Sir Christian LOL'd.

In designer James Reyes’ show yesterday at the Shangri-la, the show’s producer Inno Sotto led Christian Espiritu to our table which had one empty seat.  He asked if  Christian could seat with us.  Of course, my friends and I were only too happy to oblige because it was our chance to meet one of the icons of Philippine fashion.  I thought he was one aloof old man since I remembered him unsmiling in all of his photos from the 70s and 80s.  He turned out to be very kind and engaging to talk to.

Three minutes into our friendly exchange, I asked him the silliest question:  Sir Christian, I hope you don’t mind my asking.  But would you still have a copy of “Alaga”?  He LOL’d.   I was too embarrassed to press him for an answer.

Alaga was the one and only movie he produced and directed in 1980.  I didn’t get to see it because its theatre run was brief.   The film starred a very young Edu Manzano’s debut (losing vice-presidential candidate, top game show host, ex-husband of Maricel and Vilma, dad to popular host/actor Luis/Lucky).   The film revolves around a young, attractive man who exploits a rich older woman (Charito Solis) on his way to showbiz stardom.  Shades of American Gigolo, one of Richard Gere’s earliest movies.

The film generated a lot of buzz at that time because “it” boy Edu broke into the scene.  And more for Christian’s foray into film.  Many eyebrows were raised:  What does a couturier know about moviemaking?  A few people went to see it.  I’m quite sure the pervading cynicism towards Christian the director had a lot to do with its dismal performance at the tills.

Three decades later, ex-Gucci creative head Tom Ford screened a well-received debut in A Single Man.   Marlon Rivera, part-fashion designer, directed his first, Babae Sa Septic Tank, which wowed critics and audiences.  Times have changed.  A background in the art of fashion is now an advantage, not a liability.  Perhaps moviegoers are hankering for style and high concept.  Some may be excited to see great costume design.  I’m sure Alaga had much of that.  I was told Christian’s lovely Forbes Park home was Charito’s in the movie.   I can only imagine all that now.  Unless the kind Sir Christian would take my silly question seriously and lend me a Betamax copy.

P.S.  Sir Christian writes the most insightful and entertaining fashion reviews on Facebook.  http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000255741269&sk=notes

James Reyes channeling Patrick Nagel and Robert Palmer

Patrick Nagel was the most copied illustrator from the 80s (the kitschy Manila shop Blue Magic must have built its fortune on Nagel rip-offs).  He's known for his women, who somewhat all look alike -- square eyes, full red lips, washed-out facial features and all.  His strokes are bold and clean.  The colors are vibrant, reflective of the excess and decadence of the decade, though white is predominantly the canvas.  Overall, there's blatant sexiness, arrogance, self-assuredness.  No wonder, Playboy Magazine featured his graphics a lot.  And his extensive body of work was done way before the birth of Photoshop.  Kinamay niya lahat ito.

Nagel's aesthetic inspired one iconic music video from the 80s: Robert Palmer's "Simply Irresistible".  It still looks lovely and fresh 30 years after.

Nagel and Palmer are my best friend James Reyes' inspirations for his Fashion Watch Spring-Summer Show at the Shangri-la Makati on September 8th.  His pegs are enough to keep us all excited.

Bertolucci porn

Thanks for the heads-up, Jessica Z.   The greatest living Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci will be coming to Manila for the Italian Film Festival set at Greenbelt from November 9^th to the 13^th.   A film event that must not be missed.

Bertolucci did some of the most delicious movies from the 70s through the 90s:  The Conformist, 1900, Last Tango in Paris, The Last Emperor, The Sheltering Sky, Stealing Beauty and The Dreamers.  If you’re a true lover of film, you must have at least one Bertolucci in your collection.  I’d pick The Conformist and The Last Emperor as my favorites.

His themes are usually subversive, never bland or familiar.  But when I think Bertolucci, visual poetry comes to mind.  I was lucky enough to see most of his films on the big screen.  The small monitor in your living room or on your desk will never be able to capture the same visual excitement.  That’s why you ought to catch the Italian filmfest. 

It’s production design porn that’s most pleasurable, lustful.   The visual poetry supplants obvious characterization.  It’s like ballet – the performers don’t have to talk for you to get it all right.

Here’s a sampling of Bertolucci's lyricism.  

Martin Escudero: A Star is Born.

Is it uniquely Pinoy for friends to go to a theatre, then relive a great movie experience shortly after?   If it were a comedy, they’d laugh even harder when recalling memorable scenes.  Over callos, manchego and Merlot at Terry’s (plugging: their already inexpensive but good wines go on sale on Saturdays), that was what we did last night after watching Zombadings.

I prematurely proclaim it as the movie of the year, and that covers Hollywood.   The upcoming movies of Polanski, Scorsese, Almodovar, Payne and Brillante Mendoza better top this tale of a boy from Lucban, Quezon who likes taunting baklas, then pisses off a grieving gay who curses him to turn queer when he grows up. 

Here are 11 things in Zombadings worth recounting, also the best in many, many years:

1.    Best casting for a male lead: Martin Escudero.  He’s believable as a very straight bum.  He gets even better from the moment he dons the tight baby tee.

2.    Best dance scene:  Martin Escudero’s.  His hips are swaying uncontrollably.  He lets go and explodes in the gayest choreography reminiscent of Eat, Bulaga’s dance contestants from Barangay Krus na Ligas.

3.    Best Scene Stealer:  Janice de Belen’s sidekick, Nini.  The police line-up and interrogation scenes – pure madness.

4.    2^nd Best Scene Stealer:  Georgia from the panciteria.  “Lalayas na ‘ko.  Tingnan mo nga ako”.  She strikes a pose.

5.  Best Cameo:  the rollerblading Eugene Domingo.

6.    Best Comeback:  John Regala as Remington’s macho yet sympathetic father.

7.    Best Love Scene:  Remington and Jigs on the staircase.

8.    Best Rom-Com moment:  Remington and Jigs up on a tree, eating suman.

9.    Best Writing:  “Charoterang sprikitik, umapir ka vakler! Magpa-feel, magpa-sense, ditey sa baler.”

10. Best pro-Carlos Celdran statement:  “Bakla ka Father!  Bakla!”.

11. Best mirror of society’s changing attitudes towards homosexuality:  Daniel Fernando the bigot rants about gays but the Lucban marching band drowns out his oration.   The hatred just falls on deaf ears.

The Indie Revolution

Yesterday, I decided to buy tickets to the indie film, Zombadings 1: Patayin Sa Shokot Si Remington hours before showtime.  I knew it’d be hard to get in if I did any later.   The ticket lady did confirm my hunch when I asked her if it was a hit.  “Hay naku, Sir, sobra!  Mas malakas pa sa Wedding Tayo, Wedding Hindi.” That film was produced by giant film company Star Cinema.  It’s been relegated to a theatre smaller than Zombadings’.

There.  Finally.  We’re experiencing a cinema revolution in the Philippines.   The unthinkable is happening.  Moviegoers are going for original and intelligent fare, produced on a shoestring budget and not released by major distributors.   This must be a wake-up call to the film industry.

Zombadings’ success also underscores a great advertising crossover.  Its promotion was largely confined to the Web.  It obviously didn’t have the money to do TV advertising, or the support of a large media network that trumpeted its Metro run on mainstream channels like TV, radio and print.  The consumer is online, and spends more time  there than  on any other medium.   If you Facebook, blog or Youtube it, he will come.

Mr. Jimenez, I have one small request.

The Philippine advertising industry must be happy and proud about the appointment of one of its own – Mon Jimenez – as the new tourism secretary.  I wish him well.  He steered his old agency Jimenez-Basic to great heights.  He created several successful and iconic marketing campaigns.  His managerial skills and marketing savvy would certainly come in handy as he takes on the monumental task of turning the tourism business around.  It’s about time. 

We live in a time when most people on the Net annoyingly turn expert on any burning issue (the arts, tourism slogans, politics, contraception).  I don’t want to add to the madness by telling Mon J. how to do his job.  I’m sure he knows better than most of us.  I just have one small request:  Please fix our airport.  It doesn’t take an expert to know the importance of airports.  They’re economic engines.  They generate billions in economic activity.  More importantly, they define the communities they are in. 

That makes us one ugly nation, then?

The fees are steep.  Public transport is spotty and inefficient.  There aren’t enough decent restos.  Shopping sucks.  The toilets don’t work.  The lighting is incomplete and dizzying.  Plants in sorry claypots greet you upon arrival.  The guitar-playing chorus is too folksy.  The wall needs a new paint job.  The airport personnel are lethargic, dour, not looking at all smart (abominably un-Filipino!).   The only saving grace is Grey Goose.  It’s cheaper at the Duty Free.

My fave travel writer Pico Iyer devotes one chapter on airports in his book, The Global Soul.  He calls the airport as a postmodern metropolis, a space that has a distinct culture of noncultures.  It’s a showcase and laboratory for commerce, nourishment, entertainment, technology, education and social interaction.  But we have none of that, Pico.  I know you’ve been to Manila before.  Perhaps your NAIA experience was too dreadful to store in your travel memory bank.

Has there ever been a movie shot inside the Manila terminal or a replica of it?  I’ve seen many local movies shot outside the terminal, for tearful farewell scenes.  But the camera never manages to get through the main gates; it seems uninterested.  Because NAIA makes for one lousy backdrop.

Maybe it would do if the movie were poverty porn.

Now that's a perfect airport shot.  From "Catch Me If You Can".

Ferris Bueller and Campaigns are 25.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is 25 years old this year.  And so is my agency, Campaigns, which has been my second home for nearly that long.

The movie and agency do not seem to share anything in common.  Ferris celebrates free spirit.  The quintessential coming-of-age story.

When I walked into the doors of Campaigns, I knew that was the beginning of a purposeful chapter, something that was and continues to be adult and professional.

But perhaps there’s one thing that’s Ferris-like about my life in Campaigns.  Life, as Ferris famously remarks, moves pretty fast.  If you don't stop and look around you might miss it. For Ferris, it took all of one day to embrace life and have fun.  Mine has been almost a quarter-of-a-century-long stop.  I still enjoy every minute of it.  La vie est belle dans la publicité.

It ends there. I’d like to think I’m not looking like Ferris of today.