A film date w/ Ishma
🌹 Pagdating sa Dulo (1971) dir. Ishmael Bernal 🎬
“For the young ones here, why have you decided to come here & watch this film?”, the question echoed on the four corners of Manuel Conde Theatre. Sir George Sison, the producer of Ishmael Bernal’s first film eagerly asked the audience with a look of bewilderment on his face.
In my mind, I already know the answer. I was an intern for Film Development Council of the PH (FDCP) & as part of my stay there, I also got the chance to work with the National Film Archives of the PH (NFAP). The scanning room was a room full of wonders for me. I remember scanning “Ang Gangster at Ang Birhen” & would casually look at the stuff around the room — Everything screamed ‘classic’ & ‘old’; ‘50s to 80s’ —
— And there was this film poster that I always adored. It was the film poster of Pagdating Sa Dulo (At The Top), Ishmael Bernal’s debut film in 1971.
Pagdating Sa Dulo is a film about a taxi dancer & a taxi driver couple on their road to movie stardom with a satire compilation of all-tell stories about the Tagalog filmmaking back then. What impressed me is that it didn’t made me feel that I was watching a film dated 47 years ago. Though, as amazing as it seems, it also tells a sad story behind it.
You know, back then, bomba films were the trend. And by the time, Pagdating was released, only few people watched the film. It was a flop. As Sir Sison said, “It was so different from the films that were shown back then. The audience weren’t ready for it.” True enough, it was a film tryna oppose the bomba film culture from it’s cliche drama acting & stories {and ofc, the soft porn connotation}
As a film sucker esp of classic black & white films, it left me gagging at the end as these two actors looked directly at the camera — END SEQUENCE. It was such an eyegasmic sequence that I still have goosebumps remembering it.
And god, RITA GOMEZ was something. I can imagine how big of a star she was back then. I can tell she was an artist of her own. 🖤
{Damn, this post is too long na. Hahahaha.}
A tidbit of my unpopular opinion — The film was so ahead of its time. Imagine making a film that nobody wants to watch bc it’s not in the trend but 47yrs later — it has become a classic, a film with it’s own character. You have this {supposedly} GREAT film from a GREAT director but the ppl back then weren’t ready for a satire film that talks about —
— the exploitation of starlets; the homophobia in the industry; the alcohol addiction; the commercialization; and how painful a fall could be when you worked your ass off to the top & realized it was far from what you dreamed of.
And it’s STILL happening until now. After 47 years, It’s still happening...