In a landmark project from the Jesuit Communications Foundation Inc., the liberal order has released their first film produced solely by their subsidiary dubbed Maging Akin Muli, a simply passionate story of a morally-troubled deacon on the verge of priesthood. The film, directed by Marilou Diaz Abaya, made its striking debut last December 18 at a late night slot of 10:30pm on ABS-CBN.

      Played refreshingly by award-winning thespian Marvin Agustin, Rev. Christopher ‘Junjun’ Santos, Jr., fresh out of the seminary, is brought to a local parish to serve his almost on-the-job-training as deacon. It’s fairly obvious to note the tension between the parish priest, Fr. Doy, portrayed carefully by Noel Trinidad, as Junjun struggles carrying out his responsibilities in the church. Having an ex-girlfriend is proving to be a true test, among others, when she keeps Junjun doubting his vocation in the Church. Being a top student back in the seminary doesn’t help as he goes through this process of discernment, encountering scandal after scandal and having an emotional conversation with a death row convict.

      It’s essentially a film about faith, hope and love, and as cliché as it that may sound, the Jesuits do their darn best in turning it around and making it touch the heart and soul, producing this poignant if not somewhat incoherent motion picture.

      Now, I’d like to take some time out to compare this effectively local indie movie to a film that’s making waves in Hollywood

      Crash, a racist drama trying to jostle for position in the awards season, is getting much acclaim for its visceral and thoroughly emotional look at how discrimination is crippling America and how it’s turning the tide of hate once more. Individual scenes work particularly well in delivering such themes, and Muli is similarly heartrending. Both however struggle to find significance to rectify its overall performance as a unified film, a problem that is more evident in Muli than in Crash. With audiences scratching their heads in apparent uncertainty regarding the movie’s conflict and resolution, we more or less get treated to a montage of reverberating clips that never really find a true place in the film.

      With as much as it has to offer, Maging Akin Muli offers a pristine look at the moral dilemmas many priests face before their ordination, if not a purely un-allegorical debate on the levels of Christian identity and self-respect.

      Looking back on 2005’s Metro Manila Filmfest is just a sad reminder that the local industry is going nowhere but down. Films like Maging Akin Muli that deserve a place on the shortlist are ignored for box office hungry behemoths that provide no sense of filmmaking or its implications on society. I may well write another commentary regarding my reactions toward the latest spur of controversy led by non-other than “should-be-ineligible” Mother Lily Monteverde. For now, save me from my disgust.

My Grade: B

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