At first blush, it would be easy to think, not dismiss, that Cannes Film Festival best director Brillante Mendoza had succumbed to a sell-out when he agreed to do movies for major studio Viva Films.
Having been an independent filmmaker from the very start of his self-drawn career, it was almost inconceivable how the internationally acclaimed director could navigate the quaint intricacies of mainstream movie making, one of whose main considerations is to make money.
It didn’t help that Brillante’s collaborative projects with Viva, under his own Centerstage Productions, fall under the flirtatious genre sex-drama. The three films he has been contracted to render for the company are to be shown on its very own Vivamax channel.
The channel is known for its highly erotic, for-adults-only films, a throwback to the bold and bomba days of the early 70s.
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Now comes "Palitan," the first of Brillante’s Viva films, a tale of partner-swapping with matching girl-love, among young people as the title suggests. Two couples are about to get married, yet, on the eve of their weddings, they fall into the tender trap of romantic, sexual tension that explodes on their faces towards film’s end.
Featuring four of Viva’s rising male and female sexpots, "Palitan" offers a more-than-generous dose of graphic sexual scenes that prompted a male newsman, Neil Ramos of Tempo, in a recent online conference to thank the actors, the girls, especially, for having left him with a wealth of happy memories after watching the film.
"Palitan" seems to usher in a new phase in Brillante’s directing career, considering its faster-than-usual pacing and a more straightforward narrative. The very graphic sexual scenes, complete with breast and butt exposure plus a male frontal, are a mere concession to what the film is really saying. That marriage in the Philippines isn’t all that sacred in the light of married couples’ not taking it seriously or not giving it the due respect it deserves.
In a text message, Brillante explained that he’s not really taking a different direction as a filmmaker. He says it’s a matter of choice in terms of story and platform where the film will be shown.
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Known for films dripping with social realism (Kinatay, Thy Womb) that are rather against the tide in mainstream cinema, Brillante proves with "Palitan" that he can swim through the waves of popular filmmaking, given its demands and compromises.
In "Palitan," he works with four daring newcomers: Cara Gonzales, Luis Hontiveros, Jela Cuenca, and Rash Flores.
In true Brillante filmmaking fashion, he has allowed them full creative freedom as confirmed by the actors themselves, who said they shot without a script.
Brillante has always said he trusts actors as co-creators, and not just as performers.
“I give them freedom to create as my collaborators.’’
Brillante has also just wrapped two other films for Viva. These are Sisid starring Paolo Gumabao, Vince Rillon, Kylie Verzosa, and Christine Bermas and Bahay Na Pula, led by Julia Barretto, Marco Gumabao, and Xian Lim.
Brillante’s film with Piolo Pascual, Bangsa, has only two shooting days left to wrap. Aside from Brillante’s own Viva commitments, Piolo is also busy with a new teleseries, "Flower of Evil," opposite Lovi Poe.
"Palitan" has been showing on Vivamax since Dec. 10.