By PABLO A. TARIMAN
FOR a change, actor John Lloyd Cruz departs from his ‘kilig’ movies to offer something different for Filipino moviegoers.
He figures in a new Chito Roño film called “The Trial” and it is about a young man with mental disability who finds himself in trouble in a world dominated by so-called normal people.
As it turned out, the role was out-of-this world and the character exploration took another route which he finds unforgettable.
“Just when you least expected it, you get a role totally opposite of what you do and another director comes in to give you another way of exploring the role. This is a dream come true for me. Not that I disliked the romantic parts I am identified with. But once in your acting life, you also aim to accomplish something different,” he says.
The project took some time taking off with scriptwriter Enrico Santos initially brainstorming with his co-writer on what they could do for the network’s anniversary.
Over bottles of beer along Tomas Morato, the storytellers picked their brain.
Santos recalls: “The way it looked, the network has done everything from horror to comedy and we figured we need a different family drama to balance the usual menu for moviegoers. And so we came up with an unlikely character who loved with all his heart but is often ignored because of his limited mental capacity. We worked on how it should do well in the box office but at the same time giving our moviegoers a chance to meet new characters unexplored in previous family drama offerings. We figured only Direk Chito (Roño) can give it a different look and appeal.”
Roño admits he is not fond of doing tried-and-tested Filipino dramas. “I tend to avoid dramas because on the whole, they tend to be so similar. Of course Filipinos love dramas and it is the culture of our cinema. But I don’t like the way we over dramatize everything. But I am more excited on how so-called ‘dysfunctional’ persons live and love. When the role fell on John Lloyd’s (Cruz’s) lap, I communicated what I want. I told him study the role very well. I don’t want another stereotyped characterization of people with disabilities. I want an actor who can explore the heart and mind of the character and he delivered. The long nights of shooting and the fatigue that went with it were all worth it. The actors gave me what I wanted.”
While the film has several court scenes, Roño pointed out his latest output is not a comment on the country’s justice system. “My assignment is family drama so there was no time to even think about that. Definitely it is something I want to do with the right project.”
How does one explain the Filipinos’ penchant for family dramas?
The director offers an explanation: “I think Filipino audiences see their lives in the movies and in the teleseryes. Our families are close and they are always together watching movies or watching soap operas in the living room. They like drama about families because they can easily relate. They can see themselves in the story and it is here where they easily pick up emotions. They like the happy moments but they also relate to the sense of despair the families go through. In the process, you see dramas involving families going through trials in their own lives. In these scenarios, they can easily relate.”
Meanwhile, Cruz shares an insight into the character he played: “Midway into the last two shooting days, I finally saw what my character is made of and what he went through in this film. What I learned doing this part is that a person with disability or not, people love the same way the so-called normal people do. Social barriers no longer count when you fall in love. My character gave me a memorable portrait of a person with disability falling in love and was ready to fight for it. I would say this role was a very profound experience and Direk Chito helped me discover new ways of exploring the character.”
“The |Trial” opens in all theaters Oct. 15.
