FOR YEARS now, we?ve been complaining about the sassy child stars that the local TV-film industry has been developing. Many of them, especially the boys, are of the siga and porma sort. It?s so irritating to see and hear these boy-men acting like cynical grown-ups.
Whatever happened to childhood, innocence, childlike sense of wonder and enchantment, etc.? Why reduce beautiful children to siga approximation of dull and dismal adults?
Looking back, there was a time when child actors weren?t trained to act like little adults. When Jay Ilagan was a boy, he acted in movies that had him playing cute sidekick to big action stars, to heartwarming effect.
Then Niño Muhlach came along, and the pattern changed in a radical way. Niño was so precociously perky and chatty that he created a new screen persona pretty much all by himself.
It was OK when he was really young, because his sassiness was cute rather than irritating. A few years later, however, he picked up the mannerisms and moves of his adult co-stars and began acting like a grown-up version of himself.
The Niño persona became so popular that other kiddie stars picked it up. Later, sitcoms and comedy shows made things worse, and TV shows today are rife with pint-sized ?adults,? all behaving like midget grownups, hitting sour notes all over the place.
Sensitivity and heart
Which is why we?re glad that ?May Bukas Pa? star Zaijian Jaranilla has come along just in the nick of time to put a stop to all this siga-porma nonsense.
Luckily for us, ?May Bukas Pa? is about the loving relationship between a boy and the miraculous statue of Jesus Christ that periodically come to life and helps him heal people and right a lot of wrongs in his small town. Since that was the boy?s character, as written, the new series couldn?t cast a siga performer in the role, which required sensitivity and heart.
After auditioning many young talents, the show chose Zaijian because he had the vulnerability, purity and luminous eyes the role required. The show has become a big hit and Zaijian is now the most popular child star on TV. The sweet, vulnerable character he?s playing has set a new and better standard for child actors in these parts.
Our main problem with Zaijian?s performance is with the overly-wise and kilometric dialogue he?s made to mouth by the show?s writers. Child characters shouldn?t be so profound and all-knowing ? they?re children, right? Zaijian?s portrayal would really be more affecting if his dialogue were simplified and toned down in terms of fake ?profundity? and spiritual insights.
We also worry that the kid is being made to miraculously solve too many adult character?s problems. Viewers would learn more valuable lessons if adults are solving their own problems.
Despite these negative points, we celebrate little Zaijian?s transformative entry into the local TV-film acting scene. We hope that the more natural acting style he?s brought back will encourage other young actors to rediscover their own childlike sensibility. And we pray that Zaijian?s success doesn?t spoil him and compromise his unique gift and significance.
Cinemanila film fest
The 11th Cinemanila International Film Festival invites filmmakers to submit their films. The 11-day event runs from October 15 to 25 at Market! Market!, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. Sections include the Main Competition (International Features), Southeast Asia Competition (features and shorts), Digital Lokal (Philippine full-length digital films), Young Cinema (Philippine short films) and Documentary (International). E-mail cinemanila@gmail.com.
?Whiteout?
Nature never intended man to survive in Antarctica. And, in the new suspense-thriller, ?Whiteout,? US Marshal Carrie Stetko (Kate Beckinsale) discovers that things are about to get even more dangerous: She has just been sent to investigate a body on the ice ?
Antarctica?s first homicide.
The shocking discovery plunges her into an even more bizarre mystery and the revelation of secrets long buried under the ice ?
secrets that someone believes are still worth killing for.
