direk Chito, the eyes have it

It’s in the eyes. Director Chito Roño would drill this before his actors again and again. The eyes, he says, are the windows of the soul.

Thus did he make Best Actresses out of first-time Urian winner Rosanna Roces in La Vida Rosa, Jaclyn Jose in Private Show (her very first movie) and Itanong Mo Sa Buwan, Lorna Tolentino in Narito ang Puso Ko, Maricel Soriano in Separada and Vilma Santos in Bata, Bata Paano Ka Ginawa and Dekada.

Cherry Pie Picache gushes, "I have so much respect for direk Chito. He’s very frank with his opinion and about our work. You know where you stand with him."

She should know. The award-winning Cherry Pie worked with the director in Narito ang Puso Ko, Laro Sa Baga, and his latest work, Feng Shui.

He loves women, not in the romantic sense, but in their knack for rising above the bleakest of circumstances. You see it in Vilma, when she steered her family through the tumultuous ’70s in Dekada 70. You see it in Maricel, when she triumphed over her inner demons as a separated woman in what else – Separada. You also saw it in Rosanna, who played a gun moll in La Vida Rosa.

Now, the director expects Kris Aquino to jar moviegoers off their seats and drop their jaws at her ability to send shivers down their spines in Feng Shui.

"The quiet scenes are the most eloquent," direk Chito relates. "Take, for instance, one highlight scene when Kris catches philandering husband Inton (Jay Manalo) telling a lie. The guilty husband has just texted her about his misleading whereabouts."

Kris’ eyes, says her director, spoke volumes. A dozen hysterical scenes wouldn’t have approximated the power of that single moment when Kris’ eyes mirrored anguish and betrayal.

Will Kris see a repeat of her Mano Po victory (this time for Best Actress) at the next awards race? It’s too early to tell. But director and actress are mighty proud of that highlight scene in Feng Shui and are keeping their fingers crossed.

Another scene the director is proud of in his first movie for Star Cinema is one involving the comebacking Lotlot de Leon.

"Her death scene was so natural and supernatural at the same time. Moviegoers can relate to it because it shows that death has a natural cause," says direk Chito. But they will also feel the chills because the supernatural element gives it a scary twist.

The director is careful about ‘overscaring’ his audience, though. Doing so would make his work unbelievable.

"It’s too scary, Filipinos would rather stay away. But if it’s not, they will cry foul and condemn you as corny," observes the director. The trick then, is to strike a balance between real and unreal, between what can happen and what cannot in real life.

To do this, direk Chito made sure he had none of the gothic effects common in horror films. You’ll see no cobweb-covered chandelier or bats flying all over the place.

The setting could be your house or mine. The only antique furniture is the Chinese bag-ua which Kris as main character Joy brings home after a stranger leaves it hanging around one day.

"The horror here is a consequence of something. It is not the cause," direk Chito relates.

Unlike his horror movie, Patayin Sa Sindak si Barbara some eight years ago, Feng Shui has no gore, no raw violence. In fact, it only has two shock sequences. The emphasis is less on the minimal special effects than on the story.

The wave of horror builds up scene after scene until the viewer is at the edge of her seat, raring to, as Kris Aquino puts it," "embrace her date out of fear."

Audiences in other parts of the world may as well do this too, as Feng Shui does the rounds of the international circuit starting Sept. 18 at the Golf Glen Theater in Chicago, Los Angeles on Sept. 19 and Hong Kong in early October.

The feng shui experts also have high hopes for the movie.

"I consulted Mother Lily (Monteverde’s) geomancer and she said the movie will be a big hit," Kris reveals.

We don’t have to wait long to find out the truth. Chito Roño’s comeback film after two years debuts today in Metro theaters.