Ang Babae sa Septic Tank

We missed Cinemalaya (again) this year, but I still got to see the Best Film yesterday. The boyfriend (Badodong) was unavailable yesterday, so out I went with work friends/colleagues.  It was unplanned, and totally last minute. And totally fun!

Ang Babae sa Septic Tank is an indie film by Chris Martinez and Marlon Rivera.

But what is indie? Indie is a film production produced independent of major film studios. It is a thriving industry that is mostly characterized by low budget, but grand dreams. In general, they don’t make films with the goal of making a lot of money, so typically these are low budget, and subjects include a wide range of social issues. Apart from indie films, you also have indie music – artists who produce their own CDs, or have small production houses back them. They say working indie is for the soul. It’s where they exercise artistic freedom without being restricted by the commercial needs of the label/film executives.

This year, Star Cinema sponsored the commercial release of Ang Babae sa Septic Tank. I am thankful because they made the film accessible to more people. I hope the money goes back to them, the ones who toiled to make this brilliant film.

They say that indie films always talk about poverty, prostitution, despair, etc.etc. They deal with deep and heavy subjects. They are mostly too serious. They are not meant to entertain. In a way, this film does that and in a way MOCKS that too. So it is also very hilarious and quite entertaining.

Here’s a list of why I liked the movie:

• I love how they showed the various treatments to the same material, and how different each one is from the other.
• My favorite in the versions of the film within the film has to be the musical. Definitely the musical.
• JM and Kean are both guwapo! I hated that the girls behind us were so noisy and kept commenting about how handsome the two leads were.
• Makes you think about what goes into filmmaking. And what our goals are when we go into a project – any project.
• Love that they mock their own, and do it tastefully. Kainis kaya how Direk, Bingbong and PA were so excited about the squalor that is the location they chose. They were celebrating! Buti nga his car was stripped naked! They wanted their film to be realistic, yet they seemed to be far removed from the reality they sought to portray.
• It is hilarious.

So maybe there are more. I’m not one to post spoilers. If you’ve been on the fence about seeing it, stop reading this, and go watch it. Now.