Logos, Pathos, Ethos: Constructive-Destructive Cinematic Devices in the films of Vince Tañada’s “Katips” and Darryl Yap’s “Maid in Malacañang”
By: Joey Ting
Film
is a popular art. After its discovery in the 1850’s by European gamechangers,
phenomenally, film has become origins of various sources of purposes,
intentions and goals but never as a business. These European innovators didn’t
think it would become such popular, hence, taking it as toy for artistic
triumphs. Even the American scientists and innovators have enamored themselves
to pirate, if not copied, the trajectory insights of the ‘cinematographe’
(the camera itself with the power of recording in one machine) to be an
essential framework for this cinematic industry as a profession, like the booming
business industry. Moving forward, as it transgresses time and space in world cinema,
film has evoked the appeal of the logos (logic), pathos (feelings), and ethos
(credibility) through its cinematic devices used to conduct the completion of
the filmmaker’s vision. I recently watched two controversial Filipino films,
Vince Tañada’s “Katips” (PHILSTAGERS Films) and Darryl Yap’s “Maid in
Malacanang” (by VIVAMAX with Sen. Imee Romualdez Marcos as Creative
Producer), produced during this pandemic. I say controversial because these two
films have made people flock together in cinemas, debated upon on social media
platforms (FB, Twitter, Instagram, et. al.), disagreed on various vlogs and
audio-visual recording through YT channels, as well as those traditional
broadcast media such as the TV, radio and print publication diaspora where the
concept of ‘tsismisan’ has made it a Filipino trademark. What a way to
start with the 21st century post-pandemic film arrival!
KATIPS: From Stage to Cinema
The
film ‘Katips’ is engaged to be the notion of musical cinema. Previously, the title
has been staged as a musical theater production of artist-lawyer Vince Tañada-led
theater company PhilStagers back before the pandemic has begun. In the theater,
Director Tañada has intrinsically left audiences in awe of what they see in
their prepared productions as always. The company goes from one province to
another to amass the so-called theater arts as an educational tool. Until
recently, the company decided to have it in the medium of film, particularly
the digital media realm, probably a new space for the company. They chose their
‘acclaimed’ productions such as ‘Ang Bangkay’ and the current, “Katips’
converted into a new popular medium. Director, writer, actor, producer,
organizer, publicity honcho and PR man Atty. Vince Tañada seems to be doing the
old formula as a single unit head (similar to Stanislavski, Meyerhold, Grotowski,
Chekhov, Mabesa, Juan) of what other world artists have tried to do in their traditional
theater companies with a new medium, new audiences, post-pandemic mood, and twenty-first
century interests.
The
film’s narrative centers on a cluster of activists, students and professionals
alike, found in the symbolic ‘Katips Home’, as it is fondly called and emphasized
by the group in the duration of the film against the tyrannical disposition of
the Marcos regime vis-à-vis during the Martial Law period where hundreds and
thousands of activists have suffered from torture, trauma, and oppression. Set
during the 70s, the nearby Katipunan Road, where the University of the
Philippines main campus is located, becomes their safe space. The area of Diliman-Marikina
used to be a terrain and slopes of hills and empty lands until, of course,
commercialism came about to that area.
The
cast of activists include Jerome Ponce (as Greg and Greggy), Vince Tañada
(Panyong), Sazchna Laparan (Lira), Nicole Laurel Asensio (Lara), Johnrey Rivas
(Art), Adelle Ibarrientos (Alet), Joshua Bulot (Estong), Vean Olmedo (Susie)
together with Dexter Doria (Sister Claire), Patricia Ysmael (Sister Josie), Afi
Africa (Bebang), Carla Lim (Lally), Liam Tañare (Fidel), OJ Arci (Xander),
Chris Lim (Ben), Ricky Brioso (Fr. Raffy) with Nelson Mendoza (Ka-Manding). The
abusive policemen as torturers include Mon Confiado (Lt. Sales), Dindo Arroyo
(Sgt. Cabigao), JP Lopez (Sgt. Alagao), Bernard Laxa (Sgt. Manubay). Portraying
the young and the old characters are Marc Rolan Mendoza (young Greggy), Marie
Lupena (old Susie), Domingo Almoete (old Bebang), Annie Pinaverde (old Sister
Josie), Pia Moran (old Lally), Krissy Poriscova (old Xander).
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At the helm of
engaging performances come from the versatile Vince Tañada as he performs both
theatrically and cinematically the character Panyong. Though there were awkward
moments of his mannerisms and distracting tattoos all over his body, he has
able to pull the strings successfully especially in the last scene where he
finds Alet’s body lying. Jerome Ponce's performance is underrated. He also
provides, justifyingly, competent sensibilities in scenes with Vince Tanada. He
is, definitely, a brilliant actor of his generation. His scene with the young
Greggy is ‘organic’ and magically, hyper-realistic. Afi Africa’s character
Bebang should have been explored since the potential performance of Africa is
felt and logically, significant. Adelle Ibarrientos (Alet) has similar argument
with Bebangs. It lacks the transcendence of the character while being raped and
abused by the head villain Confiado (Lt. Sales). Finally, Johnrey Rivas plays
the character Art with audiences in shock due to his skeptic image of nudity.
His portrayal is convincingly voluminous but his character weighs like a paper.
The character should have merited the same ideological representations as that
of Bebang and Alet as to why they do it and for what purpose and intention.
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Artistic personnel
include Vince Tañada (Director and Writer), Base Hernandez and Ronnie Rodillas
(Producers), Pandoy Abanto (Cinematography), Mark Jason Sucgang (Editor), Pipo
Cifra (Music). The music, for me, is the strongest cinematic element of the
film while the picturesque qualities make the cinematographic properties a
potent weapon of ingenuity yet establishes the movements with discomfort and
imbalance. Leitmotif tones linger essentially even after the duration of the
film. Cifra imagines the music as a key element in storytelling with full of
pathos in melodies. Editing did not work for clarity of purpose and transition;
color grading should have distinctly shown between illusion and reality. The
flavors and rainbows of production design are absent in entirety, almost a
failure of imagination. Contrary, the style of narrative (plot and story) it
provides is both informative and entertaining, cinematic in its own merits but
thinnest in character textures, almost one-dimensionality. The opening musical
scene of the film reminds me of a 1979 film “Hair”, also a period opus. I also
liked the juxtapositions of the lovely melody music of each love team. The torture
scenes of Art and Alet are powerful pieces of pathos. The film stretches much
of ‘telling’ rather than ‘showing’, pretty much sure a work-in-progress for Director
Tañada and his platoon.
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The film
"Katips" validates Vince Tanada and the PhilStagers Company their
legitimacy in today's Philippine cinema, making a fit-in-the-hole in cinematic craftsmanship.
MiM: From VinCentiments to VIVAMAX
Luck
has favored Digital Content Creator-Director Darryl Yap, also a native from Olongapo
City, Zambales and founder of SaWakas Theater Group in 2018, during the
pandemic. Among the directors who have the greatest number of productions, Director
Yap has to be recognized as the most prolific of his generation of more than
ten full-lengths and regularly posted shorts produced within the limiting
pandemic haste. This is regardless whether he does it for mainstream or for his
popular vlog site ‘VinCentiments’, a digital media site with short rendezvous affair
in regular bastion of thoughts and insights on the current popular conditions,
scenarios and socio-political struggles. The director has full potential of
becoming edgy, unstoppable, and to say the least, political. Probably, Director
Yap is one of the youngest talents in the current twenty-first Philippine entertainment
icon with unique and controversial lenses in criticality in the metropolitan
society and artistry in the field of cinema and theater.
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The
film “Maid in Malacañang” tremors controversy because of its unique theme,
which is, the narrative from the lens of the Marcoses, to be hearing it after
thirty-six (36) years impoverished. While I consider the presence felt of
Senator Imee Marcos’s in the film as a comeback because of the obvious
character mock of actress Christine Reyes (playing the role of Ime), Director
Yap pushes it still to open the sealed envelope into blasts of anomalous
viewpoints, careless manipulations of historicity and putting vagueness in
clarity of indoctrinated history when the only reason is to agitate the other
political party and make it sound like a game of thrones. The Darryl Yap board
game, in my cinematic experience, is a "poison" film - where
'hypnosis of disbelief' begins with an intermittent twist of witty humor and
terror interspersing with the silhouettes of subliminal cinematic danger and
provocations. That is what makes art a powerful medium of expression and
communication, may it be camouflaged to a mock documentary style or a black
political comedy. This is Darryl Yap’s logos (reason) while continuously
improving pathos (emotions) and ethos (credibility) in his art of craftsmanship
through his 2018’s popular VinCentiments Face Book Page and a graduate of Mass
Communications from Centro Escolar University (CEU) and incidentally, took up
Public Administration degree in Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
He has the guts, the grind, the grit.
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The cast include Cesar Montano (Ferdinand Marcos Sr.), Ruffa Gutierrez (Imelda Romualdez Marcos), Christine Reyes (Imee Marcos), Ella Cruz (Irene Marcos), Diego Loyzaga (Bong Bong Marcos) while supporting characters of Karla Estrada, Beverly Salviejo and Elizabeth Oropesa and the ensemble of cast serves as incidentals and cameos, maids and PSGs are seen to be essential backgrounds. Montano displays his mastery and language of cinema while the lack of his consistent intensity misses its perfection. Gutierrez has refreshed us from her usual loud gestures and styles in acting. In the film, she has behaved like a true Imelda, quieter and soft-spoken. The strength of her scene is with Loyzaga (BBM) on bed. Director Yap intelligently pushes away the camera to the shoes with IRM 2022 contrapuntal statement of Imelda “Hindi na tayo makakabalik.” Loyzaga is as well potentially as that of Ella Cruz, playing the cry-baby interpretation of Irene Marcos character.
Director
Yap has proven his talent for the craft, seeping through his early works in VinceCentiments
with the most controversial BL (Boys Love) episodes ‘Ang Sakristan’; Shorts of
Titser, Pasahero among others and in VIVAMAX with Jowable, Tililing, Revirginized,
Paglaki ko Gusto ko maging #Porn Star one after another controversies, an apt
platform for the current surge of digital media content creations. In turn, the
Rise of UN-Censored Films of Digital Media has been an advantage of VIVAMAX
with their listings of produced works week after week, like in the 90s of REGAL
FILMS. While Yap’s cinematic elements are the usual and ordinary such as
director of photography, editing, music, story and production design, these
artistic team members continue to be empowered by Yap’s vision for change and shake
them all in proxemics.
Scene stealers
Karla Estrada (Yaya Santa), Beverly Salviejo (Biday) and Elizabeth Oropesa
(Manang Lucy) have become poignant central characters in the film. Estrada plays
witty and bully among the maids in the palace. Estrada is effective. Salviejo’s
stand-out scene singing in an operatic manner while Gutierrez takes on a last
look to her symbolic shoes and finally, coughs to stop the music. What an
impeccable timing. Oropesa’s almost perfect performance as Manang Lucy is just
about how acting can just be naturalistic and seamless efforts in front of the
camera angles. She, for me, is the Meryl Streep of Philippine Cinema from her
younger years of bomba films of the 70s-80s to melodramas of the 90s and
contemporary indie genres of early 2000s to present.
TO PATRONIZE OR NOT TO PATRONIZE?
The
two films “Katips” and “Maid in Malacañang” have stirred up issues and concerns
of today’s politics. Did it raise the cinematic experience in Philippine cinema
today or not? Did it offer new perspectives? Did it debunk old ways and
traditions? Did it affect your logos, pathos and ethos? Did it raise global
recognitions among the world cinema market? Are we really on the right track to
global cinema? Is this what we want to present as a loving and friendly
country?
I
consider ‘poison’ films exist in the current Philippine cinema if there are
hidden agenda behind the film production and process. Dangerous and edgy
because it stirs up possibilities and probabilities. Like in Cassavafilms.com,
they enumerated controversial filmmakers who were murdered in whatever
capacities like Theo van Gogh, Adrienne Shelly, William Desmond Taylor,
Thomas Ince, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Francis Boggs, Helen Hill, James Miller, Joan
Root. They have their principles with them. They brought not just
aesthetics but politics. They have taken their films as their medium of
expression and communication, may it be edgy, dangerous, skeptical and they do
not care what others might think of their works perplexed with popular culture.
The recent killing of Dr. Chao Tiao Yumol is a thought to ponder. He has the
highest degree in the field of Medicine (LOGOS vis-à-vis INTELLECT) but he has
chosen to believe that the word DR. does not correspond to the primal PATHOS
(feelings) and penetrated to enter without the LACK OF CREDIBILITY (ETHOS) faced
by Dr. Yumol when entered the campus premsise. The Security Guards will never
think he is capable of doing edgy, dangerous platform of anger, frustrations
and insecurities. Film is like a gun, a weapon and an ideology where filmmakers
do not play for hypocrisy and pretense but taking it with a degree of maturity
and discernment.
We
teach ART to better the society, not to ruin it. We teach ART to better the livelihood
of people in their own capacity. We teach ART to develop new ways and systems
and processes of credibility and convenience. We teach ART to introduce the country
with a newer paradigm and ideology. We teach ART to narrate all these stories
with greatest Filipino aesthetics and criticality.
With
great influence comes with greater power and greatest danger. And ACTION! Think
about it, SERIOUSLY.
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