Commentary

At his prime, Joel Lamangan’s personal oras de peligro

Even as he suffered heart attack while filming, the heart of this ‘eternal activist’ beats on

Joel Lamangan in artist's sketch (Contributed photo)

Joel Lamangan during the premiere night of ‘Oras de Peligro’ at SM Cinema

On a Sunday morning, director Joel Lamangan is taking a breather from a hectic week.

He just attended two advanced screenings of his latest film, Oras de Peligro, while shooting the Coco Martin teleserye, Batang Quiapo. He plays Rhoda, a tough barangay demigod and landlord determined to collect rent from his tenants.

His tenant is played by Charo Santos Concio who aims a knife at her landlord after throwing vegetables at him.

Why he has to accept teleserye roles on top of directing films is a puzzle to his followers.

“The talent fee is good,” he replied. “Besides I also miss my acting days. It feels good to be one of the actors being fussed over by makeup artists before a shoot.”

After two premiere nights, he has to do another confrontation scene with his “tenants” in Batang Quiapo, while busy with media interviews.

Oras de Peligro turned out to be special.

After two premiere nights, critics and audiences were one in saying it is one of the best films of the year.

Said National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario: “It is important that the Filipino people should watch Oras de Peligro. It holds the key to what really happened in February 1986. Film clips don’t lie. And the story of the poor family blended well with news account.”

Writer-poet and Martial Law survivor Mila Aguilar found the film narrative masterful. “This is how the truth about the last four days of Marcos’ Martial Law that we have come to call the EDSA revolt should be portrayed: gripping, dramatic, intense, full of fire and fury signifying a whole lifetime of struggle against poverty and injustice.

I was in a Bicutan prison when EDSA happened, glued to the radio but clueless about the drama that transpired. I had spent 13 years of my life underground before my one and a half years in jail. That should have hardened me enough to see Oras de Peligro without emotion. I was wrong. I broke into tears around five times. I have never before seen a documentary of an event so tightly interwoven with a family drama set among the urban poor, but involving both the upper class and farmers.  Indeed, I have never seen a movie this beautifully written, directed, acted and edited. And the song sung by my classmate and relative Rebecca Demetillo-Abraham was by itself to die for. The film jolted us into remembering our lifelong chant: Never Again, Never Forget!”

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Cherry Pie Picache with fan-boying author during the premiere night. (Contributed photo)

Writer-poet Susan Lara found the Lamangan opus very moving. “Joel Lamangan outdid himself. Cherry Pie Picache should get Best Performance in a leading role. She was so good, she was barely recognizable.”

I believe it to be the most powerful film of the decade and Lamangan’s best output.

“My heart is full just getting those beautiful reactions,” the director confided. “The compliments are fine. But we should not stop making films that open our eyes to injustices in our society.”

The director is now 68, turning 69 on September 21, the declaration of Martial Law.

 Ironically, Lamangan is a Martial Law survivor.

Political detention didn’t stop him from being vocal about government malfeasance. He considers himself an eternal activist. “We should not stop doing films that tell the truth. We should teach our people to respect history. They have been entrenched for decades and what happened to our people? The same old cycle of poverty and corruption is still there.”

‘I went to the hospital for heart bypass only after I had finished it’

It was tough doing Oras de Peligro.  The director suffered a heart attack while wrapping up the film. “My doctor advised me to stop working and take a rest. But I felt I had to finish the film by hook or by crook. I went to the hospital for heart bypass only after I had finished it. My doctor told me that had I hesitated a day more, I would be gone for good. But I am relieved I finished the film. Just going through the feedback, I am truly proud of it.”

Lamangan has been a filmmaker for  32 years, has been in theater and film productions as actor, theater company head and even crowd director, among others.

His early output included Darna (1991), Hiram na Mukha (1992), Ngayon at Kailanman (1992), The Flor Contemplacion Story (1995),Pusong Mamon (1998) (co-directed with Eric Quizon), Sidhi (1999), Mila (2001) and Mano Po (2002).

His latest before the new year was My Father, Myself, an entry in the Metro Manila Film Festival. The only entry rated R-18 by the MTRCB, the Lamangan MMFF entry is a bold exploration of a family with an honorable façade that is more imagined than real. A lawyer played exceedingly well by Jake Cuenca marries the character of Dimples Romana for her good family business connections. He is a human rights lawyer who falls for his client. When the client dies, he adopts the son (Sean de Guzman) who eventually takes over the late father’s amorous agenda.

My Father, Myself is a menage a trois involving the father, the adopted son and tolerant mother, and aggressive daughter.

The film with Quinn Carillo’s screenplay yielded superb performances by Cuenca who deserved a Best Actor nomination, and Dimples Romana as the martyr wife deserved the Best Supporting Actress.

Lamangan recalled how he fought for R-16 classification of his MMFF entry with the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) but ended up with R-18 rating.

Cuenca explained the impact of Lamangan as director: “Just to hear him praise me was big deal for me. I felt I am already a winner just getting that good word from direk Lamangan. I felt I got a good endorsement for acting outside my comfort zone.”

Some time ago, Lamangan directed a film on the Iglesia ni Kristo founder Felix Manalo. He found it complex, with so many layers. To begin with, he was no INC member. “When I did the film, I was working on it from the point of view of an outsider looking in. As the scenes from his early life are recorded by the camera, I could feel his aspirations, his vision, his tough times, and how he hurdled all the trials and tribulations of a man tied to his Bible and determined to convert the faithful to his side.”

To do the film justice, Lamangan did immersions. He had to read the Bible, to attend worship sessions, and to read up and know everything about the religious sect. “His kind of faith attracted millions of followers here and abroad and that is no easy feat. I have to study his social milieu, the family where he came from, and the forces of culture and politics that shaped him. Whether we like it or not, the rise and domination of INC is now part of the country’s history.”

On the set, Lamangan was guided by a minister who gave advice on how certain church rituals were done. “No, their presence didn’t cramp my directing style as I needed every detailed advice on how this church came to be. The script was written by the head of evangelism of INC and I had to be guided as the story of the film can’t veer away from their church doctrine. When your knowledge of their religion is quite limited, you naturally welcome all the help you could get by way of inputs from the authority. A substantial part of the film is about their church doctrine and since this is part of their spiritual lives, I welcomed all advice and suggestions to make this special film take off.”

One of Lamangan’s indie output was Madawag ang Landas Patungong Pag-asa (The Teacher), which bagged the best feature film award at the 4th Samskara International Film Festival in India.

He hoped the recognition would bring attention to the plight of educators in remote areas.

He said: “There are forces in some remote places that exploit the gullible members of their community. The rebels are human beings and they  are part of a community who help expose evil doings of corrupt government officials. Local and national officials must be able to have dialogue with these protesting Filipinos to have peace in our country. The movie is a clear statement of the true condition of education in our country specially in the far-flung provinces that cannot be reached by normal means of communication. It is a testament to the real teachers who sacrificed their life and safety to reach out to the needy students in remote places.”

The closing blurb of Oras de Peligro is: “Huwag Pagtakpan ang Katotohanan. Igalang ang Kasaysayan (Don’t cover up the truth. Respect history).”

The director admitted to receiving death threats while he was at work on the film.

To make matters worse, the Red-tagging continued.  “I am used to it. Death threats no longer bother me. If I back out because of threats, who will do films that will unmask them? I am thankful producers like the Bagong Siklab production had the guts to finance this kind of film. Telling the truth should be no cause to worry and be afraid. If we back out because of threats, we will never get to produce this kind of film and tell the truth and protect history.”

Whether Lamangan likes it or not, Oras de Peligro will run head-on against Darryl Yap’s Martyr or Murderer? on March 1.

‘Filmmaking is not just about earning millions’

He likes the media exchange, good or bad, as it will prod moviegoers to watch both films and judge for themselves. “Let’s face it. A lot of moviegoers have stopped going to the cinemas even after the pandemic. If this verbal tussle will invite curiosity, then let’s treat it as beneficial. To be clear, I have nothing against (Darryl) Yap. This bitchy exchange should not get any worse. I just had a new lease on life with my heart bypass and I don’t need more stress to make my life miserable. How can you blame Yap? He was still in his mother’s womb during the EDSA revolution and he knows nothing first-hand. I’m sure that his knowledge will come from people who are helping finance his kind of movie project. I pray and hope that Darryl Yap realizes that filmmaking is not just about earning millions. It should also serve the people and not just small groups with vested interests.”

At the post-premiere night presscon, Lamangan pointed out: “This film is for the younger generation who never experienced EDSA People Power. They need to know that once upon a time, their parents braved bombs and bullets to restore democracy.”

Oras de Peligro opens in cinemas March 1. 

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‘Oras de Peligro’s screenwriters Eric Ramos and Bonifacio Ilagan (Contributed photo)

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Joel Lamangan with the author

About author

Articles

He’s a freelance journalist who loves the opera, classical music and concerts, and who has had the privilege of meeting many of these artists of the performing arts and forging enviable friendships with them. Recently he’s been drawing readers to his poems in Facebook, getting known as the ‘Bard of Facebook.’

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