Real Manila in Bourne Legacy
AFTER days of rain and dismal scenes of floods and their victims, pictures of havoc caused by inclement weather in the most hazardous places mitigated only by the heroism of rescuers using their new equipment, and a certain brave cheerfulness all around, it indeed was time to take a break.
Before that, a frenzied search for sardines, rice, mongo in groceries for distribution to those who had not been able to earn a daily wage during the torrential rain. To take delivery, we had to pass wet and cratered streets in somewhat hitherto unknown parts of the stricken city. This is the Manila we know.
So, when Sunday came around, it was to The Bourne Legacy movie that my grandson, Juan, and I went. Some bloggers had supposedly thrashed the movie as having an inconclusive ending. Others that it showed the dismal side of Manila.
We had no quarrel with the plot where in the end the charac- ters end up in the stunning water world of Palawan (El Niido) supposedly lost under the care of a kindly fisherman and his son, the lone crew of a huge fishing boat (improbable) that came all the way from Navotas. As I told Juan, this kind of ending is so that there will be a sequel. Let us hope it will use some Philippine scenes again and create jobs, excitement and curiosity in these parts of the planet.
Yes, Manila from the Washington DC area is on the other side of the planet and the aerial night shots of Manila in this movie are breathtaking. The city is like a jeweled series of clusters and pathways in technicolor conveying a certain living, breathing, moving vibrancy that captures the spirit of the joy of living, no matter how modest, no matter how straitened, no matter how seemingly deprived. This is a city where people are everywhere and into everything. As the movie shows slums are for anyone. Streets are for everyone. Crowds on the overpasses, students on the sidewalks, jeepneys on the roads. When the car chase begins, accelerates, climaxes Manila is Manila with its traffic chaos, its varied vehicles, its fruit stands, street life, all under a tropical sun that beats down on everything and everyone. Navotas at the end was deserted, again improbable but curiously bewitching as the sea comes near.
I wonder what the bloggers wanted to be shown of Manila —Forbes Park and the Makati malls? Not real enough for a Philippine location. What was real were the Manila policemen, somewhat overweight but slog- ging along running after fugitives, even using their police cars with great dexterity ( when they have gas).
The combination of scenes and people from the narrowest of alleys to the proliferation of tin roofs and the constant movement in between gives one a charge. This is where we live, who we are, what we do, the set of the thriller narrative that stays longest on screen. Bourne Legacy is a kinetic movie in a Philippine contemporary setting and just that is entertaining enough. It is like looking into a mirror.
As for the plot where a security contractor company has no ethics, moral values or respectable behavior, of course we will side with those who fight it. And that’s enough, no need to ponder which side to choose, no need to determine right and wrong, that is all taken care of.
Just relax and enjoy the movie from a real Manila.