Life's Unsteady Ride In LAGARISTA

Lagarista

The profession is unique. With a bicycle, the rider finds himself both pressed and enriched as he allows people to see a film in its entirety by punctually delivering segments of it from one movie house to the other. He is called a lagarista or film biker. The lagarista was the lifeline of the old movie houses. He dictated the pace in which movies were shown. But as the structure of the movies inside malls became more self-contained, the lagarista found himself dismissed, relocated and made methodically redundant. Lagarista (Crown Seven Ventures, Inc.) is anchored upon the tenous and wounded existence of the now extinct film biker. From the start, the movie makes us ride with Gregory (Piolo Pascual), through his frenetic route. A reel needs to be delivered as real life unfolds. Gregory unfolds from theater to theater as his profession demands. But he also weaves in and out of the lives of others, as they exact from him their own price. He is the grandson, the friend and the lover, steadfast and sincere. He is the string that runs through this odd group, with each one grappling for his attention. His life and those of the others are worn out, never completely healing, but surviving. Lagarista chronicles several relationships. Gregory and Anna (Janna Victoria) the prostitute, with their inexperienced affinity wrestle with self-worth. Jimmy (Pen Medina), the projectionist and his wife Luisa (Jennifer Sevilla) become estranged. His complacency as a husband drives his wife away. Gregory's grandfather Lolo Paking (Francisco "Koko" Trinidad) provides another tale of a man's life dedicated to death. There is also the story of Osang (Cherry Pie Picahe) who keeps the faith for another love that's gone. And finally Elmo (Bryan Homecillo), a young boy's narration living the abusive cycle with his Tiyo Joaquin (Nonie Buencamino).

As portrayed by Pascual, Gregory is rather limited, still without edge although his sensitivity is palpable. His body language remains questionably inconsistent. He maneuvers his bicycle without suggestions of urgency or reflections of his character's particularity. It must be said that body language, apart from the written dialogue is essential as it discloses deliberation and ambition. His good looks are obvious but mannerisms defining a badgered life are conspicuously absent. The role of Anna is the most intricate and potentially intriguing. However, the writing squanders its goal, neglecting the nuances of such a complexity and is only attentive to the obvious symptoms of perceived pain and repressed behavior. It may be unfair to exact much from Victoria's role in the film. But to make a character immediate is every actor's obligation and every viewer's expectation. Her inexperience and self-conciousness has made her Anna distant. Watching the rest of the cast, most notably Medina, Picache, Sevilla and Trinidad at ease with their characters makes the difference more distinct. Scenarist Ricardo Lee employs the theme of nostalgia to manifest everyman's desire to determine one's concept of home. He writes of aspirations and solicitations for the familiar. His characters strive to arrive at or comprehend the space each was meant to occupy. It is the verbose and melodramatic conditions of Lee's work that leadens his philosophy. The screenplay extends no pauses to evoke out own notions of home. One arrives at the feeling that director Mel Chionglo and the rest knew they had unearthed something unusual in their subject and it is probably true. But the film vacillates and it becomes evident that they have failed to fully grasp the ramifications of their discovery. What has been created is a ride that is frustratingly unsteady and teetering between hit and miss.

Direction: Mel Chionglo
Written By: Ricardo Lee
Cinematography: Ely Cruz
Music: Louie Ocampo
Editing: Manet A. Dayrit
Production Design: Edgar "Egay" Littaua
Produced By: Crown Seven Ventures, Inc.
Release Date: September 13, 2000
Ikaw Lang Ang Mamahalin theme song from Lagarista performed by Sarah Geronimo