by Ricardo F. Lo

Curtain-raisers:

***

Just hours after dominating the Enpress (Entertainment Press Society) Golden Screen Awards in Manila with six major honors including Best Motion Picture for Drama and Best Director for Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil, Boses was screened in New York City last May 1 with some 600 people in the audience unanimously raving about its intense direction and artistry plus brilliant performances that draw attention to the issue of child abuse as a grave social ill.

This is according to Funfare’s Big Apple correspondent Edmund Silvestre (of The Filipino Reporter).

“I’m giving it a nine out of 10,” Edmund quoted Deputy Consul General Melita Sta. Maria-Thomeczek as saying after the screening sponsored by the Assumption Alumnae Association Abroad (AAAA), headed by Linden Martinez, at the spacious Apostle Hall of Church of St. Paul in Manhattan. “The story line is excellent and very relevant to our times, and the direction stunning. It raises our consciousness on the problem of child abuse with a message that all of us can make a difference to finding solutions to challenges in our society.”

Said Dr. Ching Legarda, a member of AAAA and one of the screening’s promoters, “We need a movie like this every now and then, and more relevant directors like Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil.”

Edmund said that Ellen and cast member Ricky Davao (who does a magnificent performance as an abusive father) were flown to the event which was for the benefit of various agencies giving voices to abused or exploited Filipino children —Daang Sine Foundation, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the Council for the Welfare of Children.

Boses lead star, first-time child actor Julian Duque, a real-life child prodigy, won the Enpress Breakthrough Performance by an Actor award for his role of a mute, battered boy. He beat in that category his co-star Coke Bolipata, a Juilliard School graduate and well-renowned violinist, who effectively played Julian’s violin mentor and “savior.”

Julian, who obviously won the hearts of the audience with his raw acting talent, was not at the screening. But his brief videotaped greeting that night prompted an awed crowd to cheer.

“That boy will go places not only as a violinist, but also as an excellent actor if guided properly,” remarked concert producer Alice Ojeda-Martinez. “The boy is a virtuoso.”

After the film showing, Ricky staged an hour-long concert with New York-based music genius Michael Dadap accompanying him in the guitar.

Thank you very much for coming to my debut concert,” said Ricky, half-jokingly.

Observed Edmund, “Actually, Ricky can sing very well.”

“We didn’t know he’s a good singer just like Gabby Concepcion or Christopher de Leon,” said businesswoman Fely Ong, owner of the popular Jeffeli Digital Photo & Video in Queens. “He can front-act for big concerts here.”

Ellen, who first found fame with her directorial debut, the award-winning indie film Mga Pusang Gala, said she’s now scouting for investors for two new scripts as a follow-up to Boses.

“One script is about an OFW from Iraq who comes home,” she shared. “The other is a love story that is also about the environment.”

Ellen also had her share of mainstream filmmaking. In fact, her first job was as the assistant to line producer Bibsy Carballo for Himala, starring Nora Aunor and directed by Ishmael Bernal. In her second film, she was continuity director for Mike de Leon’s Sister Stella L, starring Vilma Santos.

“I realized, ‘My God, I worked with two great Filipino actresses and two great Filipino directors’,” she gushed. “It’s fantastic, and I’m happy I’m also directing now. I hope I can direct Vilma or Nora in a film for international competition. “

The articulate and jolly director disclosed she has signed a contract with almost all major film studios, but admitted she has not done any single project for any of them.

“Either because of our differences in casting, in budget, or maybe I’m also a little stubborn sometimes,” she laughed. “I think I am really meant to go indie because then I have all the leeway, the material that I want and even the way I distribute it. I am loyal to my material and also to my audience. I want to communicate with them. That’s why I don’t want to call myself an artist. I’m a communicator. I’ll feel sad if my film cannot communicate to my audience. I keep that in my mind without being dishonest to my material.”

Veteran filmmaker Ellen Ongkeko Marfil reminds us of the most crucial role in making films. Besides her love for art, she stresses on enriching the mind and touching the heart.

as told to MARGAUX SALAZAR

portrait MAAN PALMIERY

This country is so focused on economic development, but we also need a certain cultural consciousness to enrich the country.

“I grew up with the 35mm film. Now that digital films are on the rise, I can very well say it’s the most exciting medium. I’m so glad I’m very much active now. Digital film is like the new ballpen. Just as anyone can write, now anyone can make films. It’s a medium of communication. But filmmaking is a very risky business.

I did Pusang Gala even before the first Cinemalaya in 2005. Prior to that, I tried working on the mainstream circuit—as a producer for Star Cinema and a director of Maalaala Mo Kaya. But with indie filmmaking I feel like I’m in full control of everything—the vision, the material, the casting, the marketing, and distribution. Plus I get ownership of the film, which is very important. After doing Pusang Gala, I realized ‘this is for me.’ Digital allows me more freedom as well because it’s not that expensive.

Cinemalaya’s Boses, which was written by Froi Medina, won best script at the Cinemanila screenwriting contest. It is a melodrama about a battered child, who, once brought to a shelter meets a reclusive violinist. They discover and help each other with the significance and influence of classical music in their lives.

I would jokingly tell renowned violinist Coke Bolipata (who played the lead) ‘this is not an art film, it’s a melodrama.’ But when I say melodrama it’s not over-acting. It’s an appeal to the emotion, not a cerebral type of film. I have a very important advocacy here—violence against children. I want it to be watched, of course, by the most number of Filipino children. I’m also glad because I was able to get institutions concerned with children’s rights as partners throughout the process.

The funny thing is I had three materials submitted to Cinemalaya, I didn’t think this was the one that was going to be accepted because, first, it was the most expensive.  Second, it’s not very “indie,” (since indie is sometimes synonymous to experimental). This is traditional, linear, and three-act storytelling. But it got in. It was the one that finally got in. The seed money was only P500,000 and I was not sure how to market it. But, thankfully, I got artists, good artists. I got Coke and this boy Julian Duque who’s such a fantastic boy. I even got veteran cinematographer Nap Jamir. I worked with people who did not need or want to be discovered, but with great and talented artists. I was so happy they were interested in the material though there was no money involved in it.

Of course, I got the support of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the CCP (though it was insufficient for the film’s budget). I also gained monetary support from the United Nation’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Center for the Welfare of Children (CWC), because they have an advocacy on violence against children and they liked the material. With the aid of these organizations, I was able to prolong my production.

I have always wanted to do a film for children because I have a son. I wanted something I could share with him. A film where I could bring him on set with.  My boy studied violin, too. So this story was perfect. I was telling my son, ‘Anak, ang dami mong swerteng na-ibigay sa kin (you brought me so much luck).’ And I later realized that because I did this for the children, I was able to receive a lot of blessings. This film was successful, well-received, well-reviewed. I don’t know how far this film will go but our goal is really to reach a lot of people. Also, I want this film to be seen by the most number of Filipinos, children especially.

The only major problem in our country is distribution. There are lots of grant-giving bodies, lots of good filmmakers, and lots of good films but they are not being watched by the majority of the population. CCP is doing its part and every year Cinemalaya’s audience is growing. As they get exposed to good films, they keep coming back for more. But we need to expose the Filipino audience even more. Because in the end they will sustain Philippine filmmaking.

We need to sustain the independent filmmaking industry as these films help the cultural consciousness. It’s part of educational development. This country is so focused on economic development, but we also need a certain cultural consciousness to enrich the country. I believe that if you try it through the cultural path, you can also enrich the economic path. It’s also for the sustainability of the artists as majority of indie filmmakers don’t survive on this. There’s a plight and filmmakers can’t be making indie films as their bread-and-butter. Yet I always think that what one does for his or her soul is also something that should sustain him or her. We have to share that consciousness. Even encourage filmmakers from the provinces to make more films.

What’s advantageous about digital film is there’s no monopoly. Voices of so many people can now be heard. If there was a monopoly, the ideas that come out are from a select group of people, but because of digital technology, it is so democratized. More ideas can be seen and heard. That’s the best thing with Cinemalaya, all films are beautifully unique. With stories you’ve never heard and stories you don’t get to hear in mainstream movies. It’s so good to share this to the people.

One of the joys I experienced just recently was when people from the audience came to me after seeing the film. They would hug me, and it’s not that they would congratulate me, but they would thank me. It was so heartfelt. Then after the screening on my last night, there was this man, he was just touching my hand and he couldn’t utter anything. He was just so stroked by it. For me it’s one of the best compliments—that I was able to move them. Because filmmaking is not always about the fame and prestige. Though attractive, the most important part is still is reaching or telling something to your audience through an inspiring story. I hope to trigger a great impact to the minds and hearts of Filipinos. I’m not really sure if I do, but I try, I try.”

TECHNICAL ASSESMENT: 4

MORAL ASSESMENT: 4

CINEMA RATINGS: FOR VIEWERS AGE 13 AND BELOW WITH PARENTAL GUIDANCE

Boses is a tale of compassion, strength of the human spirit and the redeeming power of music. It tells the story of Onyok, a 7-year-old victim of child abuse in the hands of his father. Rendered mute by a physical trauma that damaged his larynx, Onyok (Julian Duque), who lives with his father in a countryside village, is rescued by police and taken to a shelter for battered children owned and run by the kindly Amanda (Cherry Pie Picache). His speech disability aggravated by the psychological burden of being kept away from his cruel father makes Onyok despondent. One day, seeing the other children taunting a man who lives in a house near the shelter, Onyok becomes curious, especially as he later on hears violin music coming from the house. He soon discovers that the man is the violinist Ariel (Coke Bolipata), the brother of Amanda who has abandoned his career as a concert violinist in Manila to live as a recluse, apparently in grief and guilt over the death of his woman. Onyok’s fascination with violin music leads him to investigate around Ariel’s house when it is empty. Sensing the boy’s interest, Ariel in time subtly manages to encourage Onyok to try the violin, and soon discerns a prodigy in the timid boy. A friendship very gently blossoms between the recluse and the battered child, until the boy is ripe for a recital to be witnessed by his father.

Boses is more than just a movie; it is a film that communicates its message to the soul using the soul’s language: music. And not just “muzak” as often used by cinematic potboilers, but music issuing from the bowels of the violin in the fullness of its range from playful to plaintive. Boses is a rarity in the Philippine cinema industry which tends to churn out movies catering to popular taste. It has an educational value in the sense that the violin – a prominent instrument of classical music with which only priviledged Filipinos are familiar – becomes an indispensable part of the film. First, although the film is about child abuse, the protagonist happen to be a violinist, thus, the ubiquitous presence of the violin in it. Second, the musical score cleverly utilizes violin music which complements and enhances the emotional facet of the film. Third, the two lead actors are real life violinists, therefore their performance is not faked, but rather a unique privilege for the viewer who enjoys a bonus concert along with the movie. Boses also brings to the fore the serene charm of the countryside as it uses open spaces – seashores and fields – as backdrop for the clandestine violin lessons between violin master and prodigy.

Considering that the majority of the cast are first-time cinematic actors, Boses comes across as a credible reflection of real life issues, such as child abuse, and to a lesser extent, man’s inability to cope with his own weaknesses – as exemplified by the alcoholic abusive father and the reclusive violinist. The abusive father takes out his frustrations on a helpless child; the reclusive violinist punishes himself by wallowing in sorrow and remorse. But the innate good in man is also highlighted in the character of Amanda who deals with her brother, the victim-children, and the violent father with great patience, empathy and comparison. Boses should be seen and enjoyed by as many people as possible, especially the young and those who have anything to do with the young, whether they are teachers, lawmakers, law enforcers, media people, guidance counselors, social workers, religious educators, or plain parents.

CBCP CINEMA

July 23, 2008

Hindi na napigilan ng young actor na si Baron Geisler ang umiyak habang tinatanggap at nag-i-speech sa harapan ng mga nanoood ng awards night for Cinemalaya kagabi, July 20, sa CCP Theater.

Si Baron ang itinanghal na best actor para sa pelikulang Jay. Kahit umiiyak, nagawa pa rin magbiro sa umpisa ni Baron na hindi niya raw ine-expect ang pagkapanalo kung kaya’t may ginawa na siyang speech in advance.

Nang makausap na nga ng PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) si Baron after mag-photo op ng mga winners, sinabi niyang hindi raw niya ine-expect na siya ang makasungkit ng Balanghai trophy ng Cinemalaya for Best Actor.

“Hindi…marami kasi akong nababasa. E, kapag mga ganitong bagay, kapag nano-nominate ako, nawawala ako sa sarili. Siyempre, sobrang high. So, gumawa ako ng speech galing sa puso ko at hindi ko napigilang umiyak dahil ang daming review rin sa kid [Julian Duque] doon sa pelikulang Boses. Lahat ng sumali, makikita n’yo na lahat, mahuhusay po,” simulang pahayag ni Baron na obviously, hindi pa masyadong nakaka-recover sa pagkapanalo niya.

Nasa isang tabi lang daw siya nang ina-announce na ang category nila kunsaan, katabi raw niya ang kanyang ina.

“To tell you the truth, doon nga po ako sa side, pagkatapos naming mag-present, nagtago na ‘ko sa side. At sabi ko nga, you know what, I’ll give this to the kid. Kasi this kid…he deserves it, he’s good,” sey ni Baron na umaming hindi nga lang daw siya nagkaroon ng chance na mapanood ang Boses kunsaan, bida ang batang biyolinista na si Julian Duque.

“Hindi ko siya napanood, pero, ang daming nagsasabi sa akin na maganda nga raw ang feedback, magaling yung bata. So, ang ginawa ko, umikot na lang ako at tinabihan ko ang mommy ko. So, siguro, siya yung nagbigay sa akin ng good luck.

“E, ang mommy ko, ngayon lang sumama sa akin. Ang hirap pasamahin ng mommy ko, e. So, siguro, siya rin ang nakapagbigay ng good luck charm sa akin.”

Iniaalay raw niya ang kanyang tropeo sa lahat ng bumubuo sa pelikula nilang Jay.

“Minsan umiiyak kami, nagmamakaawa kaming manghingi ng pera. Very humbling yung experience, so, it’s all worth it. Maraming salamat po.”

PEP asked Baron kung gaano kaespesyal sa kanya ang award?

“Ah, it’s very special pero, hindi pa ‘ko makapag-isip sa totoo lang, pero it’s very special. At mas special ang pelikula at ang mga taong gumawa at nagbuo ng Jay kesa sa award na ito siyempre.”

Hindi lingid sa lahat ang pinagdadaanan ni Baron ngayong mga isyu at intriga sa buhay niya. Puwede niya kayang masabi na kahit paano, he feels vindicated because of his award?

“Wala pong kinalaman ang award na ito sa mga isyung nangyayari sa akin, pero, itong award na ito ang makakapagbigay sa akin ng alaala. Na ayusin natin ang ating trabaho at maging mas matino or mabuti tayong tao.”

Brutus is the first full-length feature of Iloilo native Tara Illenberger, that won the Jury Prize (equivalent to 2nd best picture) in the Cinemalaya film festival and competition last July. We’d heard good, intriguing things about it, so that we weren’t disappointed when we decided to catch its last CCP screening on a rainy Saturday before the winning entries moved over to the UP Film Center for August playdates.

Subtitled Ang Paglalakbay, Brutus is roughly the story of two Mangyan kids who help transport illegally cut logs in Mindoro, a clandestine operation given the slang term “brutus.”

The elder girl and younger boy each have their separate family concerns to deal with: the girl looking for an elder brother who has gone missing while doing his own brutus, and the boy wanting to raise enough money to buy medicine for his sick younger sibling. Their journey down the river while transporting the illegal logs hidden beneath a bamboo raft, and the varied persons and characters they meet along the way, are what mostly comprise the film that also won best musical score for Joey Ayala, best cinematography for Jay Abello, and best supporting actor for Yul Servo as the communist cadre who befriends the kids while on the run from the military.

Ayala’s score fits the movie to a tee, his ethnic world music instrumentation giving emphasis to the proceedings, hand in glove with Abello’s quiet, scenic landscapes that capture well the Mindoro countryside and the fast fading culture, a conjunction that is like a portrait of the artist as a Mangyan.

The Ayala siblings seem to be a favorite of the indie circuit, themselves being independent musicians, as Joey’s younger sis Cynthia’s Comfort in your Strangeness was used as soundtrack for last year’s Still Life, and then two years ago Joey’s Walang Hanggang Paalam played in the background in the denouement scene of Donsol.

Abello, a protégé of Bacolod son Peque Gallaga, again exhibits his lyric bent with camera, same way he did in his Ligaw Liham last year whose duotone, period piece look was most pleasing to the eyes.

But it is to the newcomer Illenberger’s credit that the movie succeeds in its own unpretentious pace, with the right amount of social consciousness thrown in without being pedantic about it.

Her two teenage actors too are a refreshing sight, who we are told are authentic Mangyans doing their small part to help save the vanishing forest. The girl in particular reminds us of Rebecca Lusterio when she first appeared in Cesar Montano’s Panaghoy sa Suba, with the same kind of earthy, unspoiled appeal. When she puts on blush on with achuete and fixes herself up to gain the cadre Ka Milo’s notice, the close-up of her pays indirect tribute to another coming of age film in the first Cinemalaya of four years ago, Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros. But this time the rite of passage is for a real dalaga.

Even Ronnie Lazaro stars briefly as a soldier whose toothache is cured by some native medicine, and whose ultimate showdown with Servo is no mere footnote to the senselessness of the ongoing war among Filipinos.

The strength of Brutus, and Illenberger as well, is the subtle advocacy, no hardsell that would make the story and the director’s vision suffer. It gets its message across well, the grandness of its cinema noir a counterpoint to the understated tone.

The only other women director who made waves in Cinemalaya ’08’s full-length feature category was Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil, whose Boses tells a bittersweet tale of friendship between a reclusive violinist and a boy recovering from the trauma of parental abuse.

As far as we know this is only the second film of Ongkeko, after the critically acclaimed Pusang Gala some years ago, though a script/film treatment of hers was shortlisted in the same competition last year, a type of provincial horror movie.

What was striking about Boses was not the riveting violin playing by Coke Bolipata whose distracted demeanor was perfect for the role, but the suffused, available light photography of the veteran Nap Jamir, who also did Maximo Oliveros.

Again the child actors here are a revelation, both the traumatized kid who turns out to be a musical prodigy, and his best friend, the swarthy girl who was also memorable in Pablo Biglang-awa and company’s Inang Yaya.

An indie production such as this would be incomplete without the strong support lent to it by actors Ricky Davao (who also starred in Pusang Gala) and Cherry Pie Picache, another indie favorite.

The advocacy against child abuse may be heavy-handed at times, and the melancholic violin work doesn’t help calm down things any, but Boses remains a thoroughly entertaining film without having to make commercial concessions.

Ongkeko knows her child psychology well, and the film itself is well thought out, from the catharsis scene of the kid at the beach to Bolipata’s coming to terms with the death of his lady love, although he was visibly bashful (is that the right word?) in his kissing scenes with Meryll Soriano.

An added treat to Boses is that we get to see the lay of the land in Bolipata’s Zambales retreat, where in real life he trains actual prodigies, some no doubt having themselves suffered a form of abuse, or are we merely imagining things.

That final concerto where student and master play together in a reinforced quartet, is one classical tableaux that can never overemphasize the strength of spirit, and how film can be a manifestation of that spirit.

Both Boses and Brutal utilize ghosts as peripheral characters in the plot line: the violinist’s dead girlfriend and the Mangyan girl’s departed father and elder brother, all of them like elementals or guides or totems of conscience.

Much like films like these have affected not only the mainstream but also their fellow indies, creating another path in the wilderness with a distinctly feminine mindset and sensibility.

By: Nestor U. Torre

Philippines Daily Inquirer

Saturday Special, July 19, 2008

Compromised identity

A distinct pleasure to watch is ELLEN ONGEKEKO-MARFIL’s “BOSES”, which delves into the unusual bond that unexpectedly develops between a morose violinist (Coke Bolipata) and a battered boy.

The boy, Onyok, is brought to a shelter run bu the violinist’s sister (Cherry Pie Picache), after his father (Ricky Davao)beat him  up and used his back as an ashtray. Completely traumatized, the boy loses his voice, hence the film’s ironic title.

More eloquent

It turns out, however, that the boy eventually finds another, more eloquent voice in the music he creates with the violin, which he learns to play under the master violinist’s tutelage.

The film inspires because it shows that the boy isn’t the only one who benefits from the relationship: The violinist is so heartened by his musical prodigy’s progress and becomes so protective of him that he eventually forgets his own traumatic experience, and learns to live for others.

True, the movie is too “arty” at times, and the death of the violinist’s beloved (Meryll Soriano) is too melodramatically staged-but, “BOSES” compensates for these and other low points with its stirring depiction of two losers who end up winning big.

The film is made even more compelling by the stirring performances turned in by the boy who plays Onyok, Davao, Picache-and, most of all, by Bolipata, who moves us not only with his unexpectedly felt and insightful portrayal, but also with his musical performance, which is an overwhelming experience.

A famous musician once told us that Bolipata is one of the world’s finest string artist. Now, we know why: The amazing evidence is there for all to belatedly marvel at in “BOSES”.

(Phippines)

By RICHARD KUIPERS

Powered By

A Cinemalaya presentation of an Erasto Films production, in cooperation with UNICEF, Casa San Miguel, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Council for the Welfare of Children, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Film Development Council of the Philippines. (International sales: Erasto, Quezon City, Philippines.) Produced by Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil. Executive producers, Ongkeko-Marfil, Martin P. Marfil. Directed by Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil. Screenplay, Froi Medina, Rody Vera.

With: Coke Bolipata, Julian Duque, Cherry Pie Picache, Ricky Davao, Tala Santos, Meryll Soriano.

Music mends the troubled souls of an abused child and a reclusive violin player in the uplifting “Boses.” Filipina helmer Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil’s second feature is a sensitively handled plea for the rights of children and tackles unpleasant truths with great integrity. Shown in schools and community venues since July and with a commercial release planned for late November, pic, starring real-life violin master Coke Bolipata and his student prodigy, Julian Duque, is a good addition to midlevel fests.

Losing his ability to speak after being beaten by his father, 7-year-old Onyok (Duque) is removed to a children’s shelter run by the saintly Amanda (Cherry Pie Picache, “Foster Child”). Staying nearby is her brother, Ariel (Bolipata), a concert violinist traumatized by the death of his girlfriend. Drawn to the sound of Ariel’s playing, the boy takes supervised lessons and reveals an extraordinary gift for the instrument. Placing the expressive face and brilliant playing of Duque centerstage, pic is enlivened by a lovely friendship that grows between Onyok and plucky girl Shirley (Tala Santos), and by the poignant rehabilitation of the boy’s father. Tech package is simple and effective.

More than one option

• (Person) Cherry Pie Picache
• (Person) Cherry Pie Picache

Actor

Camera (color, HD), Nap Jamir; editor, Orlean Tan; music, Coke Bolipata, Jourdann O. Petalver; production designer, Bianca Gonzalez. Reviewed at Hawaii Film Festival (Asian Showcase), Oct. 11, 2008. Tagalog, English dialogue. Running time: 98 MIN.

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Alfonso “Coke” Bolipata, violin virtuoso, pedagogue and indefatigable administrator of the San Miguel Music Center, has added acting to his multi-faceted career. He plays the lead in “Boses”, an experimental film adroitly directed by Ellen Ongkeko Marfil.

There is logic in making the San Miguel Music Center in Zambales the main location of the film which focuses on Coke as Ariel, the eccentric violin teacher, and his student Onyok, in real life Julian Duque, the violin prodigy whom Coke actually teaches at the Music Center.

The heart-warming story is based on F. Medina’s Tinig sa Dilim, runner-up in the Cinemanila 2007 scriptwriting competition.

In “Boses”, Onyok is the son of a child-beating father who has been sent to prison for his brutality. Meanwhile, Onyok, mute owing to an early malady, is sent to a rehabilitation shelter for children.

Ariel, whom the inmates regard as crazy, meets Onyok who, in his effort to escape the bullying of his fellow boarders, hides in Ariel’s studio. After discovering Onyok, Ariel takes a fancy to him and discovers, further, the youngster’s extraordinary musical talent.

The script seems to have been expressly written for Coke and Julian. A strong bond grows between mentor and pupil, and that bond is music. Inevitably, there are remarkable demonstrations of Coke’s tremendous musical gifts as he plays solo or together with his real-life student Julian. These precious moments alone make the film worth seeing by music lovers and aficionados.

Family relations are sensitively delineated, and the many highly-charged  emotional scenes tugging at the heart are made even more compelling by the acting skills of the cast, primarily of Coke who gives a magnificent portrayal, and of Julian who is an engaging natural actor. Cherry Pie Picache as Ariel’s sister, and Ricky Davao as Onyok’s father contribute their substantial emotive share to the film.

As an interesting aside, Julian, who has appeared in concert with Coke, is the son of a fisherman, and is the youngest member of the community orchestra organized by Coke, which ensemble consists of Zambales’ families from all walks of life.

Hopefully, “Boses” will be an entry in an international film competition, despite certain technical limitations.

The story seems inconclusive. There is a hint of Onyok returning to his father who has been released from prison, but as we are all aware, cruel fathers seldom reform. The viewer finds consolation in Ariel assuring  Onyok earlier that he will always take care of him. The love affair between Ariel and his pregnant girlfriend is likewise inconclusive, and leaves the audience wondering about the affair.

However, the film has powerful emotional appeal, electrifying musical scenes and intrinsic moral values which raise it several cuts above the average movie. An Erasto Films Production, “Boses“ was premiered at the CCP main theater with English sub-titles for foreign viewers. See it at its regular showing!

Tonight at “A Classic Evening” in St. Cecilia’s Hall, widely diverse works for duo-piano will be rendered by Marguerite M. Echaus and Martha Brickman, both distinguished faculty members of the Vancouver Academy of Music and highly seasoned  concertists, guest pianist Priscilla de la Fuente-Sison and J. Greg Zuniega, both teachers at the St. Scholastica College music department. Greg, who took further studies in Moscow and London, received the Queen Elizabeth award from the Queen Mother. He has concertized extensively abroad.

Tonight’s benefit concert was organized by Marguerite Echaus.

Medel recital

Thirteen-year old  Lorenzo Bueno Medel, pianist, will play a formidable program — Bach’s Prelude  and Fugue Book 1, Mozart’s Sonata in C Major, Liszt’s Giromenreigen and Mendelssohn’s Concerto No. 1 in G Minor — on Aug. 2 at F. Santiago Hall. Lorenzo won first prize in a 2007 Bach tilt. Admission is free.