Brilliante Mendoza: Taklub (Trap)

I've been a huge fan of independent films ever since I study Communication. We've done a lot of film analysis and such. I was forced to watch films that's not my type and later on identify such parts and analyze it. At first I was like "How am I going to watch this movie? I can't even understand the story. I'm not interested in this genre!" Yeah, stuff like that. But I realized that I should embrace all genres and I shouldn't limit myself for watching films that only suits my interest. Honestly, I'm more into local movies than international ones because I believe that I, we, should appreciate our very own masterpiece. These days, indie films are creating a huge impact among the audience because mainstream films are becoming off the interest of some viewers. Personally, there are few mainstream films that I consider as a good one. Unlike indie films, it seems to be great all the time although my knowledge about indie films are not that much. I've watched few indie films in television and I'm wanting to watch film festivals like Cinemalaya and Sinag Maynila but I always ended up not attending any of those festivals. And I don't know why.

Last February 12, a film appreciation workshop with Brilliante Mendoza was held at cinema 2 in SM Bacoor. At first we watched one of his award winning film which is Taklub (Trap) starring Nora Aunor, Julio Diaz, Aaron Rivera, Lou Veloso and many more. The film focus on three different people (Bebeth, Larry, Erwin) with three different stories after supertyphoon Yolanda (Haiyan) hit the city of Tacloban. The film revolves around the three characters narrating their life after the supertyphoon and their grief for the lost of their family members. Bebeth (Nora Aunor) who's been looking for her three children whose not confirmed if their still alive or not. She's just hoping for the DNA results that turned out negative at the end. Larry (Julio Diaz) who's wife died in the typhoon just focus on his devotion by carrying a life-size cross and roaming around the city. Erwin (Aaron Rivera) trying his best to give his brother and sister a good life. He then hide to his sister that their parents died due to the supertyphoon.



After the film showing, Mendoza tackles the important elements that he considered in making a good film.  These are screenplay, acting, production design, editing and musical scoring. He emphasizes that screenplay is the most important element to come up with a realistic film that is usually for indie films. He said that the movie Taklub is just similar to a documentary film. It's doesn't require blockings for the actors. Brilliante Mendoza also said that he is not fond of using background musics in his films as long as the emotion is there.

One thing I admire about Mendoza is his passion for doing films that are social issues that needs attention among the viewers. During the talk, behind the scenes were showed and you can see how hands on he is during the shoot. The best thing about this director is that he can do almost everything even if some crew or staff aren't around. Indeed Brilliante Mendoza is one of the best director in today's industry.



(photos not mine)