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Cinemalaya's Boses offers hope, music for kids


Through a peephole in a grimy kitchen cabinet, Onyok sees his drunken father stumble on his way to open the door. Angry neighbors accusing the father of child abuse barge in and search the room frantically, but Onyok, the seven-year-old child hiding inside the cabinet, is too traumatized to even flinch.

Finally one of the neighbors opens the cabinet door, sees the battered kid, and decides to take him to a rehabilitation center for kids – and for the next 90 minutes award-winning director-producer Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil (Mga Pusang Gala) takes the audience on a pleasant musical journey toward regaining faith in humanity.

Ongkeko-Marfil’s latest film, the Cinemalaya entry Boses which celebrated its Gala Night last July 16 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Main Theater, is a heartwarming story of a boy and a man both scarred by tragic histories who found solace in each other and the music they create together.

Young musical prodigy Julian Duque plays Onyok, a mute abused child rescued from his drunkard father (Ricky Davao) and brought to a rehabilitation center for abused children operated by Amanda (Cherry Pie Picache).

Here Onyok meets a variety of colorful characters: the bully Enteng (Carl John Barrameda) who was once abused by his father and takes out bottled-up rage through bullying and therapy sessions; the friendly Shirley (Tala Santos) who almost always has a sunny disposition despite being a victim of sexual harassment by her own father; and the reclusive violinist Ariel, played by world-renowned musician Alfonso "Coke" Bolipata in his first major foray into acting.

Disturbed by his own past, particularly the death of student and girlfriend Bianca (Meryll Soriano), Ariel comes out of his shell when he sees Onyok’s musical talent. He volunteers to tutor the boy, who also gradually learns to trust another human being after being used as a human ashtray by his abusive father.

Bolipata, a seasoned performer but a relative newcomer in the acting field, was able to hold his own in his dramatic scenes with veteran Picache, who played his sister. But his best moments are the musical ones – Bolipata’s acting skills come off most naturally when his character Ariel is playing the violin with Onyok. The fascinated, approving looks he gives the child are effortless.

Bolipata also flawlessly maneuvers the movie’s musical direction: In one climactic scene where the young Onyok lets out all his rage after he and Ariel escape the violent father, Bolipata’s furious playing firmly captures the intensity of their emotions and the bond that they now share.

Duque is the film’s brilliant discovery. He doesn't speak a word and rarely contorts his face to show emotion, save for an occasional small smile, but Duque’s piercing eyes can express joy or sadness with one look.

Indie film regulars Davao, Picache, and Soriano also give strong, solid performances that do justice to the screenplay penned by Froi Medina and Rody Vera based on the former’s Tinig sa Dilim which won second prize at the Cinemanila 2007 scriptwriting tilt.

The story is essentially a drama, but in Ongkeko-Marfil’s deft hands you see the characters' pain without feeling that the scenes are overly maudlin.

To illustrate: "Sinasaktan din ba siya ng tatay niya? (Does his father also hurt him?)" was Shirley’s innocent question, her face unblinking, when she couldn’t understand why Ariel was so anti-social at first.

This treatment of sensitive topics is part of what made the film so warmly received by the audience on Gala Night. There are no long, grand speeches about child rights, because the actions of the characters speak for themselves.

It also doesn’t hurt that Boses has its fair share of comedic moments which made excellent use of good old Filipino humor, including one hilarious funeral scene.

Boses is a movie that speaks to audiences not just because of its good message, but because it communicates that message through excellent direction, fine portrayals, and beautiful music.

An Erasto Films production, Boses is presented in cooperation with the National Commission on Culture and the Arts, the Film Development Council of the Philippines, Casa Miguel Foundation.

It has been adopted by Unicef, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the Council for the Welfare of Children-Secretariat as part of their campaign dubbed "Children Against Violence." - GMANews.TV

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