The Flipcritic

MAGKAPATID and DISKARTE have more in common than you might think. They both go on autopilot for their entire lengths. Their women are their least likeable characters, They both bear very little truth or insight. And they both pretend to be something they're not. The latter was soft-porn pretending to be an action film. While the former is a feel-good film pretending to be a dramatic presentation. With two of the Philippines's most likeable actresses, MAGKAPATID had huge potential. Instead, it's a huge letdown.

Sharon Cuneta (MADRASTA) plays a doctor who has everything. She's rich, has a loving husband who is a dedicated family man (played by Christopher De Leon of AMERICAN ADOBO), and has a son whom she loves dearly. Her sister played by Judy Ann Santos ("Esperanza") is dependent on her to say the least (Cuneta's character lends her her ATM card for periodic withdrawals) and isn't as fortunate as her sister. She too has a loving husband (a struggling band member played by Ding Dong Dantes), is jobless and has two children (one of which before she was married).

In Ms. Cuneta's character's almost vulgar sense of generosity (vulgar because she seems do it out of control and not so much out of kindness), she offers to buy her sister a home across hers so that their families can grow together. As they all prepare to go out on a picnic, Ms. Cuneta's character is called for an emergency and is accompanied by her husband. The rest of the group go ahead to their camp site, and tragically (but not presented convincingly), one of Ms. Santos' character's sons drowns in an accident, along with Ms. Cuneta's. Ms. Cuneta's character blames Ms. Santos' and forms the conflict on the story, leading to the climax whether their relationship will be consoled (it's not so much of climax as it is a forgone conclusion).

Why go see this movie? Like DISKARTE, you know what's going to happen. Here, there'll be a fight, and in the end the two will make up (Ooh, big surprise). But this is not what makes the movie bad. What makes MAGKAPATID especially unappealing is its dishonesty. It's one of the biggest fabrications of false moments you will ever see. From start to finish, it is a construction of plot points founded on flimsy ideas. I did not expect this from Joel Lamangan, who directed the ambitious Deathrow, and the touching Mila. But if he wanted to annoy me by insulting my intelligence, it worked.

From the beginning, Ms. Cuneta and Ms. Santos' character's try to 'out-cute' each other. Notice Ms. Santos' cheering "That's my sister!" out loud as Ms. Cuneta's character gets an award at a formal ceremony. See how Ms. Cuneta gives cute dialogue while her patient is undergoing labor. As the movie goes along, we get bombarded with a number of sham moments. How Ms. Santos' character could not close the huge second-floor windows while she is making out with her husband for all to see is stupid. Even the circumstances around the film's tragedy (no adults supervising boat rides?) is shallow. These are just some of the awful scenes that the movie consists of in order to propel its story. There is no conviction, no genuineness, no truth. People who cry at this movie must be watching too much TV.

I've never really considered Sharon Cuneta to be a great actress, just a skilled one who knows how to play on people's emotions. Watching her character is witnessing someone who's sole purpose is to irk and frustrate you. As the film begins, she is a bundle of boundless quirkiness. In every scene, her reaction is fake. She overacts to no end when her son is late from school. She enters a boys bathroom to hug and congratulate her son after winning a swim meet. And when her son dies, she doesn't act like a doctor at all. She doesn't question what happened, on what her son's condition is from the ambulance team. She doesn't even know how to apply CPR. We see her cry in the rain, refuse her husband's advances and concerns, and become difficult at every step. When she is asked to move on, she says she can't, and never even attempts to reason why. Never has the term "insufferable" been more apt on such a character.

Judy Ann Santos is another disappointment. She tries to be a human pokemon and a leech at the same time. Her character always tries to be cute and is ashamed when receiving the unreasonable amount of help she gets from her sister. She doesn't act, but she does act up. The only emotion she tries to display is when her son dies, but even then upon seeing her reaction, you just want to roll your eyes in embarrassment. For the rest of the movie, she doesn't even seem in mourning. To her character, her dead son is not a relative, but a requirement.

The movie's big surprise is its male leads. In a film industry where most sex/action films are dominant, it is refreshing (and shocking) to see common sense radiating from the men. Christopher De Leon plays his character as any man would. He notes that his wife is overreacting, and cannot understand why she seems incapable of dealing with their tragedy in a realistic and competent manner. Ding Dong Dantes is surprisingly good. He has so much more sense (and presence) than his partner, and really lends a weight that his family depends on. I hope he gets more roles like this. Now comes the obvious question... how did both of these guys end up with their wives?

Hey, melodrama is ok, just as long as its believable. MAGKAPATID is about as believable as SUPER-B's fight scenes. If you want to see a movie that deals with loss and blame, see IN THE BEDROOM, a movie so powerful, enriching, and truly heartbreaking. MAGKAPATID is just sad as an attempt.

Note: It's good to see Rosemary Gil again (one of our country's great talents). What a movie this could have been if she could've played the mother of a drowned victim. I know she would've given it the respect the subject deserves, and I would pay to see that.

Posted by FLIPCRITIC at June 17, 2002 12:00 AM