In “Ang Panahon ng Halimaw” (from left): Bituin Escalante, Bart Guingona, Pinky Amador and Piolo Pascual
The hills are alive—not with the sound of music, but with the sting of subversion. As one critic pointed out: Internationally acclaimed Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz has managed to “subvert” the “happiest” of genres, the musical, with his latest film, “Ang Panahon ng Halimaw,” a dark, devastating tale that revisits the martial law era.
A trio of theater thespians— Pinky Amador, Bart Guingona and Bituin Escalante—has joined Diaz in echoing this “angry, intense cri de coeur,” this passionate protest, onscreen.
Amador recounted that she had told the press at the Berlinale (where the four-hour film premiered last February) that the Philippines is “literally living in the time of the devil.”
“We are at the cusp of the country falling once again into a tyrannical dictatorship,” Amador related.
Guingona agreed: “History has an insidious way of repeating itself when people choose to remain ignorant of the lessons that history and art can impart.”
At the Berlinale (from left): Amador, Lav Diaz, Guingona and Escalante
For those reasons, their movie’s timing can’t be more perfect, Amador asserted.
“Our film reinforces what we are fighting for in the streets,” Escalante noted. “It insists on telling the truth that revisionists are trying so hard to downplay or deny outright.”
In this era of fake news and obfuscation, the artist’s role has become more crucial than ever. “Artists are a nation’s conscience,” Escalante explained. “The artist’s role is to tell the truth. That’s why great art touches the hearts of so many, because we recognize the truth behind it.”
Guingona elaborated that artists were duty-bound to “provoke people into a critical mode of thought, [to possess] a desire for critical engagement.”
Amador concurred: “As artists, we should make art and tell stories that reflect our times. This is our art, and this is how we fight—with dignity and integrity.”
“Art reconciles,” Escalante remarked. “Those who lie are not artists but propagandists.”
Amador clarified: “We fought so hard for the democracy we now have—however flawed it may be. What people seem to forget is that (like anything) we need to constantly nurture and protect (with dialogue and checks and balances) the structures that we value.”
Amador (left) and Escalante on the set in Malaysia
Guingona stated unequivocally why Filipinos needed to watch movies like “Halimaw,” which boldly recall past atrocities. “The family that used martial law to plunder the country’s coffers is spending vast resources to rehabilitate their names and reputations, and propel themselves into power again. They are living proof that justice in this country can be mocked. We need to right that wrong.”
“We are a forgetful nation. We have no sense of history,” Escalante exclaimed.
“Sadly, many are easily attracted to, and influenced by, corruption, instant gratification and hate propaganda, which carry a lot of (fake) energy with it,” Amador said. “They mistake ‘horde mentality’ for unity and hate/anger for patriotism.”
Guingona expressed the hope that their film would “open the eyes of our countrymen to the evils of authoritarianism … and [acquaint] their minds to a storytelling process that exists outside of Hollywood templates.”
“Ang Panahon ng Halimaw” is showing in select Ayala Cinemas.