By PABLO A. TARIMAN
AS the celebrated EDSA ‘huli-dap’ and the lifestyle check for police officers continue to hug the headlines, here comes an action film with characters consisting of heist victims and police officers out to re-enact a tale straight out of the country’s slow justice system.
Michael Tuviera’s “The Janitor” — which won acclaim in the latest edition of the Cine Malaya film fest — has Richard Gomez and Dennis Trillo playing police officer and hitman with contrasting virtues.
“It’s a coincidence that the film indeed tackles an unsavory side of our police officers,” said Trillo who had to undergo rigid physical preparation for the part. “It can’t be helped because they figure in the story based on a real-life bank heist.”
Tuviera said his latest output is not a statement film against any institution. “For one, the story happened seven years ago way before the so-called ‘huli-dap’ happened. But it is sad things like those portrayed in the film continue to happen. But my film is just about one crime incident. If we read the newspapers today, it is more shocking to read many things about the institution and the police officers who are supposed to protect us. But then there are more good police officers than bad ones. The bad apples can be found in any institution.”
The director points out that, “As a director and storyteller, my priority is to come up with real characters and real people and not to find fault in our police institution. We have good policemen as well as bad ones. But if the release of the film happened when the newspaper headlines are all about the bad apples, I can’t help it. As they say, art imitates life and vice-versa.”
What does it take to direct a good action picture?
Direk Tuviera says patience is number one but the big secret is getting the right actors. He easily got the ones he liked and one of them was Alex Medina who was Diego in the top-rating teleserye, “Ina, Kapatid, Anak” and best actor awardee (“Palitan”) in the Cinema One Originals film fest two years ago.
The young actor has a part in a death scene where his character has to break down and he gave it everything he has.
In Medina’s book, there is no such thing as minor roles which facilitated his entry in the world of indie films.
For the record, he won his first Best Actor trophy in “Palitan” and later, he was Diego in the top-rating teleserye, “Ina, kapatid, Anak” and the rest is history. He made both critics and audiences sit up and take notice in another indie film, “Babagwa” where he was another major contender in the best actor category.
Looking back, he likes to think that “Palitan” was his first big break that involved a large amount of body exposure. “It was perfectly fine for me. My mindset is that it’s not me exposing myself but my character. If it is decently conceived and executed well, you won’t hear me complain even with those butt exposure.”
As usual, building the character is his first priority and it involves both his heart and mind and especially what he calls gut feel. “When you portray a role, you need to have a strong sense of imagination to lead you to where the character is going. I need a good grasp of my role and what will make it more interesting. As usual, I always trust my instinct, what you call gut feel. It stays in my mind as I study the role and when I face the camera, I know I have a good idea of what will make the part not just a cameo role. Everything about my role should be clear from the very beginning. I need to have a complete idea on what the character is driving at and how he will end up in the story. I have to constantly build on that.”
It just happened that he is the son of actor Pen Medina and brother of actor Ping Medina.
For him, the connection works both ways.
He points out: “For one, you don’t need lengthy introduction in the showbiz circle as you easily connect with a respected name. But it doesn’t end there. With your showbiz connection, there is also pressure to do well and live up to the good name. My Dad probably honed us to be actors by just being himself and letting his output speak for themselves. But I like my Dad’s philosophy which can also apply to acting. The other advantage is that you have a ready acting coach in the family. I consult and discuss a lot with my Dad. All scripts pass through him for scrutiny and together, we exchange ideas on how to delineate characters. He is pretty honest about what he thinks about your acting and from that candor, I learn a lot. But more than that he is a very strong person. And I like his conviction.”