MANILA, Philippines?Two of the most instructuve new movie productions we?ve previewed early this year are Clint Eastwood?s ?Gran Torino? and Danny Boyle?s ?Slumdog Millionaire.? Filipino filmmakers should go out of their way to catch these movies, because they have valuable lessons to impart on how ?minority? or ?foreign? characters and themes can make it big in the US and elsewhere in the film-going world.

?Gran Torino? stars the bankable Clint Eastwood, but that isn?t the only reason why it ruled the American box office on its recent opening week.

Aside from Eastwood, the movie?s other leads were in fact Asian ?non-stars,? who acquitted themselves most credibly in major roles.

This proves that even foreign non-luminaries can help ?carry? a US film to singular success?and acceptance by the American movie-going public.

This is a relatively new development that Filipino filmmakers who want to make movies that can be accepted not just here but also internationally, should take note of. Yes, it?s now possible to interest the mainstream US film audience in ?exotic? characters and ?non-commercial? themes like racism and the intrinsic value of man?s humanity, no matter where that man may happen to come from.

But, this can only happen if the movie?s script and directions are so universally accessible, empathetic and insightful that they can overcome traditional biases, and boundaries that inhibit cinematic sharing and caring across now discredited borders.

?Slumdog Millionaire? is even more instructive to aspiring ?international? filmmakers: Unlike ?Gran Torino,? which is at least set in the States and has an American protagonist in Eastwood?s character, Danny Boyle?s movie sets its story in Mumbai, India and all of its characters are Indian. And yet, the film has clicked with American viewers?and, even more remarkably has practically swept the major film awards announced to date. Most impressively of all, it?s touted to be the film to beat at the US Academy Awards later this month.

How did such an ?exotic,? ?little? and ?foreign? film achieve so much in the West? Its thematic exploration of love and dreams that do not die has struck a powerful and painful chord in American hearts. Its impact has been so strong that it?s enabled US viewers to see past the dark skin tone and unusual speech patterns of the movie?s characters, to care for and fully empathize with the universally human and humane hearts beating underneath.

Aside from their shared universality, Eastwood and Boyle?s movies command international attention because of their creative way of making their seminal themes acutely individual and personal. Yes, their characters? stories affirm and vivify great themes, but they are personal stories, first and last.

Thus, we can say that the successful ?international? filmmaker does not ignore the individual trees in the thematic forest that usually absorb abstractly self-important film writers and directors. Mankind in Everyman, Everyman in a single man?that?s the ticket.

Other lessons to learn: These days, filmmakers should no longer dread tackling ?exotic? situations, stories and locales, for fear of confounding the global movie audience. That audience has become more enlightened and less parochial, and sometimes it?s the very exoticism or uniqueness of a movie?s locus and parameters that appeals to it.

Another fear that can now be laid to rest involves ?non-actors.? As both ?Gran Torino? and ?Slumdog Millionaire? have shown, in the hands of great directors, non-professional thespians can come up with more genuine and felt performances than some famous stars can manage.

Finally, if you want to produce a movie that can speak to the entire world, you have to make sure that your story is worth telling, it deals with a problem that viewers really care about, and that its ?voice? is clear, and true. Now, knowing that, go for the Gran Torino, you slumdog millionaire.

The Script

The Irish group Script has captivated listeners with its espousal of soul, blending hip-hop lyrical flow with pop melodiousness. Its new hit, ?Breakeven,? has topped the UK charts with hot cuts like ?Before the Worst,? ?Talk You Down? and ?The End Where I Begin.?

?The International?

Clive Owen and Naomi Watts top-bill the timely, cautionary action-thriller, ?The International.? Determined to bring one of the world?s most powerful banks to justice, their characters uncover many illegal activities as they risk their lives to follow the hot money trail from Berlin to Milan, and on to New York and Istanbul.