MY LIFE AS ART

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BY PETER SOLIS NERY
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Lines repeating like a song’s refrain

I SERIOUSLY believe that your reading of the script will not affect your viewing of my movie Ikapito nga Adlaw. I assure you reading the script in translation will not diminish the viewing experience. On the contrary, it may actually enrich your movie house experience. Imagine what many other things you’ll see since you already know the story.

Now, this is only possible because, as the film’s director and screenwriter, I have made sure that everything in the movie was smartly cinematic, and truly played to the principle that “Film is a visual medium.”

Trust me, even if I offer you the script in English now, you still would want to see the movie because, well, the actors and narrators will be speaking in glorious Hiligaynon, which, for me, should actually be among the top selling points of an Ilonggo film. “Only with you will I be happy,” for example, has nothing compared to “Sa imo lang ako magamalipayon.”  And although I’m probably the most competent translator for it, “Only with you do I belong” is a pale shadow of the brief and concise “Sa imo lang ako.”

But a promise is a promise. I said I’m going to share with you the script (I did not specify it would be in Hiligaynon), so here is the script as we used it for shooting and subtitling.

After the opening credits,

Seq. 1. Darkness. Time-lapse of daybreak. Things described in narration.

“In the beginning, God created light; and the heavens and waters. Land was separated from the seas. God created plants and grasses; the fishes in the sea, and the birds in the air; the beasts of the land; man and woman; and gay men and lesbians. God created them hetero and LGBT according the God’s likeness. And all God’s creation, God blessed and pronounced good. Then, God made holy the seventh day so that humans would understand the naked truth about the thing called Love.”

Seq. 2 – Adam & Kim. Candlelit bedroom. Sound of the waves. Two males making love. (Consider rough sex for a good contrast to the narration!)

“And this is not a dream: / In our bed, / Your arms, legs, and face / Become waves; / And you, / The sea. // In you, the tides rise and fall / My kisses are wet / Like the moon’s reflection / Licking the naked waves of your bottomless sea. / Your skin is golden / Beneath my adoration.”
Seq. 3 – Beautiful nude. Female form in darkness. Lighting a match, lighting a candle.
“In the dark, I light a match / So that, for a second, I can see your nipples / Hardened by my lust. // Passions awakened, / I light a candle / So I can gaze on your breast, / Belly and button. / Your teats shine erect / In the reflected light of my upright candle. / Your arms and luminescent thighs / Catch the glimmer of light / And in the dark, you glow / Like the moon in the night sky.”
Seq. 4 – Zyra & Christian
Eman Abatayo’s “Sa Imo Lang Ako” from the Original Soundtrack of Gugma sa Panahon sang Bakunawa. (Used with permission.) Acacia tree. Lovers silently falling in love. Knife carving. Kisses on the branch.

C: Let us leave this tree.

Z: I will go with you.

C: Tonight, by the banana-land.

Z: I will meet you there. Don’t make me wait.

C: Only with you will I be happy.

Z: Only with you do I belong.

Seq. 5 – Banana grove. Z waits, 3 abductors see her. Chase scene. Pieces of clothing on the ground. Z cries, hides. C arrives & takes in the scene. Kisses the clothes.

C: Zyra, I love you.

In Romeo and Juliet fashion, C stabs himself.

Z arrives, takes in the scene, kisses dead C.

Z: Christian, I love you. Only with you do I belong.

Seq. 6 – Lilet & Menzie.

Public market. Shoeshine shop.

M: I love you. I truly, deeply love you!

L: I’m an older woman, and I got kids.

M: I don’t care. I love you. Let’s leave this town.

S sees M and L. S & friends (the 3 abductors?) arrive.

S: Jerk! And you got the gall to hit on my mom?

M: I love her!

S: Love this…

L: Sonny, no!

S beats M. His friends join him. Fight scene. Policemen / tanods blow their whistle. 2 policemen rush in. S & friends escape. L goes to beaten M.

L: Noel…

M: Let us leave this town.

L: I will go with you.

M: Tonight, at the pier.

L: I will meet you there. Don’t make me wait.

M: Only with you will I be happy.

L: Only with you do I belong, Noel.

They kiss, damn it!

Seq. 7 – Adam & Kim (continues from Seq. 2, post-coital)

K: Let us leave this town.

A: I will go with you.

K: Tonight, at the pier.

A: I will meet you there. Don’t make me wait.

K: Only with you will I be happy.

A: Only with you do I belong.

Seq. 8 – Pier. A waits, 3 abductors see him. Fight scene. A gets stabbed, abductors drop the knife, runs away. K arrives, takes in the scene.

A: Kim, you came!

K: I love you! Only with you will I be happy.

A: Only with you do I belong.

Sound of police car sirens. Cops arrive to take in the scene.

Sa Imo Lang plays…

Fade out.

Now, I’m not stupid. I gave you the shooting script. But what we shot, what we got, and what we edited is another matter. So, hopefully, you will go watch our film, and see what the fuzz is all about. After all, having read the script, can you really pass up on the opportunity of seeing how we screwed? I mean, how we screwed up…beautifully?/PN
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