Country: Philippines
Director: Connie Macatuno
Screenplay: Connie Macatuno & Chris Violago
Running time: 134 minutes
Cast: Andrea del Rosario
Mylene Dizon
Rafael Rosell
Tessie Tomas
Brave and Beautiful
Rome and Juliet has all the elements of a typical love story.
It starts with a Girl and a Guy in a long and secure relationship. Girl meets Someone New. They immediately click and form a deep friendship. They discover that they like the same things. They even feel that they’ve known each other for a long time. They spend a lot of time together, and unknowingly, they fall for each other. Guy becomes wary and suspects Girl but his doubts remain unfounded. By this point, the sexual tension between Girl and Someone New is so obvious to everyone but themselves. One day, Someone New’s Old Flame returns. Girl gets consumed by jealousy over Old Flame and acts bitchy. A shouting match ensues between Girl and Someone New that climaxes in an accidental kiss. Ultimately, they realize that they are made for each other and they go for it. Boy catches them taking a shower together. Expectedly, there are complications along the way but in the end they get to live happily ever after.
Basically, this sums up the plot but Connie Macatuno’s movie debut is loads more than a cliché. And of course, Someone New is a woman.
Juliet (Andrea del Rosario) is a soft spoken, gentle natured, skirt-clad preschool teacher from the barrios. Her father suffered from stroke and she being the eldest assumed the role of being the provider for the family. She and her Councilor boyfriend Marc (Rafael Rosel) has been together for 3 years. She is the role model of her students and the envy of her co-teachers. See, she is your contemporary Maria Clara, except that she is not. She does things that will make the Catholic Church cringe – sex before marriage and The Pills (shudder). Meanwhile, Rome is the epitome of the modern Pinay – lives alone, runs her own business and after a fiancé running away from her 3 years ago, treats men as disposable commodities in her life. Both are looking for “The One”. Marc proposes to Juliet. Juliet finds Rome in asks her to plan her wedding. Discoveries, trouble, more discoveries and transformations follow.
In this film, a lot of emphasis is put on the Philippine setting. From the family structure and arrangements, the political aspirations and strategy to the paradigms that designate which is immoral or not, you will get a strong grip of the basic values that a Filipino possesses and the perspective that it produces. Through this depiction the writers segue into a criticism of social constructs and ideas. The most evident, of course is female homosexuality. Throughout the film it is apparent that Macatuno and Violago are fans of figures of speech. But when it comes to their discourse, they prefer to attack head-on. A lot of explicit statements on how the society looks at homosexuality - abnormal, hindi disente (indecent), bunga ng di tamang pagpapalaki (improper upbringing of a child), sakit na nakakahawa (contagious disease); you get the idea – are scattered all throughout the film. And then, in an unperturbed manner, they counter these callous social commentaries with bold declarations. They make an appeal to those still hiding in the closet to come out. They ask the ancient philosophical questions “What is right and wrong?” and more importantly “Who determines right and wrong?” with dead-on-target timing that audience will be forced to reflect on this long after the movie ends. They even question the Bible’s definition of love (shudder). And as if that is not enough, they even challenged patriarchy. In a confrontation scene where Rafael Rosell acts very badly, Juliet voices out that he finds Marc’s ponytail-fetish (he always asks her to tie her hair up) despicable. Marc is so imposing and demanding not to mention without a sense of hair fashion, that he deserves to be dumped. Juliet also defies his wishes - to stop teaching and instead just make babies with him- by using contraceptives. Of course, the Catholic Church Marc goes ballistic. Rome comments on Juliet’s use of contraception, “Good for you. You’re taking charge of your body. It’s no one else’s decision except yours”. It makes me wonder when the last time was that Macatuno and Violago took part in the sacraments.
The film is also a subdued narrative of identity and coming out delicately infused with the human struggle and search for happiness and love. In the end, the most important person to come to terms with your identity is you. Never mind the nosy neighbors. Live the life you want. You only need to come out to yourself. Furthermore, it is an illustration of stereotypes and labels. In several instances in the film, the typical butch lesbian is depicted in contrast to our heroines. Towards the end of the film, it is revealed the Juliet’s “girly” co teacher who was the first person to smell the stench between Rome and Juliet has an equally glamorous girlfriend as she exclaims “Welcome to the club!” Perhaps, more than the representation of the butch-femme distinction, these are attempts to sack the notion that there are always roles to be played in homosexual relationships (so 70’s), that stereotypes and labels do exist but that doesn’t mean we have to conform or try to fit ourselves in one category and that lesbians do not live in cropped hair, oversized shirts and shorts.
Now, all the social commentary and issues that the film tried to tackle in its 120 minute running time might have eluded you but it is undeniable that the film is a treat to the senses. The film is composed of washed out frames, the colors appearing nude. However this dullness is a contradiction to the either vibrato-laden and folk-like or perky and loud but all the same powerful and unforgettable music. What you get is a perfect back drop for melodious reading of poetry. Poetry was used to convey our heroines’ desires without having to resort to coma-inducing monologues or trite dialogues. I’ve seen films that used the poetry element but have miserably failed. This is not one of those. It successfully straddled the line between rhymes and not being corny. The results are beautiful truthful passages. However, there are some parts of the dialogues that are badly dubbed and there are parts where the conversation is hardly discernible because of background noise. But aside from these few faults, the scoring is seamless. It is a work of art within a work of art.
The performances are excellent. Mylene Dizon portrays the independent woman very well as always. She plays the love-stricken protagonist convincingly and the heart broken lover subtly. She even grinds with finesse. Andrea del Rosario is outstanding. This may even be the pinnacle of her acting career. She manages to be both delicate yet headstrong. In a scene, her father dies but her brother restrains her from going into the hospital because of their mother. del Rosario alternates between shock, grief and indecision. She explodes, but since left without a choice, concedes. And then she turns around and walks away with resignation. That scene was brilliant but del Rosario was incandescent. Tessie Tomas is dependable as the devoted mother and the lady that suspiciously looks like GMA successfully annoys us all by playing the matapobreng-nanay-of-the-boyfriend role. Needless to say, the del Rosario-Dizon chemistry is believable. Although discomfort can be sensed in the sex scenes, they manage to be authentic outside the bedroom. The romance is palpable through the looks that they throw each other. However if you are expecting maximum skin exposure then this film is not for you. Perverts will surely be disappointed because bed and shower scenes between the 2 heroines were sparingly used. Hence, if you are disappointed at this point or after reading the previous sentence, you are a pervert.
To sum up, Rome and Juliet is the first of its kind in the Philippines – a brave exposition that female homosexuality indeed exists with snippets on how it is looked at and even looked down at. It reverberates with Macatuno’s audacity in asking the pertinent questions and undertones of calling for a change of perspective. But the brilliance of this film lies in how these issues were deftly suffused into a common plot inhabited by seemingly common characters. But as the material is executed, the issues and the plot come together as a force of adversity that compels the main characters to transform and the elements come together. The result is a film that manages to say a lot despite its outward subtlety, something that most probably won’t be done any time in the future.
