SEPTEMBER 13, 2013
Right now, so much praise has elevated Erik
Matti’s ON THE JOB to somewhat an instant classic and is even often called one
of the best Filipino movies in years. It’s a culmination of the current
Philippine film scene, no doubt. I’ve seen it coming its way as a result of
much (late) advancement in local cinema and from a director who has hop
scotched from the independent scene to the mainstream, specializing in horror
(VESUVIUS, 2012; PA-SIYAM, 2004) and action (GAGAMBOY, 2004). A fusion of both
genres made Matti’s notable film TIKTIK which proved its existence and
screenings as a groundbreaking event in local cinema. This is due to its
prominent use of CGI that produced very seamless images we have never seen
before (in a local sense). There is no doubt that Matti’s ambition of taking
cinema one step further is manifested once again with ON THE JOB – but with
these mentioned films, what grounds are we really breaking? What is newly-given
in the cinema of Erik Matti?
Perhaps, first and foremost (and like TIKTIK)
it is a technical achievement. Half of the actors are mediocre, and while there
are superb actors like Joel Torre, Leo Martinez and a surprise turn from Joey
Marquez, the film’s use of Star Magic stars has wasted its potential. They
appear like lost rich people, awkward in their physical environments and
attached to their ASAP moments. But the performances are covered up by rich
detail in cinematography and production design. J. Pilapil Jacobo of the Young
Critics Circle has lambasted the film’s writing and performances but gave
credit where credit is really due: it is the
film’s stylistic look that elevated its status, thanks to Jay Halili as
editor, Erwin Romulo as musical scorer, Richard Somes as production designer,
and Ricardo Buhay III as cinematographer.
Kudos to Matti then for breathing new life to
the medium of film in the local scene, but in a wider perspective, it is only
an aesthetic make-over and not much of an advancement to the content and
politics of film – two aspects of cinema Filipinos usually take for granted. Aesthetically,
we were only able to catch up on Hollywood trends that would forever debunk our
local cheesy 90s action filmmaking. And Matti’s mastery of combining
conventions of not-so-distant genres made way for a new fusion of genres – the
action and crime thriller. Matti’s direction gave the film its power and a
masterful flow but concept-wise, it is a mere repolishing of old conventions
that have defined the action genre.
And as an action film, it bears not only
familiar elements but sexual politics – the rule of men in a crime-ridden
world. In a cinematic space where men are criminals, of course the heroes are
also men. And as spectators, while we follow their pursuits, we take their
macho sexist culture as our own. As a gay film viewer, the action genre is a
pain to see just as long as its straight men take the gays and women as
secondary personalities, subordinated if not oppressed and beaten. Women in OTJ
are mere secondary figures who provide sexual tension and their clumsiness is
the men’s downfall (take for instance the example of Shaina Magdayao’s
character). While at first I was delighted to see Vivian Velez as the femme
fatale, a mysterious woman in control of a bunch of men, in the wider scope of
things, she is of course a villain and revealed as a subordinate of the
patriarchal menace that is the politician (Leo Martinez). And what can I say
about the derogatory use of the word “bakla”. Is this a mere reflection of the
lower class or a manifestation of Philippine cinema’s patriarchal ideology?
Laura Mulvey would love to deconstruct such a film, especially since it’s
released in the age of feminism and queer theory! How backward are we in our
generation to produce such a sexist film, insensitive to a whole prolonged
movement of gender issues and sexual struggle? Or a better question yet, in a
feminist’s perspective, do we really need another film like ON THE JOB?
Hannah Espia’s TRANSIT is rumored to be OTJ’s
rival in conquering the American Academy Awards’ Foreign Language section.
Seeing the film after OTJ, TRANSIT is everything I wanted the former to be: a
film that showcases masterful use of technical but has crafted a rich story
that has a genuine struggle for women, in a space where they are only aliens
surviving for their families. With its machismo, the testosterone festival that
is OTJ is not a necessary movie in this era. And if we’ll only hail it for
looking good, a true progression to our local cinema will never take place.
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