Whip Smart

Perhaps the most intriguing figure in French literature, the Marquis de Sade continues to enjoy popularity among modern artists, especially filmmakers. His unrepentant spirit and iconoclasm inspired the surrealists and directors like Pier Paolo Pasolini (whose last film Salo was based on Sade’s 120 Days of Sodom). Benoit Jacquot’s Sade is only the latest film about the controversial writer, but it however differs in its interpretation of the Divine Marquis than in other offerings such as Peter Brook’s Marat/Sade or in the more recent Quills by Philip Kaufman.

Set 10 years before his incarceration at Charenton, during one of the bloodiest phases in France’s history, the film largely takes place at Picpus, a convent-turned-prison under the guise of a mental institution. Unlike Charenton, the inmates here are not lunatics but aristocrats with enough money to buy a reprieve from a date with the guillotine. Already a veteran of such places as Bastille and San Lazare, Sade seems mildly amused if not a little condescending towards his new companions, much like a spider taking time to weave his web. He sets his sights on one particular girl, Emelie, the adolescent daughter of an affluent inmate. Warned by her mother to stay away from the Marquis, she of course finds herself inexplicably drawn to him while feigning horror at his exploits.

The other woman in Sade’s life in the film is his former mistress Sensible who — contrary to what her name implies — goes to great lengths to ensure his safety and comfort. Her current lover Fournier is part of Maximilien Robespierre’s inner circle. Out of his love for Sensible, and despite his disgust at Sade, Fournier uses his influence to help Sade avoid execution. In one scene, Fournier gives Sensible a proposition: if he were to save Sade’s life, would she agree to never see him again? She answers no to which he retorts: "At least you hesitated — that’s a start."

Unlike Geoffrey Rush’s Mad Hatter portrayal of the Marquis in Quills, Daniel Auteuil brings a more textured and multi-faceted interpretation of Sade: he gamely oscillates from playing the part of a world-weary Prospero, the ever-obliging Ariel and, at times, the crazed Caliban in the secluded asylum of Picpus. Also unlike his legend, Sade in the film never shows his taste for brandishing the whip; in fact, at one point, it’s he who begs to be on the receiving end of a lashing. As Sensible claims to Fournier after he beats her, Sade never assaulted her in any way.

"I took the byroads when they wanted me to take the highway," ponders Sade at one point in the film. It is this kind of sentiment that endears Sade to artists and mavericks centuries after his death. His willingness to put himself at the mercy of his imagination connects him to writers from Henry Miller to William S. Burroughs and to painters from Picasso to Dali. His memory endures despite the concentrated efforts of those who to this day wish to suppress him. For anyone who still doubts his influence, and who would extol instead more academic (but admittedly great) choices of French literature such as Proust or Voltaire, the question begs to be asked: how many popular films have you seen about them lately?

Speaking of mavericks, Lav Diaz is the only active director in mainstream Philippine cinema who can lay claim to that title. An exponent of what he calls "true cinema," Diaz’s mission is to "redeem the Filipino soul through cinema." And, unlike others, he delivers the goods.

His film Batang Westside is a five-hour dramatic tour de force examining the death of a Filipino youth in the United States. The story is told mainly through the eyes of an immigrant Filipino police officer as he pieces together the events surrounding the tragic death, fighting his own demons along the way. Much more than a murder mystery but rather a moving collage of disparate Filipino lives, the film is the first true Filipino classic of the 21st century (and the only local film of note since Mike de Leon’s Bayaning 3rd World and Jon Red’s Still Lives).

Batang Westside won Best Picture at the Singapore International Film Festival and 10 awards at the Urian (including Best Picture). The film will be screened at the University of the Philippines Film Center on June 28 at 2 p.m. The screening is sponsored by the Cinema as Art Movement, a UP Fine Arts-based organization.

Don’t miss it because this will probably be the only time you’ll be able to watch this great film as no other theater has the balls to show it. Warning though, be prepared as the film demands a lot from its audience.

Forget Bagong Buwan, American Adobo and whatever godawful movie the mainstream is inflicting on the Filipino audience, support true Philippine cinema and Batang Westside.

* * *

Send comments and reactions to: erwin_romulo@hotmail.com.