Adult entertainment
MANILA, Philippines - Over the last 10 years, not a single R-18 film has graced the screens of SM Cinemas. With their family-oriented market, SM and the Sy family shifted gears and opted to screen only “wholesome” films. Along with this swift decision, there was a sudden change in local cinema. The bomba films (often named after local vegetation) that once titillated were relegated to direct-to-DVD releases, which take approximately seven minutes to burn on a DVD+R. The rise of independent cinema, with their shocking content and disregard for mainstream conventions, shied away from SM’s 600 screens, but still managed to achieve success through film festivals, more “librated” mall chains, and peer-to-peer file sharing. Foreign films with gore and sex were transformed into grindhouse spectacles with sudden jump-cuts thanks to MTRCB.
But the times they are a-changin’.
Last May, MTRCB chairman Mary Grace Poe-Llamanzares announced the birth of R-16, a new rating that aims to fill in the gap between R-13 and R-18. However, SM still drew the line on R-13. That is until last week, when they announced that they are opening their chain for the newest rating. SUPREME takes a look at how this move from the biggest cinema chain in the country could possibly create waves in local cinema.
SQUEAKY-CLEAN
When Darren Aronofsky’s Oscar-winning psychological drama, Black Swan, opened in theaters with an R-13 rating, angry parents pressured MTRCB about this decision. One could surmise that parents are generally disturbed about lesbian sex scenes, masturbation, and self-torture, but they’re okay with gratuitous violence on Zack Snyder’s 300, or the public sex scene in the middle of a horsetrack in Neveldine/Taylor’s Crank 2.
In the last 10 years, SM’s ban on R-18 films helped maintain their squeaky clean reputation (and possibly rid their theaters of exhibitionists) and with this, adult content, along with depressing endings, or FPJ dying before the credits rolled, suddenly became a huge no-no if one wants to earn some money. However, this move is also present in other countries. Cinemark, one of the biggest cinema chains in the U.S. restricts NC-17 films (equivalent of R-18). Walmart refuses to sell adult-only DVDs, and some newspapers wouldn’t dare advertise it if marked with MPAA’s wrath. Locally, some call out of MTRCB’s often misgivings, from the early days of Manoling Morato fussing over Meryll Streep’s pubic hair in The Bridges of Madison County, down to Brillante Mendoza getting an X-Rating for his TV work.
Vincenzo Tagle, a London-based film blogger (wetalkaboutmovies.wordpress.com) thinks that the new rating along with SM’s decision is a good thing for local cinema. “It encourages filmmakers to explore more adult themes without being ‘penalized’ with an R-18 rating from the MTRCB,” he says. So far, only two films have been known to receive the R-16 rating: SM’s first “Exclusive” foreign release, an English-dubbed version of Gareth Evans’ ultraviolent martial arts masterpiece; and a local independent film called The Animals.
CULTURAL MATURITY
Award-winning director Jerrold Tarog agrees with Tagle’s sentiments, “I would totally welcome it as it could lead to cultural maturity.” Tarog sees that it’s unfortunate for some producers to water down their material instead of making a good film that would make an appeal regardless of the rating. “That’s the ideal, of course. But we live in the Republic of SM. You can’t throw a stone anywhere and not hit an SM branch. We need even smarter workarounds for that.”
Tarog’s idea of “cultural maturity” might be slowly seeping through the mainstream. Recently, Star Cinema released two versions of their latest horrorshow, Chito Rono’s The Healing: an R-13 cut for SM, and an uncut R-18 version for everyone else. While the movie was a Vilma Santos vehicle and is a sure-fire box office hit, it’s still a bold move for a major studio to lose the usual kid-friendly market that they often cater to. Their latest release, The Mistress, is a far cry from the standard John Lloyd –Bea fare. As of press time, the stars of the film hope to get an R-13 rating, but with the film’s mature themes and steamy scenes, there’s still a possibility of getting an R-16 rating which could possibly hinder anyone under 16 from watching it.
While the new rating and SM’s new ruling can create waves in local cinema, there are still questions that need to be asked. Bea Alonzo asked during a discussion about The Mistress’ MTRCB rating, “Hindi ba maliit yung gap ng R-13 and R-16?” What are the standard guidelines that would merit a film a specific rating? How come it’s okay for boobs to get R-13, while an erect prosthetic penis gets an R-16? Perhaps John Lloyd’s sentiments about the ratings game and local cinema is enough for now, he said: “Sometimes, you just have to tell a story. Sometimes the movie should be taken that way. It’s just a story, it’s just a movie.”
Indeed, Popoy. Indeed.
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