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ALL ANGLES

rasterize, rock, Rothko, rhyme, Rohmer

AAAoAAoA Rewind: September, 2007. Warning: this is a 1,300-word story based on my interview with a fascinating character. A worthy read nonetheless. Enjoy!


Edru Abraham. Photo by Jerome Cruz
The performance just ended, and a man in native Manobo costume bowed and acknowledged the audience’s applause. The next performance was about to begin.


“Yeeehh! Bravo! Yehhh!”

Another man in the audience in white polo shirt and a kerchief around his neck shouted praises on top of his voice while clapping enthusiastically. Other people were applauding too, but he stood out from the small crowd. It was famed Professor Pedro “Edru” Abraham Jr., known for his contributions to indigenous music and Filipino performing arts – and his energy.

That day at the modest lobby of the Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater in the University of the Philippines Diliman, students played rare Chinese and Japanese instruments like the yangqin and the koto, and Filipino agung, kulintang and Muslim drums. When the artists and students started to chant, Mr. Abraham grabbed some drums and improvised backup music.

It was a glimpse at a world of music, dance, and performance where someone like Mr. Abraham thrives. He was as if on a high with the beat, bobbing his head and stomping his foot along with the rhythm. He would be the first one to applaud and the last one to stop, and after every performance he requested the musicians to play another piece.

“How astounding this music is, and how diverse the sounds we can make from these instruments,” he told the audience, making waving gestures.

Mr. Abraham is best known as the founder of the Kontemporaryong Gamelang Pilipino, popularly called Kontra-Gapi, an acclaimed neo-world music ensemble based in the U.P. College of Arts and Letters where he is also an associate professor in Art Studies.

Mr. Abraham had his training early on as a dancer, musician and mime actor of the Filipinescas Dance Company in the late 60’s under the wings of National Artist for Dance Leonora Orosa Goquingco.

“All the dances we were doing were stylized and outgrowths of the indigenous community and the new theater and art,” he said in an interview after the event.

During rehearsal breaks in Filipinescas, he “fooled around” with indigenous instruments using them to play rock tunes like “Hard Day’s Night” using the agung, a set of wide-rimmed gongs from Mindanao.

“I just fooled around, little realizing that I could draw from this fooling around to create new music,” he said.

Years after his stint with Filipinescas, he went on to found Kontra-Gapi in 1989. “I didn’t really set out to found a group like that,” Mr. Abraham said. “But I think we found acceptance of people from all walks and ages.”

“Acceptance” could be an understatement. Kontra-Gapi with its eclectic, improvisational and even experimental music now performs at least twice a week all over the country and does concert tours abroad. It was honored with Outstanding Achievement Award in Performing Arts by the University in 1996 and has so far produced two albums “World Beat / World Music – Filipino” and ”Gong at Ritmo, Lunggating Pilipino.”

Mr. Abraham’s expertise in this branch of the arts not only grew from something he took interest in while growing up, but is rooted in his very ethnicity.

“I would know more about the Comanches, the Apaches and the American Indians, but I knew nothing about the aetas in the Eastern Mountains, in Sierra Madre and in the Cordilleras who would come visit our town from time to time,” he said, describing the stirring of his awareness as a child growing in an Ibanag-speaking town in Tuguegarao.

“I was just any ordinary Filipino. I grew up in the Methodist Church and was part of the choir and played Bach and Beethoven and followed pop music,” said Mr. Abraham, who eventually decided to explore his and other local ethnicity and culture.

“All these other Filipinos who are marginalized in the consciousness of most Filipinos got me to start considering the state of my own experience,” he said. “And my awareness was amplified, affirmed and deepened by my stay in the University as a student and later as a teacher.”

Another integral influence to his art and approach is the people’s reaction to the martial rule in the ‘70s. “I would lead in rallies and chant in the streets, and I would invent indigenous chants and I also thought it was very empowering for people to make creative noises and scream out their frustrations together,” Mr. Abraham said, reclining on his creaking chair in his faculty office.

Kontra-Gapi performing at the UP Centennial kickoff. Photo by Jerome Cruz.
This explains Kontra-Gapi’s bearing a political statement in its very name (which literally means “to counter defeat” in Filipino) and as a group being founded post-martial law. It shows the artist’s concern not just for music but also for social issues like empowerment and the value of expression.

“My background is very rich indeed, but I also love reading about political issues, current events, things about what makes a Filipino tick.”

And with Kontra-Gapi, he does make people tick. After some performances, people would gather around the instruments and try playing them. “Children would start banging away and I remember one kid said, ‘Alam mo paglaki ko gusto ko tumugtog din ako.’ It’s interesting how even kids like (the music),” Mr. Abraham shared.

For someone not trained in a conservatory, it’s a wonder how Mr. Abraham possesses considerable knowledge in music and a vast experience in the performing arts. He experimented extensively, took every opportunity offered, recorded everything, and brought different instruments together to create new tunes.

And that is, after some sort of brooding, characteristic of moody, artistic types.

“When I do something, I have focus. People couldn’t talk to me when I'm in this level of consciousness. Even at home, when I'm in that creative mood, I'm like in a cave, I'm not even aware people are talking to me,” Mr. Abraham said.

The diverse music and creativity are a trademark of Kontra-Gapi, to whom he imparted his knowledge to hone not just the skills of its members but also their values.

“In Kontra-Gapi, (performers) learn how to do be professional, be conscious of the time, do their best even under the worst circumstances and take responsibility for somebody,” Mr. Abraham said. “I always tell them not to limit their capabilities.”

In fact, a Kontra-Gapi member could play up to fifteen instruments. “Not that specialization is wrong, you need that as a base, but you should expand and learn everything,” he added.

And coming from someone who is an actor, director, dancer, choreographer, musician, composer, voice talent, teacher, writer and producer in one body, this is an honest, tried-and-tested advice.

But among all the adjectives and titles, Edru, at age 70, simply wants to be known as a “person who strives to find his own authentic voice -- a voice that is pure and true.”

“And if other people discover that they could identify with (that voice) too, in expressing their own Filipino-ness, then I'm happy,” he said.

And his dream? For public schools to have their indigenous music groups, loyal to their lineage and rooted in culture.

“Why shouldn’t there be some kind of native, indigenous ensemble as part of our schools? For the most part, it’s all Western – drum and lyre bands, choirs. But why not make it Asian?” he said. “Kahit naman anong gawin mo, dun ka rin naman pupunta. Pilipino tayo eh.”

“It’s an ideal that they’re ashamed, not of their own culture, but the fact that they ought to know more of that and they don’t,” he continued.

Looking at his life, one could make out that Edru Abraham is a man who has decades full of honors and achievements, but he says there is a single reality he is most proud of:

“My children and my grandchildren.”

With that Mr. Abraham paused in thoughtfulness, and then went on talking again about art. #
Someone has to piece some puzzles and trace patterns around here. Photo by Raul Arantes.

One: To really find time to religiously write these weekly upcoming posts:
  • a book
  • an exhibition coverage
  • a play, cough cough
  • an interview with a young author
  • a profile of a musical artist
  • an encounter with a late painter
  • my first encounter with an HTML5 interactive movie
  • eating Japanese design
  • dining in Bohemian interiors
  • a student writing workshop I'll be conducting. All exciting.
Two: Expand AAAoAAoA to include writing, design and web portfolios instead of hosting them in other, unnavigable sites. So this is basically another way of documenting some kind of a career.
Three: Get the Cooked project prototype off the ground!
#
A post 7 days in the making, given the writer's limited blog time. And now, finally!

This abandoned blog's largest section comprises of ravings on films. And I realize it's 2011, and for the first blog post of the year, I decided to write about my favorite subject again. So this is a list post, on which I think are the best films of the decade. By best, I mean considering everything valid: mise-en-scene, script, cinematography and even emotional (entertainment) and intellectual value. So don't expect any dense chick flick or The Royal Tenenbaums in here.

My reluctance about the credibility of any top films list is that before anyone can even truly pick certain best films, they should have watched all of the films screened within a determined period. That's the only arguable, right way critics can even choose. But to redeem herself, a critic can say, "The best films among those I've seen are ... etcetera." But that's my point, critics never say that.

So the best films I've seen from 2001 to 2010 are, given I'm not missing out on something I truly thought was great:

25th Hour (2003) by Spike Lee
While using expletives in every other sentence, Edward Norton's anti-hero character channels the style of de Niro-and-the-mirror in Taxi Driver, delivering his convoluted insights on life and the human race. An expected ending, but one leaving characters --and viewers--with noble aspirations beyond screen time.

About Schmidt (2002) by Alexander Payne
"We're all pretty small in the big scheme of things ... what kind of difference have I made?" And this small movie lies mostly forgotten in the big world, but its difference lies in compassion, Jack Nicholson and the quirky screenplay's quiet charisma.

Before Sunset (2004) by Richard Linklater
Eighty minutes, two characters talking, a walk around Paris nine years after they first met. No one else could have pulled off such a Hollywood indie feat in the style of French quasi-intellectual, hyper-realistic cinema. Before Sunset only poses as a romantic flick and delivers the genre so subtly.

Big Fish (2003) by Tim Burton
Tim Burton's surrealist-expressionist film about a dying old man's tall tales of his adventures while his journalist son listens on, hoping that for the last time, his father would tell him the truth. Though not a truly great film, not even one of Burton's better creations, Big Fish is a memorable visual, family feast.

Crash (2005) by Paul Haggis
With a surprise Oscar best picture win over crowd favorite Brokeback Mountain which no one but Ebert and me (really, now?) predicted, Crash has a deserving, absorbing charm, not only by an all-star ensemble but by clever, convincing script defining racism in its many forms. While watching this, you'd forget what the word "predictability" means and characterization is thrown out the window: "Who needs it?" After all, even with characters' clashing differences, they share a common humanity.

The Departed (2006) by Martin Scorsese
After watching this, I right away read Ebert's review. "(This Scorsese) movie is not what it's about, it's about how it's about." Take that from a man who wrote an entire book about the director. It's fascinating to watch di Caprio as the good guy pretending to be bad and Damon as the bad guy pretending to be good. And these pretensions cause real tension to viewers who spend the entire screen time knowing, "Oh no, he's just saying that."


Far From Heaven (2002) by Todd Haynes
Haynes resurrects Douglas Sirk's 50s genre-defining melodrama films in a way that's too authentic that film geeks won't miss the late director's shot after shot of symbolism and satire. Forced to convey real human problems, issues and emotions such as class, gender and race. But over Far From Heaven's attempted resolutions, I'd still prefer Sirk's fair, convenient endings.

Finding Nemo (2003) by Andrew Stanton
So many of us probably saw Nemo and Marlin's adventures over and over again, the same way one should repeat things for Dory to remember. A film buff's standard for any children's flick is if grown-ups don't have to  grin and bear it as they would sitting through Barney. And Nemo is not just an entertaining, witty treat, but a technological and artistic feat as well.

In America (2002) by Jim Sheridan
A migrant family finds themselves disillusioned in the land of their dreams. Old storyline with an exceptional delivery. In America is a film that reminds me why drama is my favorite genre in the first place, but not that it's generic. Sure the emotional struggles of characters are moving and heavy, but the plot also has grit and carries hope with it. Best of both worlds?

Insomnia (2002) by Christopher Nolan
Nolan may well be on his way to becoming (and I hesitate) today's Hitchcock, but it's still a long way. An Inception or another The Prestige here and there won't earn him the rep. Personally, I think another Insomnia would do it for him, if only audiences would take time, and if Nolan stops deceiving us with quasi-cerebral plots and actually delivers non-Freudian, realistic, understandable, (but still thrilling) think piece of a film. But then again that's boxing him in Hitchcock too much.

In the Mood for Love (2001) by Wong Kar Wai
I wrote a freshman's take on Wong Kar Wai a few years ago, and he could always redeem himself for My Blueberry Nights (which turned out to be "trifle") with another Chunking Express or Happy Together. But Wong would always be remembered for In the Mood because of its experimental style, like a glorified, feature-length music video relying on non-verbal expressions and score to project the tensions of adultery.At the same time, there's a well-placed moral commitment which makes it tops.

The Lord of the Rings (2001, 2002, 2003) by Peter Jackson
I gotta be honest. The visualized versions of Tolkien's masterworks weren't my favorites, and it's probably 'cause I was too young to make sense of such long screen times with fantastic characters and hazier plot. Really, there's a difference between dwarfs, elves and hobbits? After just having read Tolkien, I looked back to remember the film trilogy and realized Jackson's almost as wise as Gandalf for pulling it off.

Matchstick Men (2003) by Ridley Scott
Matchstick Men is probably the next best movie about con artists after The Sting (1973). Scott playfully combines the hero's psychological idiosyncrasies--stuff of comedic relief--and crime thriller-drama thematic. And its visuals are not too bad, too. I can still remember one scene which plays like an expressionist work to introduce the hero's OCD. The film, in the end, is about finding a family--literally and existentially.

Mystic River (2003) by Clint Eastwood
When I saw Gone Baby Gone '07, I thought this has got to be a rehashed, minor version of Mystic River. And why not emulate it? In a fine example of his mastery of the craft, Eastwood creates a heavy, sulking crime drama and makes use of ace actors to craft real emotions in audiences.

No Country for Old Men (2007) by the Coen brothers
Okay, okay, so I hafta be honest. I've only seen the first few scenes in this film, and I'm looking forward to finishing it before I die. BUT. It's that good. Bardem is horrific, and this film relies on his character's authenticity. Ty Burr praises the Coens' filmmaking, "The brothers don't make movies 'about' something. They tell stories and they let you do the math."

The Passion of the Christ (2004) by Mel Gibson
Most of the film commentators I've read through the years wrote lengthy reviews on this film in an attempt to reflect not only on its technical qualities, its intentions and issues, but its effort to deliver a message so powerful that it had to justify its use of gore.

The Pianist (2002) by Roman Polanski
Polanski (whom I wrote about a year ago) is undeniably one of the better filmmakers around.It's easy to place this film next to the greatest films on war and redemption ever created, as it triumphantly exhibits the power of evil and shows how a singular human craft and transcendent goodness can overcome it.

The Queen (2006) by Stephen Frears
I've never seen Her Majesty the Queen, whoever she is through the years, being portrayed so humanly than in Frears' account of Britain's Royal Family. Helen Mirren is convincing as the matriarch monarch (as if she's born to be Queen), and Michael Sheen fooled me into thinking he's the actual Tony Blair. Looking at the surface, a viewer might at first wonder whether this is a critical work against the Windsors, but in the end it urges one to be sympathetic to them.

Rescue Dawn (2007) by Werner Herzog
By a director who can easily be found in film theory books and starred by the actor who played Batman in another life, Rescue Dawn was an unexpected treat. But as expected, Herzog shoots a part-fictional film like a non-fictional, real-time documentary. It doesn't really try to express a profound message of survival, good vs. evil, hope or whatnot, only of a reality--dirty, hungry prisoners in the jungles of Vietnam, parched from the humidity and literally scarred by genuinely harsh surroundings, trying to escape.

I'm very much tempted to include the following films, but for one reason or another, I hesitate:
Adaptation (2002), The Dark Knight (2008), Moulin Rouge! (2001), Chicago (2002), Children of Men (2006), The Constant Gardener (2005), Sideways (2004), The Bourne Trilogy, Julie & Julia (2009), 21 Grams (2003), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

I regret not having seen the following films, which I think could well be included in the list above: 
Spirited Away (2001), Inception (2010), Donnie Darko (2001), The Fighter aka I bet Bale will be with Uncle Oscar this year (2010), The Hurt Locker (2009), The King's Speech (2011), Pan's Labyrinth (2006), Moon (2009), Bowling for Columbine (2002), There Will Be Blood (2007), Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), Grizzly Man (2005), Brick (2005), Synecdoche, New York (2008)
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ART AS A PEDESTRIAN

Hi, I'm Camille, and I'm a real journalist from Manila. Without claiming expertise on the subjects, I try to write about my artistic and cultural encounters on this 17-year-old spot.

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Whut!

We will have but one option: We will have to adapt. The future will present itself with a ruthlessness yet unknown.
~Michelangelo Antonioni, filmmaker

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness ...
~first lines of Charles Dickens' The Tale of Two Cities

Culture is to know the best that has been said and thought in the world.
~Matthew Arnold, cultural critic

The only way to really change society is through culture ... it's not through force, it's not through armies, it's not through politics (but) through freedom.
~Dony McManus, artist

You are a fine person, Mr. Baggins ... but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all!
~Gandalf in The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

"I find television very educating. Every time someone turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book."
~Groucho Marx, actor

Don't laugh at a youth for his affectations; he is only trying on one face after another to find a face of his own.
~Logan P. Smith, essayist

God is in the details.
~Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, architect

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