Bagong Buwan: Telling it like it is

Killed by a stray bullet that could have come from a gun of a vigilante or a Muslim rebel during a crossfire, Ibrahim, who could not have been more than ten years old, fell lifeless into the arms of his mother Fatima.

How many children have died in this senseless war in the South? And deadly bullets don’t discriminate between Muslims and Christian children. They killed, period.

Bagong Buwan (an entry to the Metro Manila Film Festival by Bahaghari Films and Star Cinema) shows many heartrending scenes that remind us of the cruelty of war. This is the latest cinematic opus of Marilou Diaz-Abaya and features a bunch of brilliant actors, many of whom she’s worked with in the past. Principal character Akmad is played by Marilou’s favorite actor, Cesar Montano.

The following are scenes that still linger in my mind (Watch out for them when you see the movie):

1) The confrontation scene between Akmad (Cesar Montano) and Musa (Nonie Buencamino) – Cesar and Nonie are at their most intense here. The story is that they started filming this scene at about 9 p.m. which lasted until the wee hours of the morning. The brothers argue about why Cesar (Akmad), a doctor, was in Manila, curing other people while their families and relatives and friends in Mindanao were dying. Cesar says that he is a doctor, not a warrior. Nonie says that life is in Mindanao and the war must be fought and they were born to fight. There was also jealousy between the brothers. Musa accuses Akmad that he was favored by the family, having been sent to school in Manila while he remained in the jungle fighting for freedom.

The scene left me stunned.

2) The scene of Amy Austria and Cesar Montano. Amy tells Cesar that she still couldn’t forget their son, Ibrahim. That she has not dealt with the loss completely. Cesar convinces her to go with him to Manila. Amy refuses, saying that they can save more children in Mindanao.

Cesar in my interview with him revealed that he gave the scene to Amy, allowing her to shine. "Umalalay ako rito. I had to control the level of my performance so that I would not disrupt Amy."

The scene can make Amy win a Best Actress award.

3) The death scene of Farida (Caridad Sanchez) – This scene reduced me to tears. Farida admonishes her son Akmad, "Ikaw, mula’t mula, hindi mo sinunod ang kagustuhan ko…" This is a quiet scene that hits you straight in the gut. Tita Caring is brilliant.

4) Jericho Rosales and Cesar Montano inside a military jeep – Cesar and Jericho (a young lieutenant) are in a light conversation about life in Mindanao. But the lines they say in this scene say a lot about soldiers and Muslims. Cesar tells Jericho that he is new. "Hindi ka pa masyadong galit sa amin kasi hindi pa malalim ang sugat mo."

5) Farida in the evacuation scene – To escape the crossfire, families would walk from one mountain to another mountain for days. Farida narrates that she was still a young girl, "Lakad na kami ng lakad. Dito na ko nakapag-asawa." When her son was trying to convince her to go to Manila with him, she reasons out, Dito, alam ko ang lugar. Ang Maynila hindi ko kilala."

The muted silence of the children in this scene is enough to make you run home to your child and hug him.

6) The scenes of the two boys. The scenes of the Muslim child warrior (Carlo Aquino) and the Christian boy (Jiro Manio) who were bickering at each other on just about everything show the ignorance of Christians and Muslims about each other.

7) Rosary/Allah ritual – Marilou Diaz-Abaya has this shot where Jhong Hilario and Jiro pray the rosary while the Muslims are also praying to Allah.

It’s a beautiful scene that shows that no matter how diverse we are, we actually pray to a Higher Being with different names. And you ask, is this conflict in Mindanao anything to do with religious intolerance? I have no answers. I hope not.

Bagong Buwan is a story we thought we knew and understood. It shows a war because it explains what peace is all about. Just like any war, it also tells it straight to the face that the victims of this horrible war are the innocent civilians and children who "are conceived in hell and born in strife. They are the living reminders of all the things we failed to do."

Bagong Buwan inescapably is a movie about Mindanao, you and me! Go watch it and see who you are!