Brillante Mendoza: Risqué scenes in ‘Sisid’ are essential

CEBU, Philippines —  For acclaimed director Brillante Mendoza, there’s no other way to put it: Sex sells.

If actors beat around the bush by extolling a film’s supposed lessons or societal messages, and implore viewers to look beyond their erotic scenes, the Cannes-winning filmmaker was more forthright when told to comment on criticism that Vivamax has been churning out one flesh-baring flick after the other.

“We can’t deny the fact that people want to watch sexy films especially Filipinos, for that matter,” said Mendoza, who has probably read of Pornhub’s 2021 Year in Review report that the Philippines was the number one country that spent the most time on the adult entertainment site.

“Knowing that, the responsibility of a filmmaker and an artist is not to merely focus on the sexy scenes. The viewer should see that it wasn’t done just for the sake of it but because it’s very much part of the story.”

Risqué scenes that aren’t gratuitous but are truly essential to the story are what Mendoza endeavoured to achieve in “Sisid”, the Viva Films and Center Stage Productions movie that stars starring Kylie Verzosa, Paolo Gumabao, Christine Bermas, and Vince Rillon.

“Vivamax is a platform that has more than sexy films [in its library]. Because it’s shown online, mas matapang ang content, there is more freedom, mas kakaiba,” defended Kylie of the streamer that has enjoyed tremendous subscriber growth since its January 2021 launch. “‘Sisid’ for one is not just a sexy film. Maganda ang kwento.”

Paolo, who has played a string of daring roles since last year, quipped of the knee-jerk admonition that several Vivamax films offer nothing else than baring flesh, “We focus on reality because films are supposed to mirror reality,” he said.

In “Sisid”, marine biologist Jason (Paolo) and his wife Abby (Kylie) goes to Pola, Mindoro where he is tasked to lead the rehabilitation and preservation of a fish sanctuary. There, he meets his diving assistant Dennis (Vince) and the two hit it off instantly.

As they work together, Jason learns bits and pieces about Dennis and his family. Dennis, in turn, is moved by Jason’s passion for his work. They also find themselves in contradicting problems when Dennis gets his girlfriend Tanya (Christine) pregnant, while Jason and Abby have been struggling to have a baby for years – to no avail because of Abby’s illness.

As days go by, Jason and Dennis develop romantic feelings for each other, eventually giving in to their sexual desires. But their affair takes an unprecedented turn when Abby finds out about Jason and Dennis’ affair and catches them in the act. Abby’s shock makes her illness worse, resulting in her hospitalization. Jason now has to choose between Abby and Dennis, and someone will be left brokenhearted.

As Vince and Christine have worked with Mendoza in several films, they were already familiar with his directing style – one  which Direk Brillante Mendoza first-timers Kylie and Paolo described as refreshing.

“Akala ko medyo lamang ako kasi laki akong indie,” says Vince of Kylie and Paolo who have, until “Sisid,” worked mostly with mainstream filmmakers. “Pero pagsalang nila, nakuha nila yung gustong atake ni Direk.”

Kylie said she immensely enjoyed Mendoza’s liberating approach. “Direk wants the actor to truly feel the scene instead of just memorizing lines. I enjoyed the way of acting that was asked of us in ‘Sisid’ and I feel like I’m going to carry it over to my next projects. It’s out-of-the-box. We have a script but it wasn’t shown to us. We’re just given the blocking and the essence of the scene, and we just have to act within those boundaries. The least of your problems is your lines. You just have to understand what your character is feeling, saan ka pupunta, saan ka galing.”

More than intimidation, Kylie added she felt the need to pressure herself to do well in the presence of Mendoza, an international film festival darling whose brought honor to the country more than once.

“I know if I pressured myself, mas mag-aaral and magfo-focus ako. I was nervous and excited at the same time. The first day was the hardest because that’s when Direk told us how she shoots, but I got the hang of it in the next days,” she said.

Paolo, who first dreamed of working with Mendoza after seeing his limited series “Amo,” talked about how it was easier to do kissing scenes with a fellow actor.

“It’s quicker and more carefree  with guys because you don’t have to be as delicate. It’s more challenging with a female co-actor because you have to be more careful. We have to do our best to respect them and not cross any lines,” said Paolo.

On working with relative newcomers, Direk Brillante said, “One of the things I like about this tie-up with Viva, ipinagkakatiwala nila sa akin ang kwento and concept. When I’m given the freedom, I don’t take it sitting down. I make sure that freedom is worth it.”

“Sisid” is now streaming on Vivamax Plus, the newest pay-per-view service of Viva. Regular streaming will start on March 18 on Vivamax.