‘Ako si Ninoy’ now in cinemas
Forget subdued. “Ako si Ninoy” is a film spectacle that traces the lives of 11 individuals in contemporary Philippines, and how they relate to the public persona and private character of the late Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., which resonate in our national life.
An overseas Filipino worker (OFW), a housewife, a teacher, a journalist, a labor leader, an activist, a doctor, a student, a teen star, a war veteran, and a child hero – their parallel lives, single and collective, and told in episodic style, are reflected on the screen, as they weave a tapestry of entwining stories that bear the stuff of heroism and what eventually makes a hero in everyone.
But heroes need not be dead. Not a usual biographical film, the screenplay is adapted from Vince Tañada’s multi-awarded stage play of the same title, which suggest the Ninoy Aquino in every Filipino. A breakthrough in Philippine theater, the same play hit the boards, successfully touring the country with almost 500 performances in 2009 and 2010, to coincide with the campaign and election of Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Simeon Aquino III for the presidency in May 2010.
The biography’s narrative is character-driven, redolent of current issues and historical reflections, and the plot, such as it is, simply drifts in sequencing the formation of the whole film structure.
Produced by Philstagers Films, and directed by Tañada, “Ako si Ninoy” is now showing in cinemas. It stars JK Labajo, Sarah Holmes, Johnrey Rivas, Marlo Mortel, Cassy Legaspi, Joaquin Domagoso, and Bodjie Pascua, among others.