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By Remedios V. Lucio, Researcher
A call boy/con man, a young expectant husband,
an identity conflicted Chinese-Filipino and an overprotective
suffocating brother—four men living disparate yet somehow
intertwined lives in the maze of ugliness and greed that is of
Manila. Astig (Mga Batang Kalye)—directed by Giuseppe Bede
Sampedro, written by Jerry Garcia and produced by Noel Ferrer—portrays
the parallel tales of Ariel Darlucio (Dennis Trillo), Boy (Edgar
Allan Guzman), Ronald Chua (Arnold Reyes) and Baste de Guia (Sid
Lucero).
Trillo’s caliber as an actor has been honed by
several years in the mainstream industry, playing both the good and
the bad guy, and had developed into one of the most promising actors
in the local industry. And the character of Darlucio in this film, a
self-proclaimed abused child, had given him that chance to prove
once and for all his capabilities.
The film begins with his story. Darlucio works
in one of the so-called Recto Diploma University shops where he and
his cousin manufacture fake documents. When a seaman needing their
fake diplomas comes back after having been found out and loosing his
job, Darlucio ends up it a street fight with the man. Surprisingly,
Trillo, better known for his wholesome sensitive roles, does justice
to his character as a bad boy and his performance was most natural.
Glaiza de Castro, as Elgine de Guia,
Darlucio’s beau, complements Trillo’s excellent performance with
her own. One of the climactic scenes in the movie is when Darlucio
makes love for the first time with Elgine. The pleasure and pain she
experienced while making love to Darlucio was so evident in her
face—it was almost like the scene was really happening. Her
confusing after the act of sex is even more convincing.
However, one of the annoying things during this
scene was the musical scoring because it was terribly unsuitable to
the love scene—a cheesy, sugary Filipino love song that can give
anyone epileptic attacks. Nonetheless, de Castro’s acting ability
salvages the scene. This movie marks milestone in her career,
showcasing great improvement in her craft since appearing in Katsky
Flores’ Still Life in 2006.
Astig features many other fine performances
(among many others, Gardo Verzosa). But the film’s star-studded
cast is also its problem at times. The multiple cameo appearances of
mainstream actors almost ruins the film.
Nonetheless, Astig is well-woven narrative that
touches the heart of audiences. Each character’s story lead’s to
another, proving that all are separated by nothing more than six
degrees of separation
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