Pinoy Blonde - Peque Gallage
Upon watching legendary Filipino director Peque Gallaga's latest film
Pinoy Blonde, I was quickly reminded of Mamoru Oshii's live action feature film
Talking Head. In
Talking Head, Oshii explores the process of filmmaking through a plot which involves a filmmaker trying to finish his film inside a mysterious film studio inhabited by an otherworldly crew who are murdered one by one.
Pinoy Blonde on the other hand involves two cousins whose dream is to finally make their first feature film. They are ordered by their rich dying uncle to deliver a mysterious paper bag to an abandoned hotel building where they are supposed to exchange it for another mysterious bag. However, inside, they witness the cruelest of the denizens of Manila's underbellies.
Pinoy Blonde doesn't concentrate on the meager plot since it's more interested in it's two major characters, who are more concerned on who is the greatest Filipino filmmaker than the impending events that are already happening in front of them. Conrad Cunanan (Epy Quizon) is the grand defender of Lino Brocka, and like his idol, he dwells in drama and romance, mostly concerned with his sexual exploits and the eventual repercussions of such. Andrew Cunanan (Boy2 Quizon), on the other hand loves the more cerebral director Ishmael Bernal and considers him the greatest Filipino director. Despite their obvious differences, they are similar in plenty of things, such as their dreadlocked hairdo, and their geeky love for cinema to the point that their conversations are mostly composed of quotations from popular films.
Pinoy Blonde feels like a hodgepodge of different styles and it is almost impossible to tell that Gallaga directed the film, as it feels fresher than anything produced by the budding Philippine independent film community. The film makes use of its stylistic excesses to great effect - the split screens, the animated sequences, the CGI, even the slow motion scenes are not there for show. Remember, the film in its entirety represents the mentality of the Philippine youth - also a hodgepodge of different influences. The film is fun in its shallowest sense and even upon closer inspection. The film geek would wet his pants discerning the different quotes and the different directorial styles Gallaga is borrowing from. The more discerning film viewer would enjoy the film as an accurate reflection on today's youth with a plot that somehow scratches to a certain degree an inspection of the society (with its crimes, corruption, and immorality) that the youth are living in, something Oshii's film lacks. *****/*****
