Un poco de Peque; este, donde esta Francis?

In the tradition of last year’s Pinoy Blonde, Unitel’s new release, Nasaan si Francis?, hits us with an overt nod to the Peque Gallaga School of Filmmaking. This comes as no surprise given the provenance of first-time full length feature film director Gabby Fernandez. Gabby has worked with Peque over several of the meister’s films, and the influence shows. Shot primarily in Bacolod, Nasaan shares that shaggy-dog quality that Pinoy Blonde irrepressibly possessed. It’s indie digital film sensibilities, given a shot of mainstream production values and promoting.

Formally credited as Unico Entertainment presents a Crazy Angle Production, it’s Unitel’s marketing arm giving this film that old school (okay, old film school) effort. But as to whether it successfully finds that mainstream youth audience in numbers remains to be seen. As with all films of this ilk, one can only wander too far from formula and still reasonably expect boffo box-office business. Witness the plight of Pinoy Blonde last year. While enthusiastically received by college kids and all those who appreciate the Tarantino/Ritchie style of filmmaking, this proved to be a genre that still lacks "legs" to be blockbuster material. To achieve that this year, it still looks like teen or young adult romance, no matter how predictable, is the ticket. Sad that, but such is the world we live in.

So what does Nasaan si Francis? have going for it? A snappy, hip (albeit too hip?) script, some heavy-duty casting, off the wall humor, inspired improvisational acting and inventive use of CGIs (computer generated images). You’d think this would all be elements to ensure the success of this film; but truth be told, I can only hope that this movie does find its audience. To hope for more would be wishful thinking, because time and time again, the interesting and novel only get the cursory nod and is ignored by the general mainstream audience. I still think it criminal that the excellent indie feature Big Time didn’t find an audience early last month. You had an intelligent script, some very fine subdued acting (even when the temptation to play it "over the top" would have been so strong), crisp editing and directing; and yet, zilch for ticket sales.

Nasaan is very much a simple, silly premise taken to its absurd, wacky conclusion and the enjoyment therein is derived from the getting there. You get two archetype slackers (played with gusto by Rico Blanco and Paolo Contis), put them in the provincial setting of Bacolod, have their salvation come in the form of a drug-addled Bacolod society boy/local pusher named Francis (played by Epy Quizon), percolate and let all hell break loose in the name of broad, drug-referenced comedy. Christopher de Leon plays the Manila-based drug lord who flies down to set Francis straight on the money owed to him. And the cameos fly fast and furious. Tanya Garcia and Julia Clarete are two bar girls who service Francis, with Tanya’s character playing girlfriend to Paolo’s. Rita Avila and Ricky Davao check in as the siblings of Francis – remnants of the decaying Bacolod family that presumably staked its life on sugar and saw its rapid decline coincide with that of the family fortune. Karl Roy is Francis’ sidekick, and if you think the Francis character is your typical fritong utak, Karl’s character is utak that’s overcooked to crispy black – the type you can carbon date.

Angel Aquino is Francis’ girlfriend, while Rio Locsin is mama-san to Tanya and Julia. Mark Gil and Michael de Mesa make their by now requisite appearances. Is there any indie or indie-like film that won’t have any one of these two, and/or their progeny, joining the cast? Thank God for their commitment to always stretching their acting chops and being ready, at the drop of a dime, to share their acting mettle with all these new directors and auteurs.

One highlight of the film is Boyet’s blissfully whacked-out-of-his-brain portrayal of the Manila drug lord. How Boyet’s character ends up ingesting the tabs of Ectasy is a story unto itself. The untimely demise of Francis, and how our Bacolod version of Bill and Ted (Rico and Paolo) have to hide this fact while everyone is looking for Francis, and the search for the 50 tabs which will help give the two some kind of future, forms the core of the film’s plotline. The Excellent Adventures, in a manner of speaking.

Along the way, we get hilarious send-ups of Chinese horoscope, the low-life high-jinks of drug dealing, the decay and rot of Bacolod society, and one very laid back carabao about to get the kick of his beastly life. There’s some inventive use of utilizing CGIs to have sketchings and postcard scenes come to life; and there’s the inherent irony of everyone getting along famously with Francis even if he’s already a corpse. The interaction with this corpse forms much of the humor carrying the main body of this quirky film. If there is one plotline weakness, it would be that it seems that at one point, the crew was having too much fun and realized they just had to end the film already. There’s an abruptness to the resolution of the film, but having brought us this far, we are still left with a sense of satisfaction.

Reminiscent of Blow and Scarface meets Weekend at Bernie’s, the film is very much homage to Peque as mentor to Direk Gabby. Co-produced by Boyet and Epy, the film is testament to the kind of financial commitment these two thespians had in making this kind of film come to life. It may not be a film for everyone, but I won’t begrudge the technical gloss that Gabby brings to the fore, nor his valiant vision in bringing us something truly different.