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BY RHICK VLADIMER ALBAY
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EVERY person has seen at least one John Hughes film when they were a teenager – and felt they related to the awkward growing pains of his adolescent heroes and heroines.
John Hughes is the king of coming-of-age flicks. His timeless cult classics have endeared several generations with sincere portrayals of the awkward teenaged years we all eventually grew out of. Our titas blushed watching “Sixteen Candles,” our titos wanted to be Ferris Bueller cutting classes and parading through town or Judd Nelson, his fist in the air in triumph after winning over the girl.
And of course, we millennials were awed and inspired by the original #SquadGoals in the motley crew brat pack of “The Breakfast Club.”
A lot of the allure of these films had to do with relatability. Nostalgia is a potent emotion. We all have that lingering longing for the past, and for most of us, our growing years were the happiest, most carefree – and maybe also most confusing – days of our lives.
Plenty of coming-of-age films have come and gone since the glory days of John Hughes, always playing on the same themes of love, teenaged angst, loneliness, and ennui (a pretentious way to say weariness of the world) – and if you’ve been even just mildly paying attention to local cinema, the Philippines has seen a sudden flood in this genre too.
First came “That Thing Called Tadhana,” the flick that launched a thousand “spontaneous” trips to Baguio and Sagada – which some may argue is not about coming-of-age. But you must admit that it’s unabashedly a film aimed at millennials.
Then came “Saving Sally”, “I’m Drunk, I Love You”, Team Magazine’s “Hanging Out” webseries, “Baka Bukas,” and recent addition “Siargao.”
I found time to watch “Baka Bukas” with my friend pressing me to go see it so I can gush about it with her. It stars Jasmine Curtis-Smith, the more talented younger sister of a certain Anne Curtis, who is secretly in love with her best friend, a rising starlet who’s taking on a teleserye role as a mermaid, played by Louise delos Reyes.
Though funny and relatable, “Baka Bukas” is pastel cutesy to a fault – but Curtis-Smith, who is too painfully beautiful for her role, manages to carry the entire film with her stellar performance as the flawed yet loveable lesbian Alex (and I have to give credit to for all the millennial stereotypes the writers and director Samantha Lee managed to cram in less than two hours).
Meanwhile, “Siargao” is more of a Department of Tourism-sponsored ad for the island destination – specifically targeted at lovesick solo backpackers and “wanderlusters” – light on narrative and any form of conflict. You have to give credit to the beautiful scenic shots of crashing waves and the awe-inspiring sunset scenes that have rays streaming between strands of Erich Gonzales’ and Jasmine Curtis-Smith’s hair.
I have the same misgiving for other Filipino coming-of-age flicks that have come out in the same vein: What’s with the gravitation toward characters belonging to the upper class – rich kid problems and all?
The binge-drinking-at-La-Union, go-to-Baguio-on-a-whim, Siargao-bound-after-a-heart-break, conyo-with-a-slight-British-inflection youth of these films don’t truly represent the majority of young adults in the country.
I watched “Ang Nawawala” by Marie Jamora – a film I’ve wanted to see since I saw its trailer a few years ago – a few months ago at Cinematheque Iloilo. Released in 2012, it was a millennial coming-of-age film ahead of its time, and it explores the same circles as “Baka Bukas” et al.
Starring twins Dominic and Felix Roco, it follows 20-year-old Gibson, who’s been rendered mute after a horrifying accident, returning to the manic world of a Manila inhabited by perpetually party-going hipsters and misfit music-loving pixies (i.e. Annicka Dolonius as Enid), after years of sheltered therapy abroad.
I loved the film for its wistfulness and honest love story, as well as its subtle take on the dynamics of a Filipino family (the ageless Dawn Zulueta, who plays the twins’ mother, remains severely underrated), but again I found myself nitpicking on these characters’ privilege and social standing.
I’m not generalizing all Filipino forays into the genre as films about trust fund teens though – there are quite a few masterpieces that have come out in the recent years.
Pepe Diokno’s “Above the Clouds” is a gripping and emotional tale about a boy coming to terms with losing his family to a typhoon. The 2008 “Pisay” is an endearing look into lives of students from the most prestigious and competitive high school in the country (which provided a breakout role for Annicka Dolonius), “Apocalypse Child” (also with Annicka Dolonius) took us to the scenic beaches of Baler where Sid Lucero ponders sibling rivalry, fidelity and paternity. And who can forget the groundbreaking “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros” which raked in awards here and abroad?
(Side note: With her filmography, Annicka Dolonius is arguably the Molly Ringwald of the Philippines.)
It’s just that I think some of these films are peddling an “unrealistic” realty to today’s millennials.
Life as a young adult won’t be all spontaneous trips, casual flings and pastel-tinged tight-frame shots. For most, it’s going to be tiring commutes to a 9-to-5 job, maybe even unemployment – and their stories are rarely told.
Paraphrasing a John Hughes anthem: “Don’t you forget about them.” (maverhick.blogspot.com/PN)
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