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Sabado Ika-3 ng Mayo, 2008

"Ploning" tugs at your heartstrings

By : Cheekie Albay
YEHEY! In-house Production
2 May 2008 | 5:20 PM

"Ploning"
Starring: Judy Ann Santos, Gina Pareño, Mylene Dizon, Meryll Soriano, Ces Quesada, Tony Mabesa, Eugene Domingo, Tessie
Tomas, Ketchup Eusebio
Directed: Dante Nico Garcia
Official Movie Site

It might be going head to head with a local big budget romance from a major studio and a superhero movie that
has got comic book geeks peeing their pants in anticipation months before its showing, but indie flick “Ploning”
proves that the ability to touch hearts is what matters most, and box-office gain is merely secondary.

“Ploning”, the first film offering of neophyte indie outfit Panoramanila Pictures, is probably best known as
perpetual Pinoy sweetheart Judy Ann Santos’ indie pet project, but the real brains behind it is long-time friend
Dante Nico Garcia, an erstwhile production designer at ABS-CBN turned screenwriter and director for “Ploning”.
Garcia took inspiration for the movie from a similarly titled folk song popular in his hometown of Cuyo Island in
Palawan that sings of a Cuyonon woman’s promise to wait for her love, told from the point of view of a young
boy.

Unlike more obscure indie flicks, “Ploning” is distinguished by an outpouring of support from the local movie
industry. Talented actors make up the movie’s powerhouse cast, among them Gina Pareño, Mylene Dizon,
Meryll Soriano, Ces Quesada, Tony Mabesa, Crispin Pineda, Eugene Domingo, Tessie Tomas, Ketchup
Eusebio, Ronnie Lazaro, Joel Torre, and Beth Tamayo. In addition traveling to breathtakingly beautiful yet
far-flung and provincial Cuyo to shoot the film, the actors had to learn the local dialect to make the film more authentic.

I entered the cinema expecting to see another Juday vehicle designed to lift the big star’s career to even greater heights, but I was mildly
surprised to see that, although she carries the all-important title role, “Ploning” is actually a strong ensemble piece with so many
personalities that some characters played by even the bigger actors can only be classified as cameos. Case in point: The formidable Joel
Torre, who plays Cuyo’s present town mayor, had no more than a minute onscreen. But the tremendous cast of characters and their
individual back stories proved advantageous to the film because they added a sense of epic completeness to the film, all taking on lives of
their own, yet at the same time all helping to bring Ploning’s tale full circle.

Moviegoers are treated to a different Juday in “Ploning”. There’s none of that palaban 21st century semi-feminist-with-a-heart roles she’s
been playing in the past few years. The movie sees Juday assuming an air of subtle grace and quiet strength to take on he role of Ploning,
who is considered an enigma by her friends and neighbors. She moves little, talks little, and laughs little, yet she captivates everyone
around her.

People expecting to see a typical Juday romance will be disappointed to discover that “Ploning”, although a love story, isn’t centered on
romantic love per se. In fact, Juday doesn’t even have a Piolo, Ryan, or Wowie to whisk her off her feet. But foregoing a pronounced
romantic angle in favor of the less exciting filial and platonic varieties makes the movie’s portrayal of love even purer in intent and effect
because it doesn’t rely on cheap romantic thrills to keep its viewers happy.

Although Juday’s Ploning is the tie that binds all of these characters and their individual stories together, Digo, played with adorable naivete
by young Cuyonan Cedric Amit, is the presence that carries many of the pivotal scenes.

Other standout actors include Gina Pareño as Intang, Tony Mabesa as Ploning’s father Susing, Eugene Domingo as Digo’s mother
Juaning, and scene-stealing Ketchup Eusebio as tricycle driver Badocdoc.

“Ploning” rightfully showcases the immense beauty of the island paradise that is Cuyo. It just might do to the island what Adolfo Alix’s
Batanes did to the province.

True to the local indie tradition, the film has a few minor technical glitches. For instance, since the movie was shot with live sound, the
audio quality isn’t at par with the dubbed quality we’ve grown accustomed to in more mainstream flicks. But I think I’d be correct in
assuming that anyone who chooses to watch this movie over its more commercial rivals has some measure of taste and intellect; surely he
can give such concessions to a technically lacking yet essentially heartrending indie film.

With its April 30 opening date, “Ploning” is going up against Star Cinema’s Aga Muhlach-Anne Curtis starrer “When Love Begins” and the
anticipated international box office hit “Iron Man”. The two bigger films, with all that major studio backing, surely exceeds “Ploning” in some
respects. But when all is said and done, little “Ploning” will still emerge memorable in comparison because of its ability to make you go
“Aww…”

1 of 2 5/3/2008 3:19 PM
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