of Piolo’s mother.
Isn’t Piolo afraid of playing a drug addict in this segment?
Adolf says, “I think Piolo is ready to do such roles. It’s exciting for his craft. A good actor will always be ready to sink his teeth into exciting roles. With him being one of the best actors of his generation, it will be interesting [to see] how he will do it.”
How is it like working with the matinee idol?
“He is very professional. He listens and knows what he is doing.”
Will Direk Adolf modify his directorial style for this movie or will he be emulating the style of Lino Brocka? “I’ll be shooting it based on the demands of the material. I wanted a gritty feel for the film,” he says.
For the Night segment, Piolo portrays the role of Philip, who works as a bodyguard for a mayor’s son. The bodyguard believes that his boss considers him as part of the family but after a shooting incident, he realizes his real worth to his boss. As he struggles to hide, he is slowly consumed by the claws of darkness lurking the city.
Piolo’s character is named after action star Phillip Salvador who starred in Jaguar, the Brocka masterpiece that was the first Filipino film included in the main competition in the Cannes International Film Festival.
The matinee idol acts opposite Alessandra de Rossi in the Night episode, which also stars Jay Manalo, Anita Linda, and Jiro Manio.
Adolf reveals why he chose Alex for this part. “When I co-wrote Munting Tinig, I’ve seen how good Alex is as an actress . I have always wanted to work with her, now as a director and when we were casting for the role, Alessandra perfectly fits the role.”
Manila is scheduled for release within the year. by: Jocelyn Dimaculangan of PEP.ph
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
04:41 PM
Adolf Alix is a Filipino screenwriter and director. Alix graduated magna cum laude from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila with a degree in Mass Communication. He was a scholar of the Public Relations Society of the Philippines. He was co-writer of the multi-awarded "Mga Munting Tinig" by Gil Portes and art director of the prizewinning "Mano Po" by Joel Lamangan.