Showbiz Periscope

PH ENTRY ‘MANA’ IS BEST FEATURE FILM, CHERIE GIL BEST ACTRESS IN MADRID INTERNATIONAL FILM FEST

By Pablo A. Tariman
Manila
July 12, 2015



 
                 He admitted he came up with Mana for the reason that sibling relationships and family dynamics have always been a part of his art. He is the eighth of nine children with some 40 plus first-degree cousins. “In Mana, I wanted to capture the complex nature that goes into the structure of big families — something very common with Filipino families in the earlier days.”
Like it or not, Mana has the resonance of Oro, Plata, Mata but the story is focused on family ties and ends in a shocking revelation of a family secret.

Carl Tooney, president of the Madrid International Film Festival says the film fest  encourages film selection that “seizes the best of the moment, a selection that creates desire, that triggers curiosity, that carries that certain vitality which currently fills film today and gives a hint of the film of tomorrow, a selection that helps these films, cinema, its creators and artists to exist and to continue their work.”
The Philippine Star in its earlier review of “Mana” by this writer noted the superb ensemble of actors who blended with the mysterious story of the film. The actors who portrayed the siblings were a remarkable lot from Cherie to Mark, from Jaime to Epi, and specially the politician in Ricky. Cherie delivers an acting coup in all her confrontation scenes with members of the family.

Moreover, the ensemble  acting was at its best in the performances of Archie Adamos, Dwight Gaston, Bart Guingona, Leo Rialp and Joel Saracho. Who can forget the image of Joe Gruta who gives you more mysterious clues about the goings-on in the house? Even Rene Durian as the family doctor looks like the old-world physician indeed. Fides Cuyugan Asencio as the matriarch has a commanding presence in the film with close-ups of her ailing body. Wailing day in and day out, Fides carves a portrait of a matriarch trying to settle a family issue. Her speaking and wailing voices are simply operatic and as she rises from the bed to finally part with her inheritance, you get to know the family’s best-kept secret. It is a distinguished piece of acting from La Asencio.

Throughout the film, you see the superb production design of Rodell Cruz and the competent cinematography of Lee Briones–Meilly, giving the film an overwhelming layer of grace and patent old world-charm.

Of course, the film’s other most engrossing features are the film editing of Lawrence Fajardo and the musical score of Von de Guzman.