Supremo is the Textbook Andres Bonifacio come to life on the big screen.
His wife's death. His escalating anger against the Spanish rule. The Katipunan. His battles. And his death.
Supremo feels like watching your high school classmates reenact Bonifacio's bio for a school project. The cast recite their lines with painful memorization and deliver acting that is, well, obvious and clear acting. No one seems to have genuinely transformed into character; they only arrange their facial muscles into the appropriate emotion and response that the scene requires. When they open their mouths to deliver their difficult lines, you cringe at the fakeness of it. Hence, the characters feel fake. Soulless. The acting relegated to unnatural hand gestures and facial distortions; their eyes are self-conscious of the camera and show that they are trying hard not to forget their lines. They pose like cosplayers, too. And you recall how some of your classmates were better actors.
Andres Bonifacio, the Supremo, is played by Alfred Vargas. His pretty boy clean image causes him to stand out; however, his soft eyes, soulless acting and sad lack of potent fervor take away the hero qualities of the character that he's playing. He doesn't feel like a brave, angry warrior leader. Nor did he stir in me love for my Motherland. He just looks like a schoolboy pretending to be Andres Bonifacio. But he can sure memorize and speak his lines way better than the rest of the cast. And when he shouts his lines with passion, he's almost believable.
The cinematography and production design are impressive, providing an authentic period feel. There were breathtaking shots of the battle, the silhouette of soldiers against the dramatic sky. The film score, though, are sometimes off. Passionate scenes are accompanied by slow music, taking away the excitement of the revolution.
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| The costume players. |
The shockingly bad, highly amateurish and self-conscious performance of the cast makes the entire film, directed by Richard Somes, feel fake. But what is astonishing is that Supremo is not boring at all. You will still find yourself following the story until the end credits due to the smooth textbook narrative, transitions, cinematography and editing. Like watching an expensive school play, you will still find yourself caring about your country's colorful history and the life and fate of Andres Bonifacio no matter how terrible the acting performances are. Interesting and engaging, but zero emotional engagement.
1.5 out of 5 stars
In Philippine Cinemas December 5, 2012
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