Foggy Rainbow
“THE reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” — Olivia Newton John, cancer survivor, quoting Mark Twain when rumors surfaced recently of her demise
“Old age is a slow death.” — Carmen Guerrero Nakpil
As Perry Como serenaded, “Beautiful girls, walk a little slower when you walk by me,” so the best picture of the 2018 Metro Manila Film Festival asks moviegoers to take a little time to watch, maybe even enjoy, a story told with tender loving care about the octogenarians and nanogenarians among us who no longer have need or desire to run the rat race (exceptions: Juan Ponce Enrile, Alfredo Lim).
Rainbow’s Sunset, directed by Joel Lamangan, with story and script by Eric Ramos, may have won 11 major awards, including for best picture, best actress, and best supporting actor, but it was too late to catch up with the two biggest grossers that catered to children, because when you aim for kids, you target their parents and siblings as well, especially as the price of admission goes up with every MMFF season. The strategy worked for Vice Ganda’s Fantastica and Coco Martin’s Jack em Popoy, leaving a poignant emotion picture – more emotion than motion – like Rainbow in the dust.
Unlike the best picture of 2017, Larawan, which managed to enlarge viewership after winning the award, there was no such luck for Rainbow. Didn’t I say the elderlies have given up the race? Actors in their 40s shared the spotlight with Gloria Romero, Eddie Garcia, and Tony Mabesa, but their roles were neither slapstick nor fantastic, and as one moviegoer commented, it’s so sad to watch a movie about old people at Christmas. Young people see no relevance to their generation, their grandparents don’t want to be reminded of their mortality, those in-between would rather spend their money to escape life’s verities.
Old, aged, or aging, they bewail their so-called invisibility. (A big mistake of merchandisers is overlooking the immense purchasing power of retirees, according to the international marketer who coined the phrase “silver market,” referring to their snowy white hair.) Silently rooting for Rainbow to improve its box-office take, I did not catch any last-minute campaign to brag about the awards sweep in their trailers, standees, and other publicity materials. In social media, maybe, but how many oldies are linked?