I ask him what happened then?
“The film took off, and it ran for a whole year. It made money. It was shown all over the Philippines, but I’m sure to the chagrin of Marcos. Finally, it made it to the Cannes Film Festival, where it did surprising well. I didn’t think there was an international market for it, but it impressed most of the critics who saw it. It received special mentioned, which pleased me. I hadn’t expected it. Because of the success of ANG MAHARIKI, I was able to make my next film, TAN MASH’IKA, about the Arab trader who first brought Islam to the Philippines. While I was shooting this film in the Sulus, someone accused me of being stuck. Stuck? I didn’t know what he meant by ‘stuck.’ And then I realized I had indeed repeated the love theme of ANG MAHARIKI. But I left it in the new film…only shifted the focus and subtitled the film A ROYAL MARRAGE. Then I made THE GOOD WIFE, which was indeed an indication that I was ‘stuck.’ It is my take on marriage…the clash between traditional and modern ideas. It’s about a woman who feels trapped in her marriage…. a very common plot, almost cliché, but done well. The public loved it. The plot came from a short television drama, which I expanded. Television has spawn many promising young writers. Incidentally, I worked in television for a short while. I think you know Sonja and her crew. I shoot in color and in black and white. It all depends on the film and the mood I’m trying to create. More than anything else I try to make sure that the production design and the story match. The time, the place, the action, the characters, all have to fit consistently. Everything has to come together in such way that whatever happens in the film couldn’t possibly happen in any other way, or at any other time, or at any other place, or with any other people.”
I couldn’t say if Vincente had achieved what he had set out to do. For one thing, I hadn’t seen all of his films; and my Tagalog was minimal, which kept me from understanding a lot of what was going on. I could grasp the big picture, but often miss the nuances. I ask Vincente about how he viewed his success.
“You first have realize that I’m very critical and am never satisfied with something I’ve created. Maybe that’s because I rarely feel at home with myself, but I don’t necessarily feel that’s a bad thing. Also, I’m restrained by a very tight budget. But if a story resonates with me, I’m 99% sure that it will resonate with an audience.”
I ask him how he would rate the Philippine film industry in comparison with the film industry in other Asian countries, for example with the film industries of India or Japan.
“You can’t fairly compare any of them,” he says. The film industries of both India and Japan are much larger than our industry, and therefore in both countries there is more chaff, but there is also a greater chance for brilliance. Before there’s a good film, we have to work through a whole lot of crap. Or else it’s a fluke.”
I ask him which directors have inspired him the most.
“It’s hard to say. I admire most of your classical filmmakers, specifically Bergman, Antonioni, and Renoir. Tauffaut impresses me. Actually, as you may have gathered, I am very critical, so that’s ruined most movies for me. Nowadays, I don’t watch many films.”
Randy Ford
