Real life gives Roño material for ‘rape’ film

CHITO Roño says it’s a big move from attending real court hearings to shooting film scenes. ARNOLD ALMACEN

Acclaimed director Chito Roño admitted that many of the scenes in his newest suspense-drama film, “The Trial,” hit too close to home.

The movie tells of the special bond between Ronald (played by John Lloyd Cruz), a mentally impaired student, and his teacher Bessy (Jessy Mendiola). Their relationship takes a turn for the worse when the student is accused of raping his teacher.

By coincidence, two rape cases were filed against Roño’s ward, comedian-TV host Vhong Navarro, early this year. Both complaints, filed by model Deniece Cornejo and former beauty queen Roxanne Cabanero, were dismissed by the Department of Justice.

Court procedures

“It’s a big move from attending a real trial to shooting a trial. My personal experience made me more aware of court procedures. In the beginning, the scriptwriters missed a few details about the preliminary investigation. I insisted that they be included,” Roño told the Inquirer.

He added: “The court scenes in this movie work on their own. I’ve done movies with similar scenes and, often, their inspiration was the American court system. In this film, we tried to be realistic—we showed the local court structure.”

Statement

Roño also made a strong statement on what he thought were flaws in the judicial system in this movie. “In court, the truth can be twisted. The film shows how the rich can use money to their advantage, how a lawyer can come up with lies to protect his client.”

“The Trial” came on the heels of the critical success of Roño’s “Badil,” which also tackled the country’s flawed political system.

“This film marks my return to traditional drama,” Roño said of “The Trial,” which opened in cinemas this week. “I tried to avoid drama films because local movies tend to turn every situation into melodrama. I shied away from that for a long time. I never did any love story except for ‘La Vida Rosa,’ which was totally different.”

“La Vida Rosa,” featuring Rosanna Roces and Diether Ocampo, was a noir crime thriller that focused on two people involved in different criminal activities.

Roño said he agreed to do “The Trial” because of its “different and dysfunctional” characters. “This is a traditional drama featuring nontraditional characters. I find this very exciting,” he said. “There’s a seemingly perfect couple (played by Richard Gomez and Gretchen Barretto) that’s in duress because of an annulment case. There’s also an unlikely pair, Ronald’s parents—a gay impersonator in a comedy club (Vincent de Jesus) and a lesbian club manager (Sylvia Sanchez).”

Roño said he was especially proud of his cast. “I asked for Richard and Gretchen to be included in the cast. Lloydie (Cruz’s nickname) really worked hard on such an unusual character,” he said. “I’m very happy with their work. They’re serious about their craft. I could see that they really wanted to excel in what they were doing. This film is memorable because it’s such a satisfying project. We were all exhausted and lacked sleep, but we were satisfied.”

Puzzling families

Asked why local viewers would appreciate the movie, Roño responded, “Filipinos love a family drama because they can relate to the issues. They easily get emotional about what they see. What makes this movie different are the unique sets of families we featured. It will puzzle you why one works and the other doesn’t. You will realize that true love can be found, not in the physical realm, but in the heart. ”

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