Feb Digest 2: Without You, Ako si Ninoy

 

There is a certain genre of film that depicts couples in the midst of a very messy breakup, trying desperately and in vain to fix their relationship. These films usually fail more than they succeed, though the rare film that does make it work (like Andoy Ranay's Open (2019)) is pretty good. Without You, unfortunately, falls under the "fail" column.

Axel (David Licauco) is a piece of shit who walks all over his "girlfriend" Ria (Shaira Diaz), a call center agent who works hard to keep them both afloat. Axel regularly goes out with other women, sometimes in Ria's face. There is zero reason for this relationship to stay a relationship. There is no empathy: Axel wants intimacy but doesn't understand that his girlfriend works weird hours and is perpetually tired to keep them financially afloat. He complains that she "sleeps too much." There is no transparency: they rarely communicate their feelings with each other unless it is through fighting. There is zero sense of the two working as a couple: the two of them often bicker over who does the chores, don't cover for each other, and don't follow their responsibilities.

From the very start, it's obvious that these two have no business staying together, and it makes this 71 minute movie 71 minutes too long. As the two try to make the relationship work, it's easy to wonder: what makes these two worth rooting for in the first place? The film doesn't give us any answers, and any attempts to give their relationship any value lies in two scenes of them painting and bumping into each other, as if that's enough (it's not.) Maybe show us more of the good stuff before it all devolved into the bad stuff, but I'm not even sure if that will work in this case.

This is a deeply toxic "relationship" that isn't even depicted compellingly. It is an utter waste of my time, and in the year of our lord 2023, perhaps filmmakers should reconsider romanticizing relationships like this.

The basic premise of Ako si Ninoy is that "there's a hero in all of us," which is a nice sentiment to have, but Vince Tanada is such an inept filmmaker that none of it really works. I haven't seen any of his plays (though I've read a couple of his scripts) so I can't comment on his theater work, but I have seen a series and a couple of films, and whatever was working for him in the theater isn't translating here. Filmmaking and theater may have similar languages but they differ in crucial ways. If, for the sake of argument, Tanada is a very capable playwright, making a film like this is like asking a Spanish man to write a novel in Tagalog. Some of the words will be right, but the rest of it is a jumbled mess.

Following in the tradition of Joven Tan's PETMALU (lol), Ako si Ninoy is a musical that follows several characters whose names spell out "Ninoy Aquino." As we follow the story of each person, the movie explains that each of their life experiences ostensibly draw parallels to something in the late Aquino's life. I say ostensibly because I take that word to mean "kinda, but not really." These attempts end up having varied results: at times the film struggles to make a connection between its characters and Aquino, while in others the film makes weird connections that doesn't help its central theme. Finally, in some instances, Tanada eschews the narrative meat that would make some of these connections work, expecting the audience to just assume a ton of shit. It comes off as very lazy.

In two instances, the plight of two characters is connected to Ninoy's decision to return to the Philippines after being exiled abroad. Ninoy's decision is a brave one; the man probably knew that he would face certain death if he returned, but knew that perhaps it would be a catalyst for people to rebel against the administration. The stakes aren't as dire in the film's case: in one, Noli (Johnrey Rivas) is an OFW working abroad for the sake of his family. In the other, Nanding (Bodjie Pascua) is a war vet who is spending his twilight years in America. Both go home because they miss their families, and the film shows this as the primary connection to Ninoy, who went home because he... missed the Philippines I guess? Granted, Noli's decision to come home and try to make it here is an act of bravery, because there are far fewer opportunities to make it here, but how? That severance money Noli's employer gives him isn't going to last him a year, tops - tuition and food's going to wipe it out sooner or later. Maybe Noli invests it in a local business or something, but Ako si Ninoy doesn't show us any of that because it's lazy. As for Nanding, he goes home because he feels like a second class citizen in America... and that's it. Nothing about how veterans like him get support from either of the governments he fought for in WWII, or the plight of immigrants in the US (is he a TNT?) partly because - wait for it - the film's lazy, OR because the film simply doesn't have the time to show it. So why show it at all? To complete the spelling of "Ninoy Aquino?"

In another story, Miss Nunez (Nicole Laurel) is an excellent teacher at a private university who learns that another teacher has sexually assaulted one of her students, Ingrid (Cassy Legaspi.) She escalates the complaint to the dean (Pinky Amador), who dismisses the complaint because she "wants things to be beautiful" or some inane shit. There are obvious parallels that compare Nunez to a certain widow president and the dean to a certain shoe loving despot, but the comparisons ruin the central premise of the film. We expect Miss Nunez to elevate her complaint to the administration and get the guy fired, right? RIGHT? NOPE!!! She sings and dances about how it's unfair, and that's it. We later see her being promoted to dean by the board because the school board thought the old dean sucked. She didn't escalate her complaint further! She didn't fight for her student and just silently took it! Nothing about getting the pervy teacher arrested or held accountable for his actions! I guess it tracks given how many of the martial law era people weren't held accountable in '86 onwards but damn. It's a bad look. The point of making heroic comparisons to Ninoy is that he fought against a system that oppressed him and his people, even if it cost him everything. Miss Nunez basically did nothing and was passively pushed into a position of power, personally costing her nothing.

And what about Ingrid, the student? Did she participate in any action to get the teacher who raped her fired? Maybe, but again, the film doesn't show us any of it, nor does it say anything about it during her graduation speech. The assault is basically a plot device, and when the film didn't have any need for it, it's gone.

Another story centers around Yosef (Joaquin Domagoso, and lol at that casting decision). Yosef is a popular actor in this universe, which tells me that the people in the world of this film have no taste whatsoever. There is little conflict or purpose to his story, and his connection to Ninoy is him bravely leaving the industry to... study? Really? Is THAT it? As an actor, the film could have shown him using his stardom to advocate for causes, or to fight against a system that permits historical distortion and propaganda to happen, or to make films that are socially aware, but the film's solution to his problem is for him to leave the industry and study? And what does he do with the new things he learned? Hell if I know, because that's the last we see of him!

Perhaps the least weird of the stories are about Andeng (Arielle Abarientos), a worker who goes on strike for the sake of her retrenched colleagues, Quentin (Mario Mortel), an activist who fights for the marginalized, and Oliver (JM Yusores), a journalist about to release an expose on a corrupt senator. Thematically, they're okay, but the problem lies in the film giving us the background and none of the follow through for most of these. Quentin and Andeng's stories are  basically limited to only 2-3 scenes of any import, and we never really know what impact Oliver's actions have on the senator, if any.

I don't think we should be spoonfed plot elements in films, but at the same time I don't think giving us incomplete ingredients and asking us to cook a meal is any fair or good either.

Now the film isn't all bad; JK Labajo puts in an earnest performance as Ninoy. Even when he's singing to a lightbulb, you know the man's putting in the best he can.

I'm willing to give a pass to the film's many technical shortcomings. The mixing in some songs are uneven (in particular, Bodjie Pascua's voice in his number is drowned out). Perhaps due to technical limitations a large portion of the film is green screened, such as when Bodjie Pascua solemnly salutes a jpeg.

The film wastes a lot of its time establishing stories then abandoning them just for the sake of spelling two words. It's frankly ridiculous.

I'm also willing to give a pass to the inherent silliness of musicals, but when the fundamental structure of the film is flawed, the finished product, despite the best efforts of everyone involved, isn't going to turn out great. In a time where horrible films that tell lies and distort historical truth are put out in cinemas, this isn't exactly a great way to put the truth's best foot forward. Thankfully, there are other, far better films about the man and the oppressive system he was fighting against, as well as narratives and documentaries about common Filipinos during the Martial Law era and afterwards that show true bravery in the face of mortal peril.