Tears, cheers for ‘Ma’ Rosa’

PH TEAM at the Palais (from left): Ruby Ruiz, Neil Ryan Sese, Andi Eigenmann, Brillante Ma. Mendoza, Jaclyn Jose, Jomari Angeles and Maria Isabel Lopez. AFP

For the first time, the usually stoic Filipino filmmaker Brillante Ma. Mendoza got “emotional” after the premiere of his latest work, “Ma’ Rosa,” an entry in the Main Competition of the Cannes Film Festival, which wraps up today.

Actress Maria Isabel Lopez, who graced the event on Wednesday, told the Inquirer via Facebook Messenger: “Brillante cried… as in, he cried! He was touched by the audience’s response.”

Lead actress Jaclyn Jose and costar, daughter Andi Eigenmann, shed tears, too.

Costar Ruby Ruiz related via FB, too: “It was a moving experience. There was a standing ovation, and the applause went on for more than 10 minutes. It wouldn’t have subsided if we didn’t leave the theater.”

“I felt so proud that they liked the film,” actor Jomari Angeles said. “I’m so lucky that even though I’m a newcomer, I got to experience all this.”

“The Grand Théatre Lumiêre must’ve been 90 percent full,” filmmaker David Fabros recounted.

“It’s the biggest theater in Europe, with a seating capacity of over 2,000,” explained Lopez.

Meanwhile, the reviews came rushing in, immediately after the premiere.

Based on early notices, international critics seem to have agreed to grudgingly praise Mendoza’s “uncompromising” visual style.

Screen International’s Allan Hunter puts it succinctly: The films of the Filipino auteur, the first (and only one, so far) to win best director in Cannes, “are just as likely to be met by cold indifference as they are able to receive top prizes at festivals.”

Hunter calls Mendoza’s third Cannes entry “atmospheric and involving… but [it] also feels as if we are in familiar territory.”

Variety’s Maggie Lee points out: “Boasting a simple, coherent plot shot with… handheld verismo, it’s a work of understated confidence that will not disappoint festival acolytes, but probably won’t win new converts.”

Lee notes: “The deliberately grubby aesthetics appear more vintage than edgy,” in light of the fact that young Filipino directors, even Mendoza’s own disciples, have “branched out.”

Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw sums it up as “a tough social realist slice of life… a fierce and pessimistic satire, in which Ma Rosa is a sort of Mother Courage. [It is] made with control and clarity.”

Bradshaw’s “reservation is that it doesn’t reveal much… we are returned to the ground zero of survival without having learned anything” new. He concedes, however: “It’s a cold, hard look at what being poor means, and how few options there are for escape.”

Hollywood Reporter’s Boyd van Hoeij commends Mendoza’s decision to “turn his location into a character in its own right.” In the film, Manila is presented as “dark, humid and frequently flooded.”

Critics generally had encouraging words for the performances.

Hunter reports that lead star Jaclyn Jose “cuts an imposing figure… she remains the heart of the (compelling) story.”

Lee agrees: Jose “embodies the careworn yet resilient matriarch with naturalistic grace… [while her screen husband] Julio Diaz is [an] effective foil.” Lopez and Mercedes Cabral, who have small roles, “add sizzle.”

Van Hoeij describes Jose, thus: “resilient yet understated.”

The best reviews came from FilmStage.com’s Roy O’Connor and The Upcoming UK’s Jasmin Valjas.

Says O’Connor: “It’s a bit of a slog… but it’s also the kind of film that seeps into the viewer in the minutes and hours and days afterwards.”

O’Connor lauds the film’s final shot: “Emotionally earth-shattering… [it] lingers with you like a faint cry.”

Valjas admits that Mendoza’s film “takes getting used to, with its down-to-earth beauty”—asserting that its “evocative simplicity” is “consistent” with its poverty-stricken mise-en-scêne.

Valjas, however, hails it as “raw, grimy, honest and bare to the bone… [it] leaves a more intense impression than many more conventional films.”

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