MOVIE REVIEW: SERBIS

Producer: Ferdie Lapuz

Director: Brillante "Dante" Mendoza

Writer: Armando Lao

Main Cast:

Gina Pareño. . . . Nanay Flor

Coco Martin. . . . Alan

Jaclyn Jose. . . . Nayda

Synopsis:

Following the travails of a struggling family headed by a dowager, Nanay Flor, from the province of Angeles, Pampanga, the story was established with the bizarre conditions of each member of the Pineda family. In order to make a living, the family operates a decrepit movie house, which features soft pornographic films. They are also running a small canteen within the theatre which also served as their home.

Nanay Flor’s family Nayda, her daughther, Lando, Nayda’s husband and Jewel, her adopted daughter, work simultaneously for the ticket booth and in managing the canteen. Her nephews also had their share of labors in their business, Ronald as the projectionist and Alan as the billboard painter.

Bigamy case against Nanay Flor’s husband, unwanted pregnancy of Alan’s girlfriend and possible incest between Nayda and her cousin, Ronald, are the challenges that they had to face every day. But the real crisis that the film had featured is the very building block of the family, the movie house, which turned out to be a sex lair for ‘serbis’ boys who make a living inside the theatre by fulfilling the gay patron’s sexual needs.

Critic:

A.Narrative

Focusing solely on how the story was narrated in the film, there is one thing that I have with me to say, “Reality ate the art in this film.”

Why did I say that? Well, because of the fact that the story has told the public what actually happens to cinema houses that plays pornographic movies, maybe those in Ermita, or even the theatre of Isetann in Recto. That there are people who build their own business inside, exercising sexual acts to fully satisfy their hormonal hunger, which is true to that matter and is a good eye opener, though I myself, am already aware of that.

But going back to the story, it didn’t offer anything pleasant to the eye nor did it connect with the emotions of the viewers. What it did is to just arouse the viewers, let them experience what those gay patrons felt while inside the Pineda’s old movie house. And all of the sexual acts and even the story of each character, the bigamy case, the possible incest, the unwanted pregnancy, shown in this film do not vary at all, because they all are roots of poverty and evil deeds.

When art is supposed to be a variation of emotions, and feed the viewers with awe, sadness, sympathy and joy within the duration of the film, it has nothing more to offer but disgrace to Filipino people.

These are all my initial reaction after watching the movie. I was negatively overwhelmed by the narration or the story itself. I almost gag while watching it basically because it showed elements that are considered nasty, dirty and immoral based on social norms and my personal standards.

In my opinion, the film could have gotten better, and the veteran film critics present on the Cannes Film Festival would probably have a second thought on walking out while the film is playing, if they put more heart to it than just merely showing the rotten conditions of Filipino people. Because even though we truly are facing economic, social and political upheavals, each of us never forget to bring our own little silver linings in life especially when we are with our family.

B.Stylistics

From the beginning of the film up to its last remaining seconds, I was disturbed by the frantic movement of the camera as well as the constant noise of the traffic that overpowers the characters dialogue at times.

These camera movements and the unwanted noise are elements which are all part of the stylistic forms used in the duration of the film.

The shaking effect which is due to the movement of a handheld camera used in shooting the scenes generates a documentary-like shots and was effectively used in scenes that tracked the entire cinema house whenever a character goes from one part of the establishment to another. It gave the audiences a detailed picture of the decrepit place which explicitly imposes the idea that it is the center of the film’s plot and that within its interior geography, will the story revolve.

As for the noise that practically drowned the several dialogues from different scenarios, they could have make used of sound editors to gradually reduce the volume of noise in a way that the character’s speeches are not fully overpowered by the physical noise made by the community outside the cinema house.

Natural lighting was also used throughout the movie, letting the scenes be seen by the viewers the way the camera did without any help from the artificial lighting which made it appear more realistic, and is what basically is the goal of the film. This lighting technique is commonly used by realist directors who rely on natural light which closely approximates reality.

The last thing that I’ve observed with the technicalities used in the film, is that it contains few cuts and absolutely long takes which resulted in a more provocative shots.

C.Film Reel

I’ll blatantly rate this movie with the score of three. The score is based from how I agreed with the issue that the film raised within the screenplay, for its realistic approach to people. The matters which centered on how Filipinos react on facing their ill- stricken lives, the poverty, immorality and personal predicaments that they face daily in life.

The primary reason why I did not fully appreciate the film is because, I have this connotation about movies that they are all produced to entertain, educate, enlighten and for some like this film, to show us the truth. But the whole screenplay lacks the story flow which is basically the most essential part of a film.

Other than that, it is in its way successful because it was able to show explicit and provocative scenes which are meant to inform the viewer on how theatre houses and pornographic films work and affect its patrons, it also effectively let its viewers experience and know for themselves the reason why those gay patrons got involved with such acts of purchasing “serbis.”