As part of the Reflexive Cinema Series, the Society of Film Archivists of the Philippines, the NCCA and the CCP screened Bomba Queen starring Sarsi Emmanuelle. But first, a little background.
The era of Bomba films in Philippine Cinema grew out of a very interesting time in world cinema. In the first half of the 20th century, pornographic films were taboo in places like the United States, with short "stag films" shown only in male gatherings or brothels. Erotic film production in the 1950's slowly grew in the US to become the Sexploitation genre in the 1960's, when "nudie cuties" and "roughies" started to be shown in grindhouse theaters and small theaters.
Following the heels of documentaries like Pornography in Denmark (1970) and fiction films like Mona The Virgin Nymph (1970), the film Deep Throat (1972) brought the genre to critical and public attention. Soon, cinemas were showing hardcore pornography during this time, with a particular period during 1972-1973 in which movies bucked artistic conventions. Ralph Blumenthal wrote an influential article in the New York Times in 1973 describing the higher visibility of porn among the public and celebrities, a phenomenon which he described as "porno chic." There was a notion of film and sex blending together, part of a larger subset of wild, bold, weird and ambitious thinking during that era. But changing moral standards and tastes and technological advances doomed this idealism. The movement eventually died down with the rise of the home video industry, where the porn industry mostly stands today, as a primarily video only genre.
In other countries, there were also concurrent softcore erotic film movements as well. The Japanese had eroductions like the Pinku eiga or Pink Film, erotic productions that pushed standards and bypassed extremely strict censorship laws. Some pink films, such as the Roman Porno films produced by studio Nikkatsu, are well known, such as the Angel Guts series and Ichijo's Wet Desire (1972). Pink films became a genre of its own, and some films, like The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai (2003) received critical praise. Some directors of Pink Film moved on to other genres of film, and directors like Koji Wakamatsu produced art films like Nagisa Oshima's In the Realm of the Senses (1976), notorious in the day for its depiction of sexual activity. Europe had its own softcore phase with France's Emmanuelle (1974) starring Sylvia Kristel, and copycats such as the Italian Black Emanuelle (1975) starring Laura Gemser. South American countries like Mexico and Brazil mixed softcore porn and comedy in their films.
In comparison, the Philippines had its own distinct era of Bomba films, and later, the ST (sex trip) films of the mid to late nineties and sexy films of the early 2000's. Yvonne was one of the early "bold" stars. She starred in films like Climax of Love (1970) and Naked in the Dark (1971). The advent of Martial Law restricted the production and showing of such films, but they slowly trickled back during the latter half of the decade. With these films came some level of experimentation and inclusion of social commentary. Yvonne later starred in Ishmael Bernal films like Scotch on the Rocks to Remember, Black Coffee to Forget (unreleased) and Ligaw na Bulaklak (1976), the latter of which garnered her a Best Supporting Actress nod at the Gawad Urian awards.
Inspired by Yvonne's life story, the 1985 film Bomba Queen was made. Produced by Robbie Tan and directed by Efren Piñon, Bomba Queen is a heavily fictionalized take on Yvonne's life and career. After being tricked by a duplicitous, sleazy recruiter (Rita Roman), Rose (Sarsi Emmanuelle) is thrown into a white slavery joint under the pretense of getting into the showbiz industry. She gets out thanks to a concerned party (Ronaldo Valdez) who takes a liking to Rose.
It's clear the movie raison d'etre was to titillate; it is a strange patchwork of dripping sensuality and gaudiness. Rose indulges (or is indulged) in coital pleasures with the many men who 'save' her from her predicament. This mostly proves to be a trap as she is merely being used for their needs. The sole exception seems to be stuntman Ador (Roy Flores) who genuinely loves her, but is a casualty of her stardom.
Bomba Queen wants to tell a story of female liberation and independence, but it is held down by the constraints of its own genre and the prevailing thinking of the times, which was still deeply chauvinistic. Rose, now Yvonne, only achieves a sense of independence and stability through women; she gains her refuge through Lorna (Myra Manibog), and later gains financial means through Odette (Odette Khan), who runs her own business. But Lorna is a sexy dancer, and Odette, her employer, with the sexually charged performances not unlike similar exhibitions in Thai red light districts. Similarly, Rita Gomez's Mama Carol, in all her campy Bond villain-esque glory, is the most powerful woman in the film, but she runs a white slavery ring. The women in Bomba Queen are powerful, but they are still used in the service of men.
The film tends to veer into melodrama and patented sampalan scenes, the once innocent Rose slowly metamorphosing into the world weary Yvonne. The soap operatics ramp up towards the last act of the film, culminating into a gunfight that neatly resolves several plotlines.
At 140 minutes, the film tends to drag. Much of this running time consists of extended sex scenes, mostly performed by Sarsi Emmanuelle. However, the most intriguing sex scene for me happens at the end of the film, between Lorna and her lover. It's probably the longest sex scene in the film, and the one most inconsequential to the plot, but there's something about it that sets it apart from all the other sex scenes in Bomba Queen. For one, Lorna and her lover indulge in sex that is more give and take, sex that seems to be more in the service of pleasuring both woman and man rather than just one or the other. And if her trembling arms and body are any indication, the orgasmic climax of that scene (pun intended) may not be just for show.
Cinema is defined by its past, its history and culture. Artistic excellence and commercialism go hand in hand in forming its definition. In examining cinema from this point in our history, we help form a picture of Philippine cinema more whole than any idealized vision.
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