Such clever advertising we saw before New Year’s in the local dailies. BBDO Guerrero crafted three print ads for Guerrero publishing, promoting the new editions of Leon Ma. Guerrero’s translations of National Hero Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. The ads cash in on Intramuros tour guide Carlos Celdran’s theatrical protest last October. Celdran spent a night in jail , and gained a lot of support for displaying a “Damaso” placard inside a cathedral, admonishing the Church to stay out of politics and the Congressional talks on the Reproductive Health Bill.
“Damaso” is a Spanish friar in Noli, notorious for his corrupt and lascivious ways.
Fittingly so, on the same day I saw Celdran’s face all over the newspaper, my Malaysian friends were raving about the Intramuros tour they just took with Celdran. I had also just opened my gift from Adobo Magazine: a Noli and Fili gift set! I thought they were special since I had been wanting to read again Leon’s exquisite translations after losing my copies after college.
The serendipities were all mine. Wish the same would strike the film industry which is in dire need of meaningful material. It would be great for some brave producer to have new adaptations of the two Rizal classics.
In the early 60s, the first National Artist for Film, Gerry de Leon, did film versions of the two books. Film historians wrote that they were great, but my generation and the next could only wonder if they really were. I don’t think there are any copies left.
There is no other prose as rich and historically significant as Rizal’s novels. They were instrumental in establishing a unified identity for the Filipino by championing Filipino values (loyalty, kindness, idealism, courage). But the more interesting part, in filmic terms, is Rizal’s satirical voice. He lampooned and exposed various appalling realities in Philippine society, which still ring true today, post-Gloria A.
I hope that the local industry's current predilection for recycling old themes, costume dramas and set reconstruction through digital technology would be put to good use with a Rizal redux. Besides, wouldn't it be fun to re-stage the one monologue that had touched the hearts of many variety show and beauty contestants? Sisa: Crispin?! Basilio?!
I hope that the local industry's current predilection for recycling old themes, costume dramas and set reconstruction through digital technology would be put to good use with a Rizal redux. Besides, wouldn't it be fun to re-stage the one monologue that had touched the hearts of many variety show and beauty contestants? Sisa: Crispin?! Basilio?!
No comments:
Post a Comment