Honoring women without bashing men

MANILA, Philippines - Director Dante Nico Garcia may no longer have time to visit his provincial roots. But he always returns to it the best way he knows how: through his work. The director of Ploning is proud of Cuyo, Palawan, where his parents raised him to follow his heart. Never mind if their precocious son didn’t want to be the lawyer or the seaman obedient children of his barrio mates want to be.

It took awhile before direk Dante finally convinced his parents that his heart belonged somewhere else — in the arts. But they finally understood. And his new film, Mrs. Recto, is a tribute to them and other parents who are in the same boat.

“This film is somewhat autobiographical,” direk Dante admits. In creating the character of a law student who takes up the course to please his parents but who moonlights as a painter to follow his heart, direk Dante is depicting someone very close to home. He wants to show their tug-of-war of emotions.

This way, direk Dante hopes to convince parents they can strike a compromise with their child. He hopes mothers who question their child for pursuing a different dream will not condemn him or her.

True to form, the director picked out a woman to drive home his point. Pregnant Judy Ann Santos, his best friend and star of Ploning, can’t join the project. Regine Velasquez could. So she was cast as Mrs. Recto, a single mom with a very intelligent daughter who asks so many questions. Mrs. Recto is a typical Pinay who has to make ends meet. She put up a shop along where else — Recto Avenue — that sells fake certificates and enrolment documents.

The deglamorized songbird in Mrs. Recto is a far cry from the well-coifed star we see every Sunday on GMA 7’s Party Pilipinas. And rightly so, states the director.

“I want to take Regine out of the romantic comedy genre,” direk Dante explains. “It’s high time she tackles a more serious role.”

After all, the role of a woman at home — especially a single mom like Regine’s character is — is never easy.

“Women are complex,” direk Dante observes. Too long have women been called the weaker sex and described as just “beautiful,” he adds.

It’s about time women come out strong, courageous and powerful. But in doing so, direk Dante is careful not to hurt the male ego.

“This film is about women but it doesn’t put men down,” he relates. In fact, Mrs. Recto is an indirect tribute to men since it aims to help them understand their women better. And he’s not just talking about romance. Direk Dante is talking about a woman’s strength of character.

In telling Mrs. Recto’s story, direk Dante hopes to tell the tale of the typical Pinay who works hard to make ends meet. And in seeing them through direk Dante’s eyes, he hopes the audience will appreciate “how complex, how beautiful Pinays are.”

 Does he expect Mrs. Recto to win as much acclaim as Ploning (the Philippine entry to the Oscars) did?

Direk Dante echoes what Maria Callas said when a student told her about the audience’s feedback.

“What matters more is how the audience responds to my film,” he says.

Critical acclaim is nice. But meeting a stranger in the mall and hearing how she relates to Ploning is much better.

“Ang sarap ng feeling!” gushes direk Dante. “Mas matimbang sa akin yon.”

His boss’ words still ring loud and clear in his mind: “There’s a winner in every award-winning body. The Oscars gives out awards every year. Winners are forgotten, but a good film is a good film.”

Direk Dante doesn’t lay claim to be a filmmaker. “I didn’t study film. I took up clothing technology in college,” he admits.

 But he prides himself in telling stories — beautiful stories. If these move people — to feel, to act — he will feel doubly rewarded. He won’t need a trophy to make him feel blessed and victorious.