BAWAL NA PAG-IBIG... When A Man Loves A Woman

Bawal Na Pag-Ibig

Behn Cervantes' Bawal Na Pag-Ibig (Tagalog Ilang-Ilang Productions) uses the tried and true formula of man meets woman and man loses woman. Everything in the film is predictable, including the cartoon characters and cardboard performances. The cinematography, although competent is not imaginative. Or think of the screenplay, playwright Reuel Aguila has already shown a socially-conscious bent coupled with structural skill in handling plot. But in the movie, he forgets the basic elements of a good screenplay. Perhaps most glaring of all is the music which actually includes canned music. Other minor exasperations plague Bawal Na Pag-Ibig, but it is chiefly Cervantes' refusal to kill off traditional weaknesses that offends. The pingpong panning he employs in lieu of the two-shot  renders a disconcerting effect. In other words, while we may applaud lesser directors for making a well-knit movie, we must decry Cervantes' decision to make a potboiler. It is way below his artistic stature to make a movie as unimaginative, as exploitative, as ordinary as Bawal Na Pag-Ibig.

The direction leaves much to be desired. The dramatic sequences, for instance lack building up. The actors seem merely to be reciting their lines. Of course part of the problem maybe that Rico J. Puno (Jun) cannot yet handle dramatic scenes, Alma Moreno (Menchu) tries hard but does not quite have enough sophistication to approach a potentially complex role and Van de Leon (Manuel) is given too little scope for substantial characterization. It maybe also part of the problem that Perla Bautista (Nena) is acting against type. She is an excellent actress, but there are limitations to anybody's talent especially if the role is not properly written. Tony Santos, Sr. (Edong) and Anita Linda (Trining) also come through strongly in their brief encounters. But the director should have remedied the situation by de-emphazising the actors as he does in one scene where Moreno and Puno are photographed in an extremely long shot, thus hiding their facial expressions. Since there is not enough substance in the film, the director should have done something to disguise the lack of depth in the story and acting. Too many questions straddle Bawal Na Pag-Ibig, there is much in it to cavil about. But it is precisely the recognition of Cervantes' stature that implies us to apply a less-than-pliant yardstick where his work is concerned. He could be better, he has shown that much. If he only exercised some care in choosing his material, if he attempted to wean himself away from the traditional and the heavy, if he only applied his talents in a manner much closer to to artistic abandon, then perhaps he could cover new ground to the real cineaste's satisfaction. One doesn't stop at a plateau of leisurely contrivance. While playing for the masses, Cervantes ends up playing with the masses and ultimately there is only so much smoke curling up from rekindled coals of sacrifice.

Directed By: Behn Cervantes
Screenplay By: Reuel M. Aguila
Cameraman: Amado 'Botong' de Guzman
Music By: Vicor
Editing: Gervacio Santos And Pepe Marcos
Set Designer: Bobby Bautista
Produced By: Tagalog Ilang-Ilang Productions
Release Date: January 29, 1977
Bawal Na Pag-Ibig theme song performed by Rico J. Puno