Jeepney Press November-December 2022 / Joey Manalang

KATIPS by Joey Manalang

I first heard about the movie “Katips” in the news almost at the same time the controversial movie Made in Malacañang dominated everyone’s timelines all over social media around July and August this year. I was asked by a few friends here to organize a screening in Japan but honestly, I didn’t have the capacity to do it.

When it was finally announced that it will be shown in Japan, I went to see it on Oct. 15 in Urawa Parco. But two nights before the screening, I had a chance to meet four of the cast members at a press conference held in La Boheme in Shinjuku, including the actor-writer-director Vince Tañada himself. Together with him were three other members of the cast, Nicole Laurel Asensio, Johnrey Rivas and OJ Arci. That night was an amazing experience especially to see them give the audience a very impressive yet an impromptu performance of some songs from popular musicals like Miss Saigon and Les Miserables at the last part of the evening. In the first half of the event, it was a press conference/welcome dinner and several people asked questions to Director Vince Tañada and his cast. One of those who held the microphone for a few minutes was 76-year-old Nathan Gilbert Quimpo, currently semi-retired, living in Japan and working as an Associate Professor at the University of Tsukuba. He shared his experience as a political prisoner, detained three times during the Martial Law years in the 70s under the Marcos regime. He and his younger sister Susan Quimpo, who passed away two years ago were co-authors of the book “Subversive Lives” where they recounted in detail the horrors their family members and others experienced during some of the darkest years of the Philippines in the 70s. This event made my heart swell and for some reason, as I sat there listening and watching everyone in the room, perhaps because of the classic interior design of the venue, for a moment, I felt like I was transported back to the time of Crisostomo Ibarra in Noli Me Tangere as the rebels plotted and chanted slogans against the Spanish Colonizers in the 1800s. Sadly, more than 100 years later, we are now rebelling against our fellow Filipinos under the rule of oppression and blatant corruption in the government.

“Katips” is actually a triple love story, it revolves around three Filipino couples who were activists during the “First Quarter Storm” a series of rallies and demonstrations that took place from Jan to March 1970 against President Ferdinand Marcos, who as we all know, ruled the country for 21 years from 1965-1986. The word “Katips” is from “Katipunan” which referred to the rebels during the Spanish Era led by the Filipino hero Andres Bonifacio. This new breed of rebels called themselves “Ang Bagong Katipunan” or the new rebels, hence “Katips” for short. Like a typical musical, the main parts of the story are told through song and dance from beginning to end with dialogues in between. I can’t help but notice the similarity to the musical arrangement and choreography of rock operas during the hippie days of the late 60s to the early 70s and “Katips” was most likely inspired by such musical films like “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Or perhaps they opted for this style due to the limited production budget, despite which they were able to pull It off because the story and the message shines through and while watching it you feel like you are teleported back to one of our country’s darkest times via some sort of a time machine. Ahhh the 70s and the 80s…back when people had no smart phones and no internet, so protesters really had no choice but to air their grievances on the streets against an evil government.

As a Filipino who had lived in those times, I would have loved to see a different version of this film with much more budget, time and support it deserves, perhaps it needs an orchestral arrangement to give justice to the powerful vocal performances of such a talented cast in a very intriguing story. After watching “Katips” what would be a real treat though to see is a non-musical version of it with a more subtle delivery of its message that leaves something to the viewer’s imagination, maybe something similar to the 2013 film Barber’s Tales by Jun Robles Lana and starred Eugene Domingo.

The subversive message of the film “Katips” is written all over the 2-hour spectacle without any subtle nuances. This “in your face” approach was perhaps its merit and its demerit at the same time. To an audience who is not fond of musicals, it could be a bit of a drag to sit and watch everything from beginning to end. The earnestness to deliver the message about repression during the martial law years is quite obvious but for many, it may not be as relatable as intended. Perhaps they could have focused on only one couple instead of three. To cater to those who are not really into musical flicks, they could have shortened some of the musical numbers where some of the lyrics became a bit repetitive and somewhat redundant. Subtlety was not utilized much in this movie most particularly towards the third act of the film. The torture scenes in the movie are hard to watch and perhaps could have been filmed in a more tasteful manner, but I guess the goal was to garner a “shock and awe” reaction from the audience. But overall, in spite of its flaws, the movie is commendable, mainly because it offers more of the untold truths and the unimaginable realities that happened during the Martial Law years in the Philippines. After leaving the hall, I had coffee with some of the viewers and I was surprised some of them who are even around my age were shocked by the torture scenes, they were unaware that such atrocities actually happened! No wonder, because the media was totally controlled by the Marcos government.

The movie is not as dark as one would presume from watching the trailer. There was plenty of humor during the dialogues whenever the cast was not singing. To be honest, no offense to the gifted songwriter Pipo Cifra, but I found myself looking forward to the comical scenes more than the musical numbers so I was kind of craving for more dialogue in the movie. I must admit, I didn’t expect to get very emotional but my eyes welled up in one scene when they found the dead body of one of their comrades in the forest. That song “Hindi Ako Manhid” sung by the main character played by Vince, and that particular scene, from the time they rode a jeepney when he started singing, until they reached the forest, that part instantly became my favorite in the entire movie. All of a sudden, that scene triggered something in me and for some reason, the pain became real. Perhaps because I myself had several brushes with death as a budding photojournalist when I was in college, from the mid to late 80s. My father was so against my plans to pursue such a dangerous career. I may have to save those stories for another article if chance permits.

“Katips” was made on a very, very limited budget and relied solely on word-of-mouth marketing on social media, but personally, it is definitely a much better choice to watch than the lies being peddled by the Marcos family to revise history in their favor, in the other movie “Made in Malacañang.”

“Katips” is not perfect, given a bigger budget, director Vince Tañada and the producers could have made something even more spectacular. Although it is quite a masterpiece by itself, in its current state, alas, it almost looks and feels like a stage musical as it originally was in 2016. “Katips” is definitely not for everyone. But every Filipino should see it, so don’t miss it.

The musical drama by Philstagers Films won seven FAMAS awards out of 17 nominations including Best Director, Best Actor, Best Picture, Best Music, and Best Cinematography in 2022.

Joey Manalang

Jeepney Press