Tops in fast-paced entertainment

No matter what they say about the recently-concluded Metro Manila Film Festival, I still agree with the results of the awards night – especially with the ranking of the Best Picture winners.

First Best Picture winner Mano Po (directed by Joel Lamangan) – in my personal judgment is really the best of the lot. As I said in my reviews (which came out in this paper early this week), it is the perfect festival film.

Second Best Picture winner Dekada ’70 (directed by Chito Roño) is also an outstanding film – one of the most important in recent years. Its dramatic scenes are all moving, but never overly done. And yes, Vilma Santos shines here in spite of the fact that she hardly has any high acting moment in the film. Unfortunately, Dekada ’70 is a bit tedious to watch in some parts and this must have weighed down its chances of getting the top prize.

For some strange reason, Spirit Warriors: The Short Cut (also directed by Roño) came in No. 8 in the selection committee, but emerged Third Best Picture during the awards night. Surely, there is an inconsistency here.

I’m just so glad that the bungled job of the members of the screening committee was rectified by the board of jurors who decided to give the film the Third Best Picture prize. Spirit Warriors really deserved to win Third Best Picture because it is really the third best among the Metro Manila Film Festival entries.

Produced by MAQ (sister company of Regal Films) and Roadrunner, this second installment of Spirit Warriors features five of the members of the popular dance group The Streetboys: Danilo Barrios as Red, Jhong Hilario as Buboy, Vhong Navarro as Thor, Spencer Reyes as Jigger and Christopher Cruz as Ponce. (The other members are in London where they are doing Miss Saigon.)

Version II of what is now the Spirit Warriors series begins in the mid-16th century, a time when the Spaniards are just beginning to colonize our archipelago through the cross and the sword.

As part of their efforts to Christianize the islands, the Spanish soldiers execute the Babaylans or local priestesses who continue to propagate their cult beliefs among their followers. One of those who dies in the hands of the guardias civil is Connie Lauigan-Chua who manages to bury half of her amulet before she breathes her last. The other half is taken by the band of soldiers.

In the present generation, the gang members already resolve not to venture anymore into the spirit world. But they eventually break this resolution when Jaime Fabregas, a descendant of one of the Spanish soldiers, tricks them into finding the missing half of the amulet – the one buried by Connie Lauigan-Chua. (Fabregas already possesses the other half, which was passed on to him by his ancestors.)

And so begins the new adventures of the Streetboys as they encounter all sorts of creatures from the underworld: a really huge tikbalang, several aswangs, tiyanaks, mermaids and zombies.

Except for the aswangs who initially I thought came from The Planet of the Apes, the prosthetics and other devices used to make the underworld creatures look impressive. The rubber-like faces of the mermaids may not look like Alice Dixson and Charlene Gonzalez in their respective versions of Dysebel, but they sure fit the suspense-horror genre. And then, there are the various special effects that are truly first-rate – like this one where an aswang suddenly bursts into hundreds of bats against the backdrop of a full moon. This only shows how much local cinema has achieved in recent years as far as technical aspects are concerned.

In spite of all the modern technology we see all over, I appreciate the fact that the film sticks to characters in local folklore because this gives the movie a Filipino flavor.

Spirit Warriors: The Short Cut is also fast-paced and there is not one boring moment in the entire film – especially in the part where they battle creature after creature.

Contributing a lot to the success of the film are the performances of The Streetboys members, particularly Danilo Barrios and especially Vhong Navarro who provide comic relief that entertains the viewers from the beginning all the way to the end. Jaime Fabregas, Connie Chua and Gloria Romero (as Danilo Barrios’ grandmother) also deliver effective performances.

Spirit Warriors: The Short Cut may have only ended third (No. 8 as far as the members of the screening committee are concerned) in the Metro Manila Film Festival’s race for Best Picture, but it should be first on your list if what you are looking for is fast-paced entertainment.