Every now and then, when i have a lot of free time in my hands and the subject is worth the effort, i turn in feature articles for the Philippine Daily Inquirer's Saturday Special. The editor, Nestor Torre has always been so gracious enough to spare me a few spaces in his section. Today, i will start reprinting here some of my past works in hope of sharing with you some of my thoughts...
As a first installment, i am reprinting an article i wrote about one of my favorite film makers, Maryo J. delos Reyes... read on.
Maryo J., 30 years and 90 films later.
(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Byline: Gabby L. Reinoso
AS if on cue, the heavy downpour came to a halt as I caught a glimpse of Direk Maryo J. delos Reyes making his way into the restaurant. With the heavy traffic building up on the streets, it came as a pleasant surprise that the multi-awarded film director sauntered in punctually for this interview.
Ironic truth
Maryo J.'s last movie, "Laman," was successful despite its R-18 rating. This was sweet vindication for the soft-spoken director, who had to knock on the censors' doors to appeal the X rating they initially gave the movie. While putting the incident behind him, Maryo J. comes up with a ironic truth: "Gusto natin maniwala na high-tech na tayo, pero ang utak natin, low-tech pa rin!"
Perhaps it was not by accident that Maryo's first opus, "High School Circa '65," was a movie about young lives caught up in the moral struggle of the adults around them.
Maryo elicited sterling performances from a host of ensemble actors who breathed life into societal stereotypes with such credibility that some of the movie's scenes reminded viewers of events in their own high school life.
Arena
For the first time, he was thrown into an arena where artistic expression would have to be tempered by business and economic realities. And Maryo was quick to learn. In time, he was turning out a string of commercially viable hits with pertinent themes, like "Annie Batungbakal," and "Bagets."
But before falling into the commercial rut, Maryo admits that his peers who believed in his capability to rise above the box-office formula challenged him. "Tagos ng Dugo," starring Vilma Santos, would be his effective response to that challenge.
The success of "Tagos" confirms the notion that, once balance is attained, quality need not suffer in favor of commercialism. Nowadays, Maryo continues to make commercial films, but he has a couple of surprises up his sleeves.
"I realized that good materials would come to me, but when they do, it takes time to distill them and make them work. Maybe some of them need fine-tuning and adjustments, but when I hit upon good material, I pitch for it and work hard to bring it to life onscreen.
"'Ang Paraiso ni Efren' is one such material," says Maryo. The movie was a look into the world of gay relationships and starred hunk Anton Bernardo and Alan Paule.
Three generations
One script that has come Maryo's way and reduced him to tears is Michiko Yamamoto's "Magnifico Magikero." The movie provides Maryo the privilege of directing three generations of the country's finest actors, including Gloria Romero, Celia Rodriguez, Lorna Tolentino, Amy Austria, Albert Martinez, Danilo Barrios, Allyson VII, Jiro Manio and Dindin Llanera.
But in the meantime, after megging some 90 movies in three decades, Maryo has put another film in the can: "Bedtime Stories" launches Maricar de Mesa in her bid for sexy stardom via its trilogy of "themes and styles" as Maryo describes it. The movie, which tackles sadomasochism, necrophilia and the drug Ecstacy, is a shoo-in as another controversy-laden film.
What about a remake of "High School Circa '65"? "Yes and no," Maryo says. "No, because I do not want to repeat myself. And yes, I would consider a remake but maybe set it in another era, perhaps 1975, the time when our country was experimenting with martial law," he muses, a mischievous smile crossing his face, and eyes lighting up. One can only guess what the man is thinking!
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