Murder & mayhem inhabit the world of silence

We have nothing but admiration for the management of the Shangri-La Plaza Mall for its espousal of free film festivals for as long as we remember. The process is simple, through proposals for various embassies to promote their films through a free screening. But the effects are long-lasting. It helps embassies sell their culture to new audiences, and brings in customers to the mall it normally may not have had originally.

This past week from Aug. 23 to 25, the Shangri-La Cineplex held the seventh edition of the International Silent Film Festival. This year’s edition had six films from Japan, Italy, Germany, USA, Spain and the Film Development Council of the Philippines with their backup bands Pulso, Sino Sikat, Composer’s Lab, Razorback, Earthmover and Spy.

Keisatsukan (A Police Officer) was the opening film from Japan directed by Tomu Uchida, a master of Japanese cinematic lyricism. The action-drama based on an actual bank robbery in 1932 tells of two high school friends — Itami, a young principled police officer who suspects Tetsuo of being involved in criminal pursuits but has no proof beyond Tetsuo’s refusal to divulge his residence. The plot unfolds slowly, in a leisurely plodding manner, gaining speed towards the end with definite proof of Tetsuo’s guilt. Isamu Kosugi who essayed the role of Itami is a gem of an actor, significantly showing through his eyes, and body movements the pain he felt in his heart.

The Italian film La Grazia (The Grace), 1929, by Aldo de Benedetti was based on Di Notte (At Night), written in 1894 by Nobel Prize winner Grazia Deledda. It tells of a shepherdess who falls in love with a stranger and gives birth to their child in Sardinia, unveiling the conflict between the ancient code of honor and tradition with a more modern view of love and passion.

 Ich Möchte Kein Mann Sein (I Don’t Want To Be A Man), Germany, 1918, directed by Ernst Lubitsch deals with stereotypes of gender and expectations of people’s behaviors. Spoiled teener Ossi would rather play poker, smoke and flirt than study. When her guardian goes on a business trip, she dresses up like a man and plunges into the nightlife, bumping into her tutor which leads to other complications.

El Abuelo (The Grandfather), 1925, directed by Jose Bucsh from Spain, revolves around Count Albrit who is determined to discover which of his two granddaughters is illegitimate, and which one is the true heir to the Albrit name. The mood is alternately tragic and funny, as the film goes through many chapters that unveil the evil and ungratefulness in man, with the ultimate conclusion that what really matters is what is in one’s heart.  

The Filipino film Kamera Obskura (2012), directed by Raymond Red is a film within a film, re-imagining the lost silent cinematic heritage in the Philippines. We had watched this film, shown to a full house at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Main Theater during the Cinemalaya Festival 2012 where it ran away with the Best Picture award.

Easily the most awaited entry of this year’s Silent Film Festival was USA’s The Phantom of the Opera directed by Rupert Julian, 1925, with the well-known story of opera ghost Eric known as Phantom, starring the remarkable Lon Chaney, who lives in the dungeons of the theater. The masked madman falls in love with singer Christine whom he has made his muse. The Broadway musical version was staged in 2012 at the CCP Main Theater.

The silent film is the original version of this with some changes. In the original, Phantom dies of a broken heart on his organ after Christine leaves his lair. After poor reactions of a preview audience, the studio changed it to a chase scene with Christine in a carriage where the angry mob beats Phantom to death and throws his body into the Seine River. Admittedly, the changed ending is more commercially exciting. But the original is more artistically true to life. We prefer the original unchanged version where rather than having Phantom portrayed as villain, he is shown as a misunderstood genius who dies for love.

 The showing at the Shang Cineplex, however, couldn’t have been as significant without the presence of Kevin, Louie, Tirso, Manuel and Bryan of the Razorback. We appreciate the difficulty of the band’s creative genius in taking over the role of singer, spoken text and atmospheric sounds, all in one blow. Apart from their iconic Wild Boar image, they have added a new dimension to their persona.

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