A tearjerker from beginning to end

Rosa Aguirre had a career playing mater dolorosa roles. So did another Rosa — Rosa Mia in a lot of Sampaguita movies. Then there was Charito Solis, who was mother to a hopeless hoodlum, Ace Vergel, in Pieta (recently done on television by Cherie Gil, whose son was Ryan Agoncillo). Five years later, it was also Ace who was a headache to Perla Bautista in Anak ng Cabron and their tandem won for them an Urian each. In 1991, Lolita Rodriguez returned to the Philippines to portray a problematic mother to her large brood in Lucia.

The recent addition to the list is Rosanna Roces, who is a suffering mother in the currently showing indie film Pasang Krus.

Written and directed by Neal Tan, the story of Pasang Krus begins in Isabela where Jordan Castillo is shown being killed by the henchmen of a local politician who is after his land. His execution is witnessed by his entire family — his pregnant wife Rosanna and their four young children.

To save herself and the kids, Rosanna scurries away from home and in the process, two of her kids get lost in the confusion. Rosanna and whatever remains of her brood end up in Manila where she gives birth to her fifth child.

In the city, she and the children start anew. Initially, they live in an abandoned pigpen — until they are able to find a new home in a squatters’ colony with criminal elements around them.

Given their kind of environment, the children all go astray. Ketchup Eusebio becomes a petty thief and later goes into the kidnap-for-ransom business. Christian Burke lands in jail after killing his adulteress wife. The youngest, Beejay Morales, becomes a drug courier.

In spite of her sorry situation, Rosanna doesn’t lose hope and, in fact, still pines for the day she will be reunited with the two children she lost in their exodus to the city. They later grow up to be Joross Gamboa and Empress Schuck.

 Pasang Krus is a tearjerker from beginning to end. The situations are real and happen in everyday life. How many snatching incidents are reported daily? How many packets of shabu are passed on to users with the help of drug couriers? Those criminal offenders must have mothers who suffer in silence over what has become of their children. That is the role played by Rosanna in Pasang Krus, which is another realistic depiction of the city’s decay.

The problem with the film, however, is that it presents problem after problem after problem and there is practically no relief nor let-up and we are drowned by all the misery we see on the screen. Maybe a little breather would have helped from time to time. But we don’t get that.

As a result, we only see pain etched on the face of Rosanna all throughout the film. Fortunately, she has really become a disciplined actress and is able to control her character from going to town and unleashing unnecessary emotions. She has a good grasp of the role and it is mainly due to her performance that this film succeeds as a decent melodrama. Also, it’s quite an experience watching her play mater dolorosa given the very naughty image she has projected in the past both on screen and in her personal life. This is a totally different Rosanna Roces you will be seeing in Pasang Krus. She has a lot of good dramatic moments here that you did not get to see in her previous films — and she made some noteworthy ones under Carlos Siguion-Reyna and Chito Roño.

But too bad for some of the newcomers in this movie, they are often eclipsed by her performance and it is the experienced ones who shine: Ketchup Eusebio (already an Urian winner like Rosanna), Melissa Mendez (although her role is short) and Tita Swarding.

The public exhibition of Pasang Krus is very timely now that we are in the throes of Holy Week because it is a reminder of how we should change and mend our ways. It can also be a great Mother’s Day presentation because most mothers with huge burdens and big crosses to bear will feel relieved that they don’t have the problems of Rosanna in this film. Pasang Krus is truly the mother of all mater dolorosa movies.