Judy Ann Santos’ Ploning
Rated A by the Cinema Evaluation Board, Ploning’s initial drum-beating had much to do with Judy Ann Santos taking on the title role in a film touted to be this year’s most lyrical and poetic filmmaking effort. There’s even a coffee table book that was launched recently at M Café, Ayala Museum, something we’ve seen highly artistic Hollywood films like Moulin Rouge also have. So with all the noise, critical thumbs up and marketing hoopla, the question left burning in my mind was whether the film’s viewing would actually live up to all the fanfare.
I Am: Looking for:
Some drum-beaters will make it sound like watching the film is as easy to take as the tiniest of pills, that it will go down effortlessly and hit the spot. I’d rather take the tack that the film is not of your common-garden variety, and is definitely not your regular boffo box-office formula movie. Rather, like a great classical music opus, it is a dense work of art, one that requires one’s full attention and patience, but one that ultimately rewards the viewer who makes the effort. At its heart, it is a love story, one of destiny, missed chances, frustration and commitment. And then, there’s the layer of the film that treats the Cuyo village in Palawan as a living organism, giving the film character and texture, subtly acting as a force in its own, directing events and destiny. There are instances when the ritual and ceremony of the community makes the film act like a ethnographic testimony to the Cuyo life - and I say that as a compliment because it renders the film educational and informative beyond the emotive storytelling that drives the plotlines. Also challenging is the fact that much of the film’s dialogue is in the local dialect, with Filipino subtitles helping understand what’s going on.
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