RUN OF 'AMIGO'
MANILA, AUGUST 6, 2011 (STAR) FUNFARE By Ricardo F. Lo (PHOTO -
Joel Torre (with Amigo co-star Rio Locsin) is village mayor Rafael Dacanay)
Funfare's Big Apple correspondent Edmund Silvestre describes Joel Torre as
arguably one of the greatest Filipino actors of all time, who is quietly
building a reputation as a premier Asian actor in indie Hollywood.
Rightly so.
Although he's one of today's busiest character actors in Philippine cinema,
stage and television, Joel gets to land roles every now and then in
international independent films, the most recent of which is Subject: I Love You
and the upcoming action 3D Deep Gold. In the process, he's starting to get
noticed in the international market.
This month, the award-winning actor of Oro Plata Mata, Unfaithful Wife and
Batang West Side will be all over the United States — beginning in New York and
New Jersey on Aug. 19 — for the North American theatrical run of his other
international flick Amigo, a brave and critically-acclaimed indie feature on the
forgotten Philippine-American War, megged by Academy Award-nominated
writer-director John Sayles.
[Joel in a scene from the John Sayles-directed movie]
Reported Edmund, "Joel, who has appeared in numerous renowned Filipino films
since the '80s and starred in the Off-Broadway play Dogeaters in New York City
in 2001, will join Sayles in the US junket to talk about the untold atrocities
and abuses that took place in 1900 during the entry of the Americans into the
Philippines at the end of the Spanish colonization."
Shot entirely in Bohol, the historical war drama is being distributed in the
US by Variance Films. It boasts a cast of Hollywood hotshots led by
Academy-Award winner Chris Cooper (Adaptation, American Beauty), DJ Qualls
(Hustle & Flow, Road Trip), Garret Dillahunt (No Country For Old Men,
Winter's Bone) and Tony Award nominee Yul Vazquez (War of the Worlds, The
A-Team), and a high-powered ensemble of Filipino thespians led by Torre, Ronnie
Lazaro, Rio Locsin, Arthur Acuna, Pen Medina, John Arcilla, Irma Adlawan, Miguel
Faustmann, Bodjie Pascua, Spanky Manikan, Joe Gruta and Bembol Roco, with local
Boholano talents James Obenza, Lady Jane Rellita, John Philip Jagunos, Raymart
Colestines, Lourdes Pampilo and Felipa Moncano.
In Amigo, Torre plays Rafael Dacanay, a remote village mayor caught in the
murderous crossfire of the Phil-Am War. When US troops occupy San Isidro, Rafael
comes under pressure from a tough-as-nails officer (Cooper) to help the
Americans in their hunt for Filipino guerilla fighters. But Rafael's brother
(Lazaro) is the head of the local guerillas, and considers anyone who cooperates
with the Americans to be a traitor. Rafael quickly finds himself forced to make
the impossible, potentially deadly decisions faced by ordinary civilians in an
occupied country.
"A powerful drama of friendship, betrayal, romance and heartbreaking
violence, Amigo is a page torn from the rarely-filmed history of the Philippines
and America, and a mirror of today's irresolvable global conflicts," Edmund
quoted its US distributor as saying.
The Hollywood Reporter describes the film "impressive," boosted by "sumptuous
Philippine locations." Time Out London calls it "intelligent and
thought-provoking."
The movie will also kick off the 34th Asian American International Film
Festival in New York City (at Chelsea Clearview) on Aug. 10. Over 70 films from
16 countries are participating, including award-winning Fil-Am director Ramon
Diaz's new docu-film The Learning, which follows four Filipino women teaching
inner city kids in Baltimore, Maryland. (AAIFF is America's longest-running
festival of its kind and a leading showcase for the best in independent Asian
and Asian American film and video.)
Vincent Nebrida, a New York-based Fil-Am filmmaker and who is part of the
distribution team of Amigo, said the movie is something every Filipino and
American all over the world must not miss as it brings to the forefront a
forgotten, dark episode of the Philippine-American history.
"This movie is directed by a brilliant man known in Hollywood as one of the
pioneers of independent filmmaking in the US," says Nebrida of Sayles, who was
nominated twice in the Oscars for screenwriting for the films Lone Star (1996)
and Passion Fish (1992).
Nebrida said Torre will be attending only in select US cities as the actor
needs to fly back to Manila by the end of August to fulfill his other
commitments. Among them is his regular taping for the top-rating ABS-CBN daily
drama series 100 Days To Heaven seen by Filipinos all over the world via The
Filipino Channel.
Amigo will have a week-long run in the following dates and cities across the
US:
[Chris Cooper as the tough-as-nails colonel]
• Aug. 19 — New York, N.Y. at AMC Empire 25 Theater; Bergenfield, New Jersey
at Clearview Bergenfield 5; Las Vegas, Nevada at Regal Village Square 18; Los
Angeles, Calif. at Laemmle's Monica 4 (Santa Monica), Cerritos, Calif. at
Edwards Cerritos 10; and West Covina, Calif. at AMC Puente Hills 20; San Diego,
Calif. at UA Horton Plaza 14; Daly City, Calif. at UA Stonestown Twin; Union
City, Calif. at Cinemark Union Landing 25; Milpitas, Calif. at Century 20 Great
Mall; Seattle at AMC Southcenter 16 (Tukwila); and Stockton at Regal Stockton
City Stadium 16.
• Aug. 26 — Guam at Micronesia Mall 10; Honolulu, Hawaii at Regal Dole
Cannery; and Santa Clara, Calif. at AMC Mercado 20.
• Sept. 2 — Washington, D.C. at AMC Rio 18; Virginia Beach, Virginia at AMC
Lynnhaven 18 (Norfolk); Portland, Oregon at Hollywood Theater; and Seattle,
Washington at Northwest Film Forum.
• Sept. 16 — Minneapolis, Minnesota at St. Anthony Main Theater
• Sept. 23 — Denver, Colorado at Denver Film Center (Colfax)
(Note: Visit www.amigomovie.com
for up-to-the-minute information including additional cities and dates as well
as group sales, and the trailer.)
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
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