Atom Araullo (left) and director Mike de Leon on the set in Baguio
Mike de Leon couldn’t have found a more suitable material for his return to filmmaking. “Citizen Jake,” the acclaimed director’s hard-hitting comeback vehicle after his 18-year hiatus, is a scathing reminder of the dark years of martial law—and a much-appreciated antidote for the historical revisionism and political whitewashing that are polarizing social media these days.
As it tells the boldly subversive story of “citizen journalist” Jake Herrera (Atom Araullo), it plays out like a magnificent memento mori for the Filipino identity as it warns against the dangers of unrestrained power and the creeping threat of a return to dictatorship.
At the heart of the story is its 34-year-old protagonist. Jake, a teacher, blogger and law school dropout, is a man at odds with himself.
He’s torn between his penchant for exposing government officials’ corrupt practices and his increasingly corrosive relationship with his senator-father Jacobo (Teroy Guzman) and cocky congressman-brother Roxie (Gabby Eigenmann), who disapprove of his needling “nose for news.”
When he isn’t distracted by his rocky romance with his girlfriend Mandy (Max Collins), Jake is haunted by the “unsolved” disappearance of his unhappy mother, Victoria (Dina Bonnevie), who went missing 10 years ago.
Max Collins and Atom Araullo
The situation takes a turn for the twisted when Jake begins to dig deep into the grisly murder of one of his students (Elora Españo). After a string of red herrings and false leads, the deceptively low-key investigation leads to a shocking disclosure that uncovers a Pandora’s box of damning secrets and calamitous indiscretions that could endanger the unblemished reputation of a bullheaded socialite (Cherie Gil), a revered officer of the high court (Nonie Buencamino) and … Jake’s father!
In his latest and “final” film, the 70-year-old director behind such cinematic gems as “Itim,” “Kung Mangarap Ka’t Magising,” “Kakabakaba Ka Ba?,” “Kisapmata,” “Batch ’81” and “Sister Stella L.” utilizes an easygoing rhythm as he lays the groundwork for a gut-wrenching twist that throws everything off-balance.
Its unhurried pace, ’80s-channeling narrative progression and bruising dramatic upheavals make the film look like a perfectly pitched blast of cinematic nostalgia that meshes edgy dialogue with occasional bursts of action.
It may not have the bum-numbing length of Lav Diaz’s similarly prolific oeuvre, but the production’s two-hour-and-30-minute running time is still longer than most mainstream movies.
Despite its “intimidating” length, the noirish film still stands proud in the long shadows of De Leon’s other outstanding screen triumphs.
Rather than allowing the film to get overdramatized, the insightful director chooses to keep things on an even keel with the mordantly funny, bleak black laughs he intersperses with the production’s dramatic sequences.
Trust De Leon to raise significant questions without getting didactic. He moves the story along smoothly through its circuitous twists and turns, which are made more engaging by erudite actors who lend the story an emotional heft that is sometimes reinforced by wall-to-wall musical scoring.
The fine ensemble gives the movie a spare but forceful elegance, and further enhances the impact of this exceptional film: Dina, Cherie, Teroy, Gabby, Nonie, Richard Quan (as the Herreras’ gun-toting henchman), Adrian Alandy (as the caretakers’ put-upon son) and the continually evolving Lou Veloso (cast against type as grizzled
activist Lucas) make their scenes throb with thespic brio as they inhabit a world unfurling into maddening complexity. They help provide a persistent sense of dread and disquiet.
Max has a luminous presence and refreshing eagerness that allow her to more than hold her own alongside her more seasoned costars.
What about Atom? The broadcast journalist-turned-actor more than passes muster. You can’t deny that his characterization largely benefits from his smoldering presence and movie-star good looks.
Atom is occasionally weighed down by his inability to match the dramatic punch, offbeat vigor and frisson of excitement required in his confrontation scenes with his scene-stealing, scenery-chewing coactors, but his journalistic background gives his earnest delivery a ring of truth and a measure of credibility.
With the debuting actor’s inspired casting, Mike de Leon further blurs the fine line between fact and fiction, and delivers another provocation for “informed” discussion and analysis.
“Citizen Jake” is a fitting “valedictory” for the brilliant film master—and another glowing proof that the gifted director deserves to be declared the country’s next National Artist for film!
“Citizen Jake” will have another screening at Cine Adarna in the University of the Philippines Diliman on March 23.