BERLIN REVIEW: 'Captive,' Brillante Mendoza's Awful Kidnapping Movie, Makes the Case for a Dumber Version of Itself

BERLIN REVIEW: 'Captive,' Brillante Mendoza's Awful Kidnapping Movie, Makes the Case for a Dumber Version of Itself

BY ERIC KOHN
Indiewire

FEBRUARY 12, 2012 10:48 PM

Captive poster in Berlin International Film Festival

After a brief foray into quieter terrain with his 2009 feature "Lola," Filipino director Brillante Mendoza returns to the provocative territory of his 2009 shocker "Kinatay" with "Captive," another grim kidnapping story, this one far weaker in terms of both shock and quality.

A dramatization of the 2001 incident in which Muslim terrorist group Abu Sayyaf took numerous people hostage from an island resort, the movie follows them through nearly a year of hellacious wanderings through the Filipino jungle. At two hours, the best thing that can be said about "Captive" is that it makes you feel the sheer longevity that the hostages had to endure, but that's not enough to salvage this mercilessly redundant thriller.

At first, Mendoza's typically intense shaky-cam style holds promise; the initial rounding up of hostages and the ensuing initiation by their captors maintains a basic level of intrigue. Fiercely devoted to their cause, the gun-wielding outlaws interrogate their affluent prisoners to get a handle on their wealth. On a rickety boat drifting through the empty ocean, these exchanges create tension that quickly dissipates once they make landfall. Then "Captive" settles into a rhythm of running, shooting and shouting, with a few breaks for flimsy dialogue.

If you choose to focus on Isabelle Huppert, a good movie hides somewhere in "Captive." The French actress plays a Christian aid worker boldly shouting down the kidnappers every step of the way; as usual, she's a fiery, engrossing figure whose confrontational moments infuse the story with a tension it otherwise sorely lacks. Mendoza can direct suspense with the best of them, and his command of the medium is such that the early scenes of "Captive" manage to generate palpable fear. But once it fails to realize that potential, Mendoza heads down a road to nowhere.   

The bad movie that mainly defines the "Captive" experience is epitomized by a CGI bird. This strangely colorful (and obviously artifical) being manifests itself at a late moment in the film, after the trapped characters have traipsed around the woodsy terrain for months on end, repeatedly bitching to their kidnappers. The nonfiction backdrop and passing conversations about the politics driving the situation imply that Mendoza wants to make something deeper than a genre exercise, but neither Huppert nor various plot twists can salvage "Captive."

The few intriguing developments -- a forced marriage between a hostage and one of the kidnappers, the unlikely bond Huppert's character forms with an adolescent kidnapper -- come and go like a series of vignettes. When a journalist finds the kidnappers' camp and sits them down for interviews, a prolonged series of first-person confessionals take over as if "Captive" were suddenly an unfunny episode of "The Office." That segment, like a few others, come across with the same misguided superficiality of that CGI bird.

"Captive" lacks any coherent emotional hook or worldly argument, despite taking on form and content that attempts to command both. Instead, it only evokes the sheer frustration of the situation and the ineptitude of various governments to resolve it. Everything is black-and-white: The terrorists are angry, the hostages are mortified. Ironically, "Captive" makes a good case for a movie that could be this dumb on purpose: Only the occasional bursts of gunfire inject life into the frame.   

 

Criticwire grade: D+

HOW WILL IT PLAY? The genre elements, limited star appeal of Huppert and real-life basis may help "Captive" find a solid theatrical life (at least more than Mendoza's previous films), but bad word-of-mouth will likely bury its longterm prospects.

http://www.indiewire.com/article/berlin-review-captive-brillante-mendozas-awful-kidnapping-movie-makes-the-case-for-a-dumber-version-of-itself#

Who’s afraid of DANNY DE GUZMAN?

Who’s afraid of 

DANNY DE GUZMAN?

People's Mayor Danny de Guzman tells some 
sob stories about his office, city and its citizens

MARAMING multo sa Mandaluyong at isa-isa o sabay-sabay na itong nagpaparamdam at nagpapakita sa kasalukuyang nakaupo sa puwesto at sa mga alipores nito.  Balitang maski sa sarili niyang anino ay takot na rin ang incumbent kaya dinadaan na lang nito sa mga tarpaulin, na nagkalat sa buong siyudad, ang panunungkulan nito.

Mandaluyong constituents gather in droves at the 

dilapidated stair and small lobby of the 
People's Mayor's office

         At ayon mismo sa mga nakakaalam sa city hall, takot na takot si Mayor Tarpaulin sa anumang nakikitang tarpaulin ni Mayor Danny de Guzman sa kahit na saang lugar o sulok ng Mandaluyong kaya agad itong pinatatanggal sa mga naglipanang mga galamay.

         Isang ikot sa buong siyudad ng mga baliw at iskwater ay kapansin-pansin na halos walang katiting na tarpauling nakasabit si Danny De Guzman.  Maliban na lang siguro sa kanyang sira-sirang opisina sa lumang city hall building sa loob ng Maysilo Circle na halos nasilo na nang buong-buo ni Mayor Tarpaulin.

         Nakakatakot ba si Mayor Danny de Guzman?  Anong mayroon siya at talagang “threatened to the max” sina Mayor Tarpaulin at ang tropang trapo nito? Isipin niyo, maski tarpaulin lang ni Danny ay pinag-iinitan pa nila.  Overrr... sobra... at lagpas na!  Kaya tama na!

         Takot at di matatahimik ang mga bulok at tiwaling pulitiko na matagal nang pabaya sa kanilang puwesto at trabaho kay Mayor Danny de Guzman.  Sa tunog at dating pa lang ng kanyang pangalan ay nanginginig na ang buong katawan at katauhan ni Mayor Tarpaulin.  Masdan niyo ang mahabang pila ng mga mahihirap at ordinaryong mamamayan ng Mandaluyong na araw-araw ay nagbabakasakaling makita at makausap si Mayor Danny de Guzman.  Lahat sila ay humihingi ng tulong, sa iba’t-ibang pangangailangan, na malugod namang tinutugunan pagdating ng kaibigan, kapuso, at kapamilya nilang si Danny.

         Si Mayor Danny de Guzman ang siyang tunay na “Best Friend ng Bayan” at di ang sinumang pretender na mahirap abutin at lapitan.

A square "halo" befits the 
Most Popular Mayor of Mandaluyong City

         Sabi nga ng isang epileptic patient na matiyagang naghihintay kay Mayor Danny de Guzman sa kanyang opisina: “Ayaw na naming magpunta sa magarang blue building dahil masyadong sosyal ang mga tao roon.  At malamang na masigawan pa ako ng tauhang si Ferdie.”

         Napag-alaman naming si Ferdie ay ang kilalang mahadera at salbaheng bakla na matagal nang empleyado ni Mayor Tarpaulin.  Tunay ka, totoong naglipana ang mga bakla – tago man o ladlad – sa administrasyon ni Mayor Tarpaulin for 15 years.  Is it his way of “making up” for a lost gay love?

         Kapansin-pansin na walang gaybar at walang massage parlor ng mga bakla sa Mandaluyong.  Pero ang buong siyudad ay mistulang gaybar at cruising ground ng mga bakla sa buong Metro Manila at karatig-pook.

         At ang lahat ng ito ay dahil umano sa “fear and loathing” ni Mayor Tarpaulin at ng mga alalay nito.  Matagal nang napababayaan ng mga sinungaling at mandaraya ang mga mamamayan ng Mandaluyong.  Panahon na ng pagbabago at katotohanan. (MJG)

The People's Mayor(fourth from right) with his Power Staff and friends

Pang VENICE Film Festival ang Director’s Treatment ng ‘Thy Womb’

Venice Film Festival web header

Pang VENICE Film Festival ang Director’s Treatment ng ‘Thy Womb’

By Art T. Tapalla

http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/festival/lineup/off-sel/venezia69/sinapupunan.html

TAMA ang sinabi ko: Si JC Nigado (or Julio Cinco Nigado) nga ang nagsulat ng naunang “Director’s Intention” na pinalabas ko kamakailan dito, at ito’y pinatutunayan mismo ng kasama ni kaibigang JC sa trabaho.  Sa katunayan nga ay marami pa umanong ginawa si JC sa Center Stage Productions ni Brillante Mendoza at iba pang local at international award-winning directors maski noon pa.

         Pero bakit masyadong “secretive” si JC pagdating sa mga trabaho niya sa kilalang filmmakers o producers?  Marahil kung di pa alam ng ilan na siya mismo ang nagbansag kay Vilma Santos ng “The Star for All Seasons” noong 1987 ay baka inangkin na ito ng kung sinu-sinong mga nagkukunwari sa media at showbiz.

Brillante Mendoza and Nora Aunor in the film, Thy Womb (Sinapupunan)

         Anyways, isa pang “tagong” material ng pelikulang Sa Iyong Sinapupunan (Thy Womb) ni Nora Aunor ay ang tinatawag na “Director’s Treatment.” Mahalaga ang Director’s Treatment hindi lang sa buong production team, ayon sa isang batikang film insider, kundi pati na rin sa mga requirement ng international film festivals gaya ng Cannes, Berlin at Venice, at siyempre pa sa paghahagilap ng funds both here and abroad.

         O, siya, tunghayan na natin ang kakaibang Director’s Treatment na sinulat ni JC para sa pelikulang Thy Womb (Sinapupunan), an official entry to the Main Competition in the 69^th Venice Film Festival from 29 August to September 8, 2012:

“AS a filmmaker, my overriding concern is to realize and deliver what the writer and I are trying to say in the film.  In Thy Womb (Sa Iyong Sinapupunan), the contradiction between beauty and violence is a recurring motif and their opposing realities must be shown in, and through, space, time and people, as they affect them.

         “Ideally, each scene should yield to the demands of the moment and the place, as provided by the perspective and dynamics of the script, pursuant to my narrative voice.  Meaning to say, every scene, contrasting or otherwise, must be relevant to the philosophy or statement of the film in general.

         “For instance, in the opening scene, an aging village midwife, assisted by her husband, administers the birth of a baby of a young mother.  Ironically, the same elder midwife is unable to bear a child of her own, and has remained childless through the years.  The binary opposition of fertility and sterility is at play here, and charges the scene with mixed, if conflicting, emotions.

         “The same contrast is played out in the final scene of the film, as it reiterates the point made in the opening scene.  But a more powerful metaphor counterpoints life and the birth of a baby by the incidence of a sweeping fish kill on the sea beneath their house, representing a great loss.

         “In terms of performance, I require that a more naturalistic approach to acting should be employed.  The film itself may be identified with a poetic treatment, but the actors’ delivery, with minimal dialogue, must be as natural as possible.  Besides, the actors shall be given enough freedom for them to explore their emotions and space for a more effective interpretation of their respective roles.

         “This, too, goes well with the Bajaus’ means of livelihood, as demonstrated in their skillful mat weaving.  Characteristically, they quietly proceed with their work, alone or together, without a definite pattern to guide them, relying solely on their artistic instincts and inner senses to carry them through the whole process of creating a native and distinct mat.  This is also signified by their way of life as sea-dwellers, as they silently go with the flow, and wherever the currents take them.

         “With regard to production design, the pervading color of the film should reflect the vibrant character of the people and their culture.  The film’s total look should mirror the dominant happy feelings of the characters, as seen in the wedding scene and other colorful rituals, the traditional houseboats (lepa-lepa) and the whole landscape, as it were.

         “In short, the film’s visual design must be fully realized in terms of colors, as they symbolize people, places and events.  Actually, colors define and describe certain states of being—from cosmic to mundane affairs, where everything, in their basic element, moves and probably lives.

         “The cinematography of the film must capture the panoramic view of the location, both in its natural and artificial conditions.  The beauty of the island merely outlines each scene, as the camera gradually closes in to a claustrophobic place or moment, by focusing on the emotions of the characters or the details that are characteristic of an event or environment.

         “For example, at a wide angle, the place looks great and beautiful; but as the camera tightens its shot, we see the dirt and the various imperfections, systemic or not, of a place already ravaged by time and turmoil, thus exposing a beguiling beauty and its deceitful charm.

         “The editing of the film should correspond with the narrative’s leisurely pace, arranging shots/scenes in such a lingering manner so as to capture the prevailing feeling of the moment.  Also, the film’s unhurried tempo must be skillfully matched by a deliberate sound editing to enhance its statement.

         “As for the film’s music, I shall utilize Tawi-tawi’s and the region’s native songs preferably live and unrecorded, as yet, using their very own singers, individually or as a group.  Some music must be composed exclusively for the film, their notes of a nativist beat but with a contemporary sound, and not necessarily ‘ethnic’ or with a ‘deliberate cultural bent.’

         “Overall, Thy Womb is a modern-day tale about a certain people, as they reflect life and living in a damaged culture and history that obstruct their development—past, present or future.”

Dugong showbiz si Raymond Manuel

Dugong showbiz si Raymond Manuel

By Art T. Tapalla

Raymond Manuel/TV Host

HINDI nakapagtatakang mahilig sa showbiz ang 18-year-old na La Salle University student na si Raymond Manuel.  Oo nga’t baguhan at sa Walang Tulugan pa lang ni German Moreno mapapanood nang regular, pero sa kanyang mga murang ugat ay nanalaytay ang dugong showbiz na matagal ng hinuhubog ng panahon.

         Bihira ang nakakaalam na si Raymond ay nagmula mismo sa angkan ng dating movie producer at director na si Manuel Portillo, ang kanyang great grandfather.  Si Manuel Portillo ang nagtatag at may-ari ng MPM Productions na siyang gumawa ng Dragon Force Connection (starring Ramon Zamora) at Mga Bakas ni Magsaysay (with Berrnard Belleza, ama ni Dranreb) noong late 1960s.  Si Portillo rin ang naging director sa mga nabanggit na pelikula ng MPM at marami pang iba, ayon sa anak nitong si Precy.

         Ang mga Portillo ay taal na taga-Mandaluyong at hanggang ngayon ay marami pa rin sa kanila ang naninirahan sa maunlad na lugar ni Mayor Danny de Guzman (na magsisimula sa 2013).

         Si Raymond ay apo ng dating artistang si Venus Portillo na lumabas din sa ilang pelikula noong panahon ng kasikatan ng sexy star na si Rosanna Ortiz (Viola Ortiz ng Jose Rizal College, now Jose Rizal University) noong 1960s.

         Nais ni Raymond na maging all-around or total performer kaya nakahanda siyang mag-workshop sa lahat ng aspeto ng showbiz – acting, dancing, singing, hosting at iba pa.

         Sa ngayon, hinahasa ni Raymond ang kakayahan niya sa hosting sa late-night show ni German Moreno.  Gusto rin niyang sumabak sa pag-arte maski sa indie films kung may pagkakataon.

         Pero nakahanda ba siyang maging bold and daring na kadalasan ay siyang hinigingi sa mga karaniwang indie film? Depende sa role at sa pagkakataon, aniya.  Darating din daw siya umano diyan, in due time, gaya ng maraming artista.

         Balak ni Raymond na magtagal sa showbiz pero hindi raw niya iiwan ang kanyang pag-aaral sa La Salle.  Puwede naman daw pagsabayin ang kanyang studies at showbiz lalo pa’t di pa naman siya gaanong busy sa kanyang showbiz schedule.

         Sa suporta ng kanyang pamilya at mga kaibigan, at sa angkin niyang talino at pagpupursige walang dudang maaabot ni Raymond ang kanyang mga pangarap.