By: Mari-an Santos
Philippine Entertainment
Portal (PEP)
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To watch Hinulid
is to enter a mystical otherworld, or so it seems. The film by Bicolano
director Kristian Sendon Cordero is based on the short story “The Night Express
Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore” from “Nagueos” by fellow Bicolano Carlos Ojeda
Aureus. Both of them are Palanca literary awardees as well.
To watch Hinulid
is to experience a visual poem--and experience you do. This writer is a
self-confessed admirer of Nora Aunor’s acting talent. But, and without
diminishing the Superstar’s role, this film is more than a movie that stars
Aunor. It is a work of art in visuals and in screenplay.
BICOLANO PRIDE.
That it is completely immersed and steeped in the Bicolano sphere is not only
obvious in the language--using Bicol Rinconada, but also in its steadfast Roman
Catholic religiosity. To say that the story is about Sita (Aunor), an OFW and
single mother who comes home to Bicol to find her son Lukas (Jess Mendoza) and
lay his ashes to rest, is to chip only at one layer of the narrative.
It must be said
that the film employs non-linear storytelling. It goes inside the mind of Sita
as she sits in a train from Metro Manila to Bicol, the night express, to access
her memories and thoughts. Cordero himself has pointed out that one of the
themes is the more enduring power of memory over justice, in this case, the
musings of Sita skip from one point in Lukas‘ life to another--mimicking how
people remember.
STEEPED IN
FOLKLORE. The film starts out with a folk tale, a local one, of the Tandayag,
which is a primordial and celestial element that is given the characteristics
of a mother, who has a child.
On earth, there
are the “Tolong Hinulid”, three statues of the dead Christ who, according to
ancient belief, were discovered floating in a river in Bicol, and have been
charged under the care of the people there.
“La Muerte” is a
folk figure almost synonymous to death. But unlike the more popular
personification of “Kamatayan”, she is not sinister.
The film tackles
the day to day, side by side existence of religious fervor with folk
beliefs--yet not subjugating one with the other. The blind village shaman and
seer is as much a respected and revered figure as the learned parish priest.
MULTIPLE LAYERS,
THEMES. As it is set in 1999, it tackles the impending doom and dread over the
coming new millennium. Yet, the film is not constrained by timeframe, as it
also tackles stories and histories that happened before Sita’s life.
It lays logical
thinking and the law alongside folk religiosity and faith.
It also touches on
lofty convictions that drive militant groups and excuses of brotherhood that
fuel violence in fraternities.
The film even
delves into issues of religious orders among each other.
It is in its
philosophizing and poetry that the film excels. When it delves into day to day
chatter, it becomes weighed down by the mundane. Then, it becomes a chore to pay
attention. There is a popular quote that says: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you
miss, you'll land among stars.” There is a lofty aspiration here and the film
certainly packs in many themes and meanings. But the film’s strengths lie in
the visuals and in the wordless acting that is heavy with emotion and meaning.
STRENGTH IN
VISUALS. Even beyond being played out in another language from the mainstream
used in film and popular media, Cordero tells the story in visual clues and
blocks of anecdotes, with the audience depending on Sita’s memories, while also
calling into question what is real and what is imagined.
The visuals are
dramatic, may shots are visual poetry created with Director of Photography
Boyet Abrenica, aside from capturing the natural environment.
This writer found
three among several scenes noteworthy. One is part of the early montage, from
above, the audience looks down to see three floating bodies on the water and a
banca coming in to meet them. Another is the most powerful scene between a man
and three bamboo tree trunks, weighed down by politics and power. Third, is
Nora Aunor’s only scene where she lets out the combination of fear, anger, and
desperation (among others) in a long but silent scream.
The animation in
the film increases its mystical quality. It also binds together the folk
element of the shooting star to the science in astrology.
Cordero’s opus
recalls Spanish surrealist Luis Buuel’s That Obscure Object of Desire and
several works by American David Lynch, as well as Filipino indie film maverick
Kidlat Tahimik’s Turumba. Yet, it inhabits its own space, like a mystical
forest that we stumble upon Bicol or in the memories of those who know it.
Visually
satisfying and sometimes uncomfortable, Hinulid (The Sorrows of Sita) is in the
Circle Competition of QCinema 2016.
Hinulid is one of
the official entries of the 2016 QCinema International Film Festival running
until October 22 in Gateway, Robinsons Galleria, Trinoma, and UP Town Center.
