Panaghoy sa Suba

Panaghoy sa Suba
(The Call of the River)

Panaghoy sa Suba poster
Directed by Cesar Montano
Produced by Cesar Montano
Written by Cris Vertido
Starring

Cesar Montano
Juliana Palermo
Jackie Woo
Joel Torre
Ronnie Lazaro
Rebecca Lusterio
Daria Ramirez
Caridad Sanchez
Suzette Ranillo
Disi Alba
Philip Anthony
Reiven Bulado
Dr. Warfe Engracia
Chelo Espina
Flora Gasser
Rommel Montano

Rowald Montano
Ramon Villanueva
Music by Nonong Buencamino
Cinematography Ely Cruz
Edited by Renato de Leon
Distributed by CM Films Inc.
Release dates
 2004
Running time
 2 hours
Country Philippines
Language Boholano with English captions; Tagalog; Japanese; English
Budget ₱25,000,000.00
Box office P 15,844,266.01

Panaghoy sa Suba, titled "The Call of the River" in English, also referred to as "Cry of the River"[1] is a 2004 film produced, directed and starred by Filipino actor Cesar Montano. It features Filipino actors Juliana Palermo, Jackie Woo, Phil Anthony, Reiven Bulado, Caridad Sanchez, Joel Torre, Daria Ramirez, Ronnie Lazaro, Suzette Ranillo, Rommel Montano, Dr. Warfe Engracia, Ramon Villanueva, Chelo Espina, Flora Gasser, Disi Alba and Rebecca Lusterio.[2]

A historical Second World War drama and romance, the film was shot in Bohol, Philippines.[3] It is a mixture of action, drama, romance, and history.

The film is Cesar Montano's directorial debut. One of the producers was R.D. Alba, who had attended the Los Angeles Film School. It was filmed mostly in the Visayan language with an almost exclusively Visayan cast.[4]

It was given an "A" rating by the Cinema Evaluation Board or CEB of the Film Development Council of the Philippines and was CM Films' entry to the 2004 Metro Manila Film Festival.[5] The CEB described Cesar Montano's direction as "meticulous but light-handed." It turned "a somewhat rambling and slow screenplay into a poetic, sometimes even magical, current of silent struggle and survival."[5]

The Call of the River is a multiple award-winner. It won Second Best Picture (to Mano Po 3), Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Musical Score, Gatpuno Villegas Cultural Award at the Metro Manila Film Festival, 2004;[6] and Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress at Gawad Suri Awards, Manila, 2005.[7]

Panaghoy sa Suba, which garnered 16 awards and 11 nominations[2] including 5 from the Metro Manila Film Festival, was also given an endorsement by the UNESCO.[4] It was named Best Picture at the "International Festival of Independent Films" held in Brussels, Belgium. Montano was also chosen Best Director.[8] In addition, Montano also won Best Actor in Panaghoy sa Suba in the Golden Screen Awards.[9]

Panaghoy sa Suba was invited as an exhibition in the Tous les Cinemas du Monde (Movies of the World) at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005.[10][11] It has also been invited for exhibition in other international film festivals in Berlin, Toronto, Tokyo, Korea and in the Czech Republic’s "Karlo Vary Film Festival".[11] It was shown at the Shanghai International Film Festival on June 11 to 19, 2005—its second international screening after Cannes (World Cinema category, non-competition). Panaghoy was also shown at the New Delhi’s Asian Festival of Asian Cinema on July 15 to 24, 2005.[12]

Plot

Loboc, River

The film tells the story of a love-triangle set in Bohol during World War II; though the main underlying themes deals with Filipino nationalism and the legacies of colonialism.

The story takes place on the island province of Bohol, located in Central Visayas, before and during the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines. Duroy (played by Cesar Montano) is a banca operator who is in love with Iset (played by Juliana Palermo), the most bewitching girl in a village where the main thoroughfare is the river. Iset is an obedient child whose father and materialistic aunt hope that she will marry the American businessman she works for, and thereby marry "up" into wealth and status instead of marrying one of the hard-working Filipino village men.

The resident American businessman, John Smith (played by Philip Anthony), is an abusive, rude and stingy landowner, but he has taken notice of Iset's beauty and is interested in her—although it is not clear if he is considering her as a wife or merely as a mistress. However, Iset has made it clear that she likes Duroy who she asked to express his love in a letter. Duroy takes his time in trying to win the love of his life, but Ibô (Reiven Bulado), Duroy's brother, is also smitten with Iset and moves more quickly. Since Duroy adores his family and does not want to get in his brother's way, he stops courting Iset.

Duroy is devoted to his family, who now only consists of his mother (Daria Ramirez), Ibô and his sister, Bikay (multi-awarded former child star Rebecca Lusterio). Duroy's father left them earlier to go off with an American (This last plot element is not conveyed in the film's English subtitles). Heartbroken and ill, Duroy's mother eventually dies when they run out of money to purchase medicine.

Smith sees Ibo talking with Iset at the warehouse and fires him on the spot. Then, Ibo attempts to kill Smith, but Smith successfully fights for his life and kills Ibo in self-defense. Duroy vows revenge.

When the Japanese invasion begins, Mr. Smith is drafted into the American army and has to leave the village. The commander of Japanese forces that garrison the village after the Americans are defeated also notices Iset, and her aunt makes plans to marry Iset to the Japanese officer. Meanwhile, many of the men flee to the mountains while the women and children remain with the American priest in the village.

Several years pass before Duroy and his men launch an attack against the Japanese garrison. The Japanese respond by taking hostages and killing the priest. Eventually a mixed group of Filipino and American troops arrive in Bohol to help the Boholano guerrilla force defeat the Japanese troops during the Second Battle of Bohol in 1945.

Duroy kills the Japanese commander—his new rival for Iset's hand—after a long fight in the village.

Smith (mockingly dubbed "White Balls" by Duroy and his friends) returns after the war over expecting life to continue as it was before the Japanese invasion. Duroy attacks him, beats him up and humiliates him but stops short of killing him. Iset refuses Smith's clumsy offer to renew their relationship and chooses Duroy.

The end implies a once-more blossoming romance between Iset and Duroy.

Cast

Awards

References

  1. ↑ Cry me a river no more for Pinoy film industry www.nordis.net Retrieved 4 December 2006.
  2. 1 2 Panaghoy sa Suba (The Call of the River) 2004 www.imdb.com Retrieved 29 November 2006.
  3. ↑ "Cesar Montano's not-so-impossible dream". Newsflash. Archived from the original on 8 January 2005.
  4. 1 2 Panaghoy sa Suba www.thefreeman.com Retrieved 30 November 2006. Archived November 30, 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  5. 1 2 "A-rating for 'Panaghoy sa Suba'". inq7.net. Archived from the original on 7 February 2005.
  6. ↑ And the winners are... www.abs-cbn.com Retrieved 30 November 2006.
  7. ↑ The Call of the River www.cinemaya.net Retrieved 30 November 2006.
  8. ↑ Two Pinoy films triumph at international film fests www.abs-cbnnews.com Retrieved 30 November 2006.
  9. ↑ Congrats sa mga Winners ng Golden Screen Awards www.abs-cbn.com Retrieved 30 November 2006.
  10. ↑ Panagahoy sa Suba (Call of the river) to Cannes Filmfest www.newsflash.org Retrieved 30 November 2006.
  11. 1 2 Cesar Montano’s Panaghoy... to screen in Cannes filmfest www.filipinoreporter.com Retrieved 30 November 2006.
  12. ↑ More Pinoy Films To Int’l Filmfests www.newsflash.org Retrieved 4 December 2006.
  13. 1 2 3 Award Winning Movies MMFF Regal Films Retrieved January 30, 2007.

External links

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