The indie spirit is willing

Film review: Pitas

MANILA, Philippines - Among other things, indie films have always been about non-commercial subject matter and endeavors, a chance for directors to control a film project without mainstream studio considerations (or pressures). Legalas Entertainment’s latest entry into this market, Pitas, dares to mix this indie spirit with outright commercial considerations — it’s a launching vehicle for Star Magic ingenue Kristel Moreno. The film surrounds her with proven acting prowess, indie favorite Sid Lucero as her leading man, the likes of Bembol Roco and Francine Prieto in the cast, and veteran director Joey Romero at the helm of the project. It then takes a straightforward story of young love, aspirations, and social reality, hoping to turn the film into a sharp reminder of life, downward mobility, and the impact that’s created as we hit bottom.

Jasmine (Kristel) is a young co-ed, a member of a campus dance troupe, and pursued by a nerdish fellow student. Scenes of her rehearsing is interspersed with us being introduced to her family (Francine as Jasmine’s mother, and her two brothers) as the family is being evicted from the place they’re renting. Working in the travel industry, Jasmine’s mother is part of the walking displaced due to cutbacks and the worldwide recession. An old suitor (Bembol) is an ex-policeman who fancies himself as a local kingpin, but the emphasis is on “small-time kingpin.” He lets the family live rent-free in one of his old homes, and we discover he runs a scam with pickpockets and bag snatchers. One of these hoods is a neighborhood toughie played by Sid. The love story that ensues is one filled with bittersweetness, dreams that come crashing around our protagonists, and revelations about how our characters live, and hide their shortcomings and failures. Into this shantytown of collapsed aspirations, we see false bravado coined as currency — Sid and his cohort are reduced to pathetic pickings like holding up a pathetic, misguided faggot, Francine’s character constantly believes that things will turn for the better and laments, but hides, the fact that she has three children from three different fathers of varying nationalities, men she met while working as a tourist guide. And Bembol’s character can fancy himself as a local boss, but it only masks just how far he has sunk in terms of principles when set against the fact that he was a policeman.

Hidden motives and agendas come into play to complicate our plot, and bestow soap opera elements to our storyline. If there is a fault to this film, it’s that while the first part of the film, and it’s expository aspect works fine, when the plot thickens and resolves itself, there seems to be a rushed quality to the film. The fight scenes and shooting incident also seems to lack conviction. When revelations about the character of Bembol surface and malevolence sets in, it seems too sudden, with no real foreshadowing. Kristel is a luminous presence throughout the film, and given the breaks, can go far in the industry. Against type, Francine gamely took on the role of Jasmine’s mother and gives it justice, replete with eyeglasses and the perpetual duster. Sid has always had presence and he makes the most of his scenes, making us understand what about his character would make Jasmine fall for him.

So it’s more like “A” for effort, and if Legalas is in for the long haul in terms of film producing, we shouldn’t be discouraging, and just hope that these films will help them improve as they move along.