MANILA, Philippines??Dukot,? a film by Joel Lamangan, has been granted an ?A? rating by the Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB) for the impressive performance rendered by its lead actresses Gina Alajar, Iza Calzado and Racquel Villavicencio.

Two independently produced films, Neal Tan?s ?Tulak? and Armando Lao?s ?Biyaheng Lupa,? both received a ?B? rating, CEB chair Christine Dayrit announced on Monday.

A film with an ?A? rating gets a 100 percent tax rebate and a ?B? rating, 65 percent.

Good casting

?Casting was very good,? said Dayrit, quoting a CEB board member. Alajar reportedly received ?notable reviews? as Calzado?s mother, with ?plus points? given to Calzado and Racquel Villavicencio as the mom of desaparecido activist Allen Dizon.

?The subject of desaparecidos is not usually tackled by mainstream cinema. Lamangan has found a material close to his heart,? said Dayrit, quoting another CEB member. ?The result is a well-made film that, for all its agit-prop heavy handedness, delivers the message home.?

?Dukot? tackles the issues of human rights violations and extra-judicial killings. Dizon and Calzado play the role of two young activists who were abducted by state-security forces. What happened to them in their captivity is a combination of real-life stories told by a fortunate few who managed to escape from or were freed by their torturers.

?Lamangan tries as best he can to steer Boni Ilagan?s script away from the outright propaganda leanings present even in the dialogue,? said Dayrit, quoting another reviewer.

Dayrit said the film merited an R-18 rating for its ?authentic and gory? torture scenes.

The film, produced by CDP Events/ATD Entertainment Productions, offers a ?good mix of old and new ?activist? songs [that] helps situate the story, and reminds us that despite martial law long being gone, the problem of a beast-like military exerting its power is still very much around.?

?Dukot,? said a CEB member, is ?no doubt a welcome change from the usual romantic and horror fare coming out of the mainstream.?

?Tulak?

In ?Tulak,? filmmaker Tan ?continues to effectively explore the dirty realism of Metro Manila slums, this time, zeroing in on the world of drug use and abusers, with all the seedy drama and skirting of dead ends,? said Dayrit.

The film, set in the underbelly of Addition Hills, a subdivision in Mandaluyong City, is lauded for its ?realism, including the maze-like shabu tiangge of which we only read about in the news.?

Citing a CEB reviewer, Dayrit said: ?This semi-documentary approach to the film achieves what it sought out to do?inform the public about the ill-effects of dangerous drugs as well as the deeply rooted diabolical influence of co-dependents and supporters to users.?

?Tulak? features testimonies of show biz celebrities who were reportedly involved with drugs in the past. These actors include Ma. Isabel Lopez, Melissa Mendez, Lyka Ugarte, Ritchie D? Horsie, Ynez Veneracion, Criselda Volks and Liz Alindogan.

Rafael Rosell, Fanny Serrano, Rustica Carpio and Julio Diaz play very significant roles in the film produced by Exogain Productions. Of the actors, Serrano got uniformly good reviews, Dayrit reported.

?Biyaheng Lupa?

First-time director Lao, who wrote the award-winning Jeffrey Jeturian film ?Kubrador,? exercises diligence in handling of the material and his actors,? reported Dayrit.

?Biyaheng Lupa? tells the story of a motley group of passengers en route to Legazpi, Albay. During the long journey, as the passengers mentally sort out their past and their future, things happen in the present?by choice or by providence?that make their journey memorable. The bus ride poetizes the life journey and poses questions on issues of life and death, and where exactly the line is drawn between free will and destiny.

?Story-wise the film works on different levels, as some of the passengers on the Legazpi-bound bus are also watching a movie. This makes CEB members feel like they were passengers as well,? said Dayrit.

Dayrit added that some board members found the concept ?interesting and even literary,? but they argued that this ?might have succeeded more as a novel or short story, as the stream-of-consciousness-like narrative seemed to have unsettled part of the audience.?

?Biyaheng Langit,? by Quantum Films, features Jaclyn Jose, Eugene Domingo, Coco Martin and Angel Aquino among others.

Email mcruz@inquirer.com.ph