In "
Kristo",
Director Ben G. Yalung was able to capture the essence of the
Gospel of John, mixed in with
Filipino Holy Week traditions, in this reenactment of the life and death of
Jesus Christ. This movie was produced by the
Oasis of
Love community.
"Kristo" starred
Mat Ranillo III as Jesus Christ. The rest of the cast were local stars and character actors galore. Among the apostles, we recognized Ruel
Vernal as
Peter,
Patrick de la
Rosa as
Thomas, Michael Locsin as
John. Of course, Rez Cortez played
Judas Iscariot, who else?
Edgar Mande and
Jorge Estregan were also there. Among the Sanhedrin,
Tony Mabesa was
Caiaphas,
Dante Rivero was
Nicodemus.
Junix Inocian and
Renato del
Prado were also there.
Romeo Rivera was
Pontius Pilate with
Maila Gumila as his wife.
Paquito Diaz was
Herod with
Bomber Moran overacting as his guard.
Ricky Davao was
Barrabas, though he was not given a close-up.
During the
Way of the Cross, we would see
Rudy Fernandez as
Simon of Cyrene,
Lorna Tolentino as
Veronica,
Christopher de Leon as the good thief
Dimas, and
Gardo Versoza as the other thief Hestas. Among the centurions, we see
Arnel Ignacio as the one who won
Jesus' robe,
Gino Antonio as the one who taunted Jesus when he was thirsty, and
Dan Alvaro as the one who stabbed Jesus with the spear.
The three Marys at the foot of the
Cross were played by
Amy Austria (as
Mary Magdalene),
Nadia Veloso (as
Mary, sister of Lazarus) and an unknown actress as the
Virgin Mary. I had to wait for the end credits to see that
Mother Mary was played by a certain
Charmaine Rivera, whom I really did not know.
I do not know if
Mel Gibson had seen this film, but the violence of the scourging scenes in "Kristo" were also very graphic. The very-bloodied and deformed appearance of Jesus on the cross is also very similar in the two films. "Kristo" also preceded "
Passion of the Christ" in having a woman as the
Devil, who was portrayed by
Rachel Lobangco.
As a whole it was not bad at all, despite the technical limitations and the hammy acting of the supporting cast. Mat Ranillo III played Jesus Christ effectively with requisite look, dignity and compassion. The walls of
Intramuros became
Jerusalem. The
Manila Post Office Building was transformed into the
Praetorium of the Sanhedrin. The costumes of the townspeople were Muslim-inspired. Very imaginative and interesting effort to Filipinize the context. Overall, the pace and language was engaging enough for us to watch the film to its conclusion.
- published: 08 Feb 2014
- views: 52810