Oh well. I raved about the "Ploning" poster in philvisualarts. And so I watched the movie earlier tonight. The poster and the movie trailer had all the good vibes of a very satisfying movie in the Carlos Siguion-Reyna mold. And so, I went and viewed the thing with high hopes.
All right, let's get on with it. It was nowhere near the quality of any of Siguion-Reyna's works. But anyway, the cinematography was good. Cuyo, Palawan, looks spectacular. The production design was nicely done--except for the part where the adult Digo visits the old house and the yard looked like it was hurriedly planted with yam and bushes the previous night and in the heat of the day, the wilting plants looked awful and made the entire scene unbelievable. But for most of the movie, the art design was superb.
The acting: unconvincing. Except for Gina Pareno and Eugene Domingo there was no real conviction on the screen. Too bad Domingo's character had to spend her time bed-ridden. Judy Ann Santos and Tony Mabesa sounded dull and flat in the Cuyo dialect. Mylene Dizon tried to inject some spunk but got swallowed by the dullness around her. Tessie Tomas was a breath of fresh air when she came on. The actor who played the tricycle driver had no rapport with the guy who played the adult Digo. Didn't the director make sure those two actors bonded first before shooting?
The young Digo was a tremendously difficult role and I have to say that the boy who played him tried his best but really struggled. Judy Ann also tried her best Nora Aunor impression but wasn't quite up to the task. Ploning's character called for excellent under-acting skills, Judy Ann could not quite conjure the magic this time.
About the plot: Digo was on a quest to find his family. But he didn't look like he was on a life-changing mission. It was a nice touch when people said they knew exactly where to find "Ploning" and led him to a store that sold "Ploning"-branded sweets. There were almost no obstacles to his quest.
The actor who played the adult Digo looked good on the screen but the acting--oh boy, he was a letdown--big-time. I hate to say it but the guy was a disaster. Spanky Manikan, thank god for him, stole the show as Tsuy. The goodbye scene between him and Digo was touchingly effective.
On the non-linear editing: I understand the difficulties of editing, and I appreciate the effort made here. But the transitions to indicate shifts in time were just not good nor consistent. A simple device like "Cuyo, 1982" flashed discreetly on screen or something, to help the viewers piece together the plot, would have been wonderful.
All in all, "Ploning" was a fairly OK movie and I hope it makes good business. Judy Ann should make for good DVD sales abroad, I hope. The producers must be lauded and rewarded for their daring and their attempt to make something fresh and original and thought-provoking. Photography and design-wise, the movie was good. It was the bloated dialogue and the bad acting that nearly sunk it.
The lines were so distracting and took one's attention away from the scenes on the screen. Maybe in the future, Dante Nico Garcia should exert more effort to cut the fat from his writing and let the images speak for themselves. I wished 25% of the speaking lines were cut and the story would maybe have moved better.
And oh, Ploning's huge and showy tombstone at the end of the movie, by the way, I found repugnant and at odds with Ploning's secretive and low-key personality. And didn't its size mar that picturesque seaside cemetery? A travesty.
So there. Will anyone, please someone tell me, when will Carlos Siguion-Reyna make another movie?
