A mark-ed man

What a difference a weekend makes. I was walking through Greenbelt the other day with Mark Meily, director of the Metro Manila Filmfest entry Crying Ladies, which won Best Picture and garnered him the Best Director trophy in only his first full-length feature film. An established name in the world of TV commercials, he recalls, "This time last week, the film was about to open and it would be friends from the advertising world who’d smile and wish me the best." Well, those days are gone.

Now, it’s a few days after Awards night, and during the short walk to the 3rd floor cinemas, no less than six people stopped us in our tracks and bestow their gushing thanks and congratulations to Mark. One even did the "I’m now an actor, and I’d love to be in your next project" line. Mark, being the nice guy that he is and obviously not weaned on showbiz nonchalance and/or indifference, dutifully exchanges cellphone numbers, upon the fan’s request.

Based on a original screenplay (Bayad Luha) that Mark submitted as his thesis during an Armanda Lao writing workshop he attended in 2000, which subsequently won a Palanca award the next year, Crying Ladies uses a very structured ritual–the Chinese-Filipino wake and funeral–as a backdrop to examine the lives of three very ordinary women who are contracted as wailing mourners. Starring Sharon Cuneta, Hilda Koronel, Angel Aquino and Eric Quizon as the son whose father has passed away (for which performance Eric won Best Actor), it’s a big film about small people, their dreams and ambitions, their victories and frustrations. With a very assured touch, Mark turns these tragic circumstances into a social comedy, that by being very Filipino (albeit Chinese-Filipino), transforms into a story of timeless and universal appeal.

The attention to detail, the cinematography (courtesy of Mark’s wife, Lee), the bravura performances from the three leading ladies and the ensemble cast (I pick out Sherry Lara as Eric’s widowed mother as my unheralded favorite), the relatively quick pace of the story and the brisk editing (even the dramatic highlights are expedited rather than exploited), the script with its goldmine of one-liners–they all add up to a novel cinematic experience in this year of big budget epics and costume fantasies.

Hilda Koronel, who garnered the Best Supporting Actress plum, as the faded bit-role movie "star in her own mind" Aling Doray, is perfectly campy. It’s a role that in the original screenplay was intended for the late Nida Blanca.

"Nida had already said yes to playing the role and then events caught up with us. To be honest, I thought at first that Hilda was too young and ‘pretty’ for the role, but she has always epitomized the ‘Filipina actress’ for me, so I didn’t want to miss the chance to work with her. We modified the role and I have to say, it was such a joy to work with her. Her mother is suffering from Alzheimer’s and her husband has Parkinson’s, but while we were filming, she was a positive livewire, vibrant and kenkoy,"he enthuses. "The funny thing with Hilda is there was this one time in between shooting and she was regaling the crew with stories of this movie and that movie, when suddenly she spouted lines from our film, and I realized she was continuing to be ‘in character’ as Aling Doray, and merely incorporating her own experiences. That’s the kind of dedication she has to her craft."

People have teased me about the number of cameos in the film–not the movie stars, but the people from the advertising world. (There’s even one by Mark himself, as the fireman who Sharon talks to. Ed) What can I say? It was a way to save on budget!" Mark laughs. "The one anecdote I have concerns Lydia Go. She’s one of the most in-demand food stylists. If there’s a product shot, Jollibee, Selecta, whatever, it’s Lydia you’ll get. When I had to do commercials and we’d book Lydia, we had to plan months in advance. So I call her mid-week and explain how I want to use her for this scene of Crying Ladies, shooting on Sunday–and she was there!"

It’s funny, you know how Makati is like the home-base for the ad agencies. Well, here in the Makati theaters, Crying Ladies is Number One in the box office. It may be Captain Barbell all over the rest of Metro Manila, but as far as Makati is concerned, I guess nothing beats watching yourself and dragging all your friends, co-workers and relatives!"

From the time he wrote Bayad Luha, Mark did the extensive interviewing needed to get the ritual aspects just right. He’d talk to countless Chinese friends to get the details and even the conversational nuances needed to provide authenticity. He’d consult with Funeraria Paz about the order of the processions at the cemetery, what goes ahead of the hearse, the band, the motorcycle escort, which family members kneel or stand, what happens to the photo of the deceased.

"During the wake, I showed the habit of having Buddhist monks in the morning, then having a Catholic priest in the afternoon. The monks we used were genuine, visitors from China. In fact, their stipulation was that they just perform the ceremony and we film around it, then edit and use whatever we wanted. There was to be no instructions from us, no commands of ‘Take’ and ‘Cut’."

A production of Tony Gloria’s Unitel Films (the same outfit that brought us American Adobo), Crying Ladies took on the aspect of a mainstream project, and not just some indie feature, when Sharon Cuneta agreed to make it her first Filmfest project, with a novice director at that.

"Our pitch to Sharon was that it would be a role very different form anything she’s ever played," Mark relates. "No leading man, she’d smoke and swear, play tong-its and be down and out with no true redemption or transformation within the film. Not having seen the script yet, I told Tony to tell her it would be the kind of role Gong Li would portray, somebody ordinary, yet very real."

At this point, I wonder aloud to Mark if it wasn’t the wrong Li he was referring to, as it’s Jet Li who rates stratospherically in Sharon’s mind. But take it she did, and as Mark continues, "In that scene where you’d have somebody walking down the street, dressed as a fairy with child in tow, Lee and I felt no one could do that like Sharon. It was truly a blessing for the film that she said ‘Yes’ even if she was in the midst of having to do two other projects.

"As for Angel Aquino, there was initially discussion on whether the role would be better played by someone with more sexpot dimensions, given how the character has an affair with the husband of a friend. But I insisted that Angel would give that right balance, she would be believable as someone who compulsively goes to confession, works in a charitable foundation, and would still be sought after by this philandering husband."

Asking Mark what would be his three favorite Philippine films, he readily answers, "Batch ’81, Maynila and Himala." Not so coincidentally, one of his first film experiences was working as an assistant to Mike de Leon. Expanding the range to world cinema, it is Chinese films like Raise the Red Lantern, Red Sorghum, Ju Dou and Not One Less that spring to his mind. As for directors from the West, he enumerates Woody Allen, Billy Wilder and Jim Jarmusch.

By all accounts, Mark remains very much a family man. While his marriage to Lee, a cinematographer, means they collaborate professionally as well, there are three children, and a stepdaughter from Lee’s previous marriage, that give Mark the impetus to put things aside and head home. The youngest, a four-year-old daughter, is the purest definition of "Daddy’s girl".

"She rules my life, it’s as simple as that!" gushes the proud father. "There are times, late at night, when Lee will bring her a glass of milk or water and she’ll insist that she’ll take it only if I’m the one who brings it. When we have little arguments, she’ll be watching and tell Lee to stop picking on me!" And the foolish grin on Mark’s face as he relates this says it all.

Even if he downplays it, there’s no denying Mark is "hot property" right now. Ready to forego Easy Street, he insists that his next film will still be based on his own screenplay and that the one he’s working on may be completed by April. In his own words, he’s still a "TV commercial director who happens to be doing films". While he may practically write his own ticket, there are obviously priorities, and standards he hopes to maintain. And just maybe, the resurgence and viability of Philippine Cinema once again taking its place on the global stage, rests on the shoulders of stubborn and headstrong individuals like Mark Meily.