NEWSFLASH

Special to the Philippine Headline News Online
by Alex Jimenez
Newsflash Entertainment Columnist

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GANGLAND'S GRIMY GORE

GANGLAND by the directorial team of Peque Gallaga and Lore Reyes has started to stir the curiosity of moviegoers in Manila as its dark and gory trailer makes the round of commercial cinemas.

As far as we know, this film is among the four Philippine entries to this year's Toronto film festival. It was produced by Tikbalang Films and released by Viva Entertainment's Neo Films.

Puppy love, fantasies on crushes and downright gimmickry predominate youth movies in Manila these days. Be it the TGIS (Thank God It's Saturday) Gang which spawned the unlamented Bobby Andrews-Angelu de Leon tandem or the MARA CLARA soap series that gave rise to the celebrated Judy Ann Santos-Wowie de Guzman team up, the false assumption that featuring teenagers in contrived and overplotted screen romances will get the youth crowd flocking to theaters has been proven false time and again.

The formula worn out by big studios no longer guarantees big business at the box office. Producers fearful of losing their millions refuse to give credence to the shrill shrieks of devoted fanatics who follow their screen idols everywhere but aren't numerous enough to fill even half a theater.

When the fanfare fades out, it is the net earnings of the movie -- after more than two thirds of the gross have been taken by taxes and theater rentals -- that truly determine the box office worth of a movie and its stars.

For that same reason, veteran megman Peque Gallaga and perennial co-director Lore Reyes decided to buck the trend when their creative team at Tikbalang Productions cooked up GANGLAND. This is not a youth fantasy potboiler but generation X engraved on celluloid with the texture and themes of film noire.

That is a tall order for Gallaga and Reyes whose previous outings included the big hits of the last two Metro Manila Film Festivals, MAGIC TEMPLE and MAGIC KINGDOM which were bright fairy tale extravaganzas that revived the legacy of costume epics begun by Dona Sisang's LVN Pictures in the late 40s and 50s, FPJ Productions' FANTASIA in 1964, the full color fantasy that propelled Dolphy's then ailing career back to big time stardom, and Regal Films MGA KWENTO NI LOLA BASYANG, Maryo J. de los Reyes' 1985 costume extravaganza.

The story line of Henry Nadong and Gaby Fernandez is a maelstrom of today's youth caught and confused in the face of gang violence and drug related crime -- subjects which reflect modern day situations. Written for the big screen by Lore Reyes and Erik Matti, these realities are given a melodramatic treatment that doesn't avoid the wham bang of a hard action movie.

Still, the creators of the film refuse to jazz up the effects, save for the MTV-news documentary style clip that determines the pace throughout most of the film and the throb of raw vitality that punctuates live, on the scene news coverage. The end result visually underscores the deadly consequence of lives pulled into drug and crime by blind obedience to peer pressure.

At the heart of the sorry tale of GANGLAND are four school drop-outs embroiled in a deadly gang war after they getting involved in a drug deal gone sour. Michael de Mesa and Gina Alajar's son, Ryann Eigenmann portrays Kano, who stands as the leader of the group. The gang of four includes Jason Salcedo as Orson. Jason was first featured in Gallaga and Reyes' BABY LOVE. Recently, he won the nod of the Philippine Movie Press Club when it declared him as the best male newcomer during its annual awards night. Another impressive young actor is Junell Hernando, a best supporting actor nominee in last year's Manila Film Festival for his portrayal of Jose Rizal's student in Tikoy Aguiluz's RIZAL SA DAPITAN. Junnel essays Tinto. Newcomer Jason Simoy portrays Dodge.

Each of these characters finds himself alone and isolated in a society which, from their perspective, neither needs nor accepts them. Living outside the borders of social acceptance, they are drawn by friendship proffered by members of the gang. The gang exacts unquestioning obedience in return for some measure of acceptance. The self worth of every member then hinges on his usefulness to the gang. The individual members are grateful for the sense of belonging. They use the artificial sense of security to block out the outside world often to their own peril.

There are other important characters in this youth opus: Banjo, leader of the gang of rich brats and rival to Kano. Banjo is an addict with a penchant for antagonizing other people. Rock singer Blakdyak portrays this role. Tessa, portrayed by Lara Fabregas, is the investigative broadcast journalist who tracks the progress of war between the two gangs. Nino Muhlach returns to serious film making in this cinematic vehicle where he plays Tessa's news producer.

Photography and production design were crucial for the concoction of an urban ambience stirred by constant violence and crime. Designer Bradley Meyer and cinematographer Richard Padernal carefully combed Metro Manila and chose locales where gang violence is a way of life. Actors were taught the use of weapons, and stunts were choreographed to maximize realism.

It is impossible to come up with this sort of movie without examining the abyss of nihilism that breeds self destruction as a lifestyle option.

Gallaga and Reyes are no strangers to the dark side of men. No one who seen his more acclaimed works can forget Gallaga's odyssey into the brutalities of war when it tore away the veneer of civilized behavior in 1983's ORO, PLATA, MATA; his exploration of sexual compulsion in 1985's SCORPIO NIGHTS; or even his speculations on the occult and native spiritism in 1988's TIYANAK. The film artist after all, is also a visual explorer who aims to expose the threshold of extreme human behavior whether it involves fantasy, reality or a melding of both.

In some ways, GANGLAND harkens back to the common roots of juvenile violence, which was explored with brutal detail by Mike de Leon's BATCH '81, which examined college fraternities and their rituals some sixteen years back.

GANGLAND does hold abject moral lessons for its viewers. The old bromides, "Crime does not pay;" and "Substance abuse is lethal;" may be true as ever, but it holds no key to the motive engine of the persons who violate them. To behold death does not necessarily mean acquiring the knowledge and wisdom to avoid it. Beyond the blood and gore that stains this opus, one can find a measure of hope.

Call it a cautionary tale if you will, but even as the controversy surrounding GANGLAND begins to boil over, its viewers will confront and even test the limits of human behavior.