A movie that brings out the hero in everyone

Paraiso: Tatlong Kwento ng Pag-Asa is a movie with three inspiring stories of ordinary people who have answered the call to be a hero for others and whose lives have been transformed forever by their involvement in Gawad Kalinga. For a movie that primarily aims to raise awareness for its social cause, Paraiso does not only attain its objectives but is also able to impart a story of human triumph well told. Individually, Umiyak Man Ang Langit (directed by Jun Lana), Ang Kapatid Kong Si Elvis (directed by Joel Ruiz) and Marie (directed by Ricky Davao) have dramatic moments entirely of their own.

Umiyak Man Ang Langit is based on Jocelyn Llorente’s life experiences — that of losing loved ones in the mud slides of St. Bernard, Southern Leyte. The story captures the pain, the internal struggles and the healing that take place in all of us once faced with life-changing events. The opening scene shows Jocelyn (played by Maricel Soriano) holding on to whatever was left of a parol wreath that serves as mute testament to the people who once lived in her barrio that had been buried by mud slides. It’s a desolate landscape with most of the townsfolk and houses buried below ground. It’s the consequences of a man-made disaster as logged over hillsides had given way after days of continuous rain to destroy what was once before, a thriving and bustling community.

Maricel, in a somber voice over, narrates her once happy life with her family and how the tragedy has brought sorrow in her life. Upon seeing this, I knew I had to get my Kleenex out. Palanca-award winner Jun Lana, who has since tried his hand in movie directing, deftly shows the agony of a mother (Maricel) who had lost a child in a tragedy. Maricel as Jocelyn once again exhibits her thespian skills that won her acting awards as she goes through a whole gamut of emotions a parent experiences when tragedy strikes her family. Her restrained acting and adept use of her eyes to convey her deepest emotions come off very naturally that I hear sniffles from the ladies seated on my row. And to think that this was just the opening scene of a three-part movie.

Director Lana is able to handle an award-winning actor like Maricel excellently without having to over-kill the human pathos ingrained in Jocelyn’s life story. Yes, it is a real-life drama based on actual events that intends to show that there is hope after a tragedy and it is the strength of the story and the manner in which it was presented that we are led to believe on the resiliency of the human spirit.

Despite its low-budget allocation, Lana should be credited for being able to beautifully pull off the heart-tugging story which does not exploit the sufferings of the victims in the drama-tragedy. He captures in film the picturesque natural-setting of a typical barrio which makes one want to go back and revisit that special locale in the province where one had spent one’s summer vacations.

The second part of the trilogy is a welcome comic break from the heavy drama depicted in the first episode. Ang Kapatid Kong si Elvis sort of lightened the mood as I was immediately transported to this comedic treatment of a real-life inspired story of a Gawad Kalinga (GK) couple as interpreted by indie filmmaker, Joel Ruiz. With Michael V as one of the lead actors, I kinda expected that the film segment would be an amusing, tongue-in-cheek comedy flick that will crack me up because of Michael V’s well-known talent for making one laugh in stitches. And true enough, it did not disappoint me.

In the story, the GK couple, Didoy and Diday (Michael V and Carmi Martin, respectively), who are actively involved in the GK projects adopt a nine-year old delinquent runaway. The conflict arises when their son, Pepe, shows his dislike for his new "sibling," Elvis. In the meantime, husband and wife continue with their volunteer work, clueless as to what is happening in their household until Pepe runs away from home and Elvis follows. As they travel farther away from home, the journey brings the siblings closer to each other as they venture into inner self-discovery and realization on how much they need each other.

The director orchestrates a fast-paced movie which is matched by the accelerated tempo of the musical scoring. The two new actors who play siblings Pepe and Elvis are also quite a revelation, although the latter has a tendency to exaggerate his actions to elicit further laughs. But all in all, the cast led by Michael V and Carmi, hits a bull’s-eye as the film tackles a storyline that is all too familiar among many households when parents become too involved in their social causes. The film, in short, is a wake-up call to those families that charity does begin at home and that whatever good we do outside should be balanced by the effort in nurturing our family relations.

Marie is the third part of the trilogy and it is a story based on how a tragic loss can be turned into a living legacy and a new beginning. Marie Rose Abad perished in the Twin Tower that marked the black day when terrorists struck the US on Sept. 11, 2001. Rudy Abad through the film honors his wife with a living legacy. In a private screening just recently, Rudy went up on stage to say a few words; his voice cracked with emotions and in between tears, recalled how his wife wanted to do something about the poverty that she saw during her last visit to the Philippines.

It was this thought that drove him, after losing his wife to the 9/11 tragedy, to undertake a life transforming journey back to his home country and through Gawad Kalinga, to build a community as his way of "immortalizing" his wife, Marie.

Cesar Montano, who plays Rudy, as expected, turns in another stirring performance in the movie segment directed by Ricky Davao. The scene where he waits in agony for his wife, played by Lexi Schultz, after the attack on the Twin Towers was heartrending. Watching him lose himself in the days that followed, disheveled, unshaven and utterly desolate would make one’s heart go out to him. Once again, the film shows one the pain of losing a loved one. But how a person turns that pain into something productive is the lesson that we learn from the movie segment simply entitled, Marie.

True to character, the audience can readily see Cesar get into his Rudy personality seamlessly. In essence, Marie is an ordinary story with an extra-ordinary tale of a man whose love for his wife changed not only his life but of others as well.

All in all, the film presents three powerful true-to-life stories of heroism, bringing to center stage the mission and vision of Gawad Kalinga in reshaping the image of the Filipino as socially-engaged, endearing, committed — and finally calling and challenging everyone to reach out to a higher cause, a nobler calling of rebuilding a nation by rebuilding each other.

Paraiso: Tatlong Kwento ng Pag-Asa is produced by Butch Jimenez, Tony Gloria, Tony Tuviera, and executive produced by Bobby Barreiro.