Cebuano comedy, daring with depth and heart

When one would just sit and relax and be drawn by the raw and crisp lines thrown by the characters of the movie — that’s when you feel good and imbibe a sense of belongingness to a community that shares the brand of laughter. Yes, this is what “Patay na si Hesus” is offering to the Cebuanos and to non-Cebuano audience as well.

Originally this QCinema International Film Festival entry and recently part of the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino does not force you to laugh or expect you to burst into laughter. You just don’t expect for a reaction but rather just be carried away by the naturalness of the characters through their lines.

The movie, a roller-coaster ride full of the irreverent and idiotic yet tempered with depth and heart. Parts where the acknowledgment of the capability of a down syndrome, as well as the sensitivity of the feelings for our transgender friends who also have significant role in the society, which by the way played by UPSTAGE alumna Chai Fonacier.

The cameo role that I played is worth it. I can vividly recall when together with other casts, we departed from Cebu City to Boljoon at dawn and only our scene was shot in the late afternoon. My few minutes of exposure in the movie is more of a delight hearing laughter as well as seeing their smiles of the viewers right after watching the movie.

As the title suggests, religion is a butt of some jokes, which may be considered offensive by some conservative audiences. Though personally, local jokes are very glaring. The part that the nude nun responded to the call of nature and used the holy water to clean is offensive to some sectors, especially the religious. It can very well construed as a mockery and so disrespectful to the religion.

It is a road trip of discovery. It is an opportunity that allows the characters to discover among themselves their unique parts of the entire family story and how each contributes to the story of longing, love and regard for one another.

It is family trip longing for fill in the void of a fatherly presence this despite the fact that he has already a different family. Paying the last respect to the man who has brought to life to the three children but it turned in the end that they were so affected by the death of their most-loved dog named Hudas than their father, Hesus.

Comedy has many kinds. It must anchor or extend beyond laughter for it to have taste. And so the challenge is to be able to offer something more than just laughs. The context by which all of these jokes come in have to be grounded in a story that we can follow and relate to, otherwise it gets boring. And for Patay na si Hesus it is the celebration of the hilarity of all of its wrongness. That despite life’s challenges and flaws, we can still manage to take life full of positivity and laughter. The reason we survive because we take the brighter side of life.

To Director Christian Kaiba Villanueva, producers Moira Lang and Bianca Balbuena, thank you for believing that there is market for regional films. They too believe that there are a lot of great stories from different parts of the Philippines which becomes their driving force for more regional films in the future.

We believe that language barrier does not even matter anymore. It’s just a matter of time before other dialects make it to the forefront. If anything, these movies expand the Filipino story, painting us as a whole nation.

With majority of the actors and crew who are Cebuano, Patay na si Hesus is a great source of pride. Congratulations to the men and women behind the success of this film! More films to come! Mabuhi ang Cebuano comedy!