Nothing is sacred anymore

Every devout Catholic Filipino home usually has an image of the Sagrada Familia or Holy Family (feast day: Jan. 8) in its altar so that Jesus, Mary and Joseph could serve as role models and protector for members of the household.

Unless it escaped my eyes (or they did, but didn’t focus much on it), I didn’t notice a plaster of Paris image of the Holy Family in the indie film Sagrada Familia. In a way that is good because using the religious image as a symbolism could be such a cliché. Or maybe the production staff deliberately didn’t use one because the family set up in this story by Raquel Villavicencio is not exactly most ideal — far from it.

The root of the problem in this film starts from the patriarch, Robert Arevalo, an unreasonably strict father who brings home a bastard son, Jim Pebangco, to the conjugal home he shares with his wife, Gloria Diaz and their son, Emilio Garcia.

Even if Emilio already has his own family — Snooky Serna and their daughter Lovi Poe — he is still whacked with a belt by his father whose word is the law. Having been exposed to this kind of family environment, Emilio grows up with a screw loose and eventually molests his own daughter while his wife works abroad. This is the start of his descent to madness and the rest of the film is a gripping suspense drama with a pacing that is almost comparable to Jack Nicholson’s The Shining, but minus the horror element.

Some film aficionados may dismiss Sagrada Familia as a Kisapmata copycat. But it isn’t. Kisapmata, of course, is a masterpiece by Mike de Leon. Sagrada Familia, however, is an important work by Joel Lamangan (another one of his films that was graded A by the Cinema Evaluation Board) and it is socially relevant, especially in these hard times when due to lack of opportunities, some children grow up with just one parent because the other one has to work abroad.

And how many sick incest stories do we read in tabloids every day? Those are just the reported cases and picked up by media. What about those that are kept secret by families or the victims themselves? The situation presented by the film is very realistic — even Snooky’s reaction when she eventually finds out what transpired in her absence.

Some moviegoers may take issue with the helplessness shown by the women in the story. But I guess Lamangan and scriptwriter Villavicencio really opt to depict the situation in the most realistic manner possible and that is what we see in Sagrada Familia — the truth and nothing else (the victims always, emotionally shaken and all, believe the threats of the aggressor).

Aside from the very tight writing and direction, Sagrada Familia’s other strength lies in the performances of its cast members. When Emilio won the Urian for Selda, some movie observers may have dismissed that as a fluke. But no, he has really matured into a fine actor. Of course, he is no Vic Silayan in Kisapmata because that is one tough act to follow. But who knows, at the rate he is taking in all sorts of roles in indie movies and getting better in each one, he could be the next Vic Silayan in time?

Snooky, as expected, also delivers another fine performance, but she is already Snooky Serna and we all know she had already transformed into a dependable actress. Even Gloria has a string of acting awards and she can tell her descendants that she wasn’t only the most beautiful girl in the world, but one of the finest actresses as well in Philippine cinema. In Sagrada Familia, Gloria is made to play the role of a woman older than her actual age (but younger than Teodora Alonso in Rizal where she got her first acting trophy) and she pulls it through convincingly. At this point of her acting career, she can’t go wrong anymore because of her intelligence and years of training on TV and in the movies.

Most sympathetic is the part given to Jim. I like Jim’s handling of his character because it is a delicate one since he has to deal with his stepmother’s resentment toward him and at the same time is on excellent terms with half sister-in-law, Snooky. Again, it adds so much realism to the story. Felix Roco, as Lovi’s boyfriend, also does well, but it is not a very lengthy role.

The biggest surprise in the film is the delivery of Lovi. The truth is, I was only half-surprised because I saw and reviewed Walang Hanggang Paalam last December and praised her for her performance in the film. However, her role in Sagrada Familia is far more difficult and complex. Any other young actress would have choked on it, but not Lovi. She is now on her way to becoming an important actress and you better see Sagrada Familia if you don’t believe me.

Unfortunately, Sagrada Familia is not a movie for the entire family because of its very sensitive topic. In fact, there is an ugh factor to it because of the topic of incest. But movies are supposed to mirror life and Sagrada Familia only shows that in this world, nothing — not even family relationships — is sacred anymore.