Crests, not troughs
Auraeus Solito has three strengths as a filmmaker. One, he draws fine performances from his actors, even those who had no previous acting experience. Two, he can tell a story visually, unlike many Pinoy filmmakers whose movies look like radio drama serials. Three, he knows his strong points, so his confidence is evident even in scenes that might seem problematic. These strengths are on display in his third feature film, Pisay, the intertwined stories of six scholars at the Philippine Science High School in the ’80s. The screenplay is unwieldy—there must be a way to Robert Altman this structure so characters don’t just fall off the margins, the student body seems to consist of 20 kids, and an important character suddenly appears in the last 10 minutes, but Pisay has enough warmth and charm to float over these open manholes. Sure it’s schmaltzy, but high school IS schmaltzy: it’s the time when everything seems to be a matter of life and death, and you act accordingly.
True, I went to Pisay, so the movie had me when the physics teacher opened her mouth (Aiiieee, it’s Miss Basas!). Just to be sure, I polled some viewers who had not gone to PSHS, and they liked it too. Still, there is a moment in the movie that you have to be from Pisay to really get: when Matteo (my favorite actor in a terrific bunch) hears terrible news, his reaction is not horror or sadness, but relief.
Pisay screenings at Cinemalaya at CCP: 22 July at 9pm, 24 July at 9pm, 25 July at 9pm, 26 July at 6.15pm, 27 July at 10am, and 28 July at 3.30pm. For complete screening schedules, venues, and other information, visit the Cinemalaya website. Today, Sunday, I’m watching Endo by Jade Castro, When Timawa Meets Delgado by Ray Gibraltar, and Tukso by Dennis Marasigan.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
July 22nd, 2007 at 09:17
I dug Pisay and I didn’t go to Pisay. True, not as breathtaking as Maximo but I liked it a lot. Maybe because I saw the movie before it? Which is stupid, faint praise I know and beside the point. But I dug Pisay’s ease and confidence. I liked the scene where the mom scrubs her pots and pans and cries and there is no explanation about why she does. She just does. I liked how it made me care for these kids. I didn’t care much about the dying boy’s scene with his lola but that’s part of a fabric that’s rich, knotty, imperfect, makulay, whole.
July 22nd, 2007 at 11:18
“These strengths are on display in his third feature film, Pisay, the intertwined stories of six scholars at the Philippine Science High School in the ’80s.”
correction lang po. eight po dapat instead of six scholars. namely Rom, Wena, Mat, Minggoy, Andy, Liway, Euri, Daki.
July 28th, 2007 at 16:46
Hmmm…I wonder if the film has any reference to my favorite, the wonderful lil’ ol’ Ms. Odel, who made Math much more fun and hilarious than one would ever think it would be with English delivered in her bedroom-voiced, sing-song Ilongo manner of enunciation, sprinkled with such bizarre mathematical terms as “triangohl” and “ehngohl” while wearing pink/orange lipstick, miniskirt, sandals w/ stiletto heels and tube w/ spaghetti straps, protuberant globular tummy unapologetically displayed, her head tilted a bit sideways from class, one eyebrow slightly raised, ending with her signature “hhmmm?!?”; all done apparently in the most sincere earnestness & seriousness, no hint of any sense of irony whatsoever. Once when I went to her cubicle for consult, I saw live chickens in a supot making loud noises down her table. Promise.
Auraeus, during one of our many field trips, also introduced me to my first avant-garde play set not on stage but using all of an old, dilapidated building with the audience right in the middle of the action. It’s great he’s doing films now so more people can experience his brilliance. I have a confession though; I hate that Pisay hymn whose lyrics Jessica references in the title. Why oh why!!!
Oh wait, aren’t we supposed to pay back the school all its expenses (board, lodging, tuition, stipends, etc.) if we decide not to major in Math and Science during college? I wonder if Auraeus did…or for that matter, Jessica. Hehe.