TAGUMPAY NA NAGNININGNING
“I entered the theater with an empty mind, but left with a head full of ideas and a heart full of hope.”
Invited to watch “Tagumpay Na Nagniningning” at the last minute, I did not have time to pull together expectations for the film; I entered the theater with an empty mind, but left with a head full of ideas and a heart full of hope.
“I did sense ... the passion that went into this film. “
I was ushered to one of the few empty seats left in the venue, the rush of the traffic that I faced on my way to Greenhills still ringing in my ears. Admittedly, I hadn’t fully focused on the message of Mr. Jack Ng and of Paul Soriano. However, I did sense their mutual respect for each other and the passion that went into this film.
“The movie was beautifully shot...”
The movie was beautifully shot with overhead and landscape shots of settlements giving a sense of the magnitude of the masses. This is but one of the many beautiful symbolisms in the movie. These are the masses, the general situation of the Filipinos; of the greater part of our society, and yet they are being treated as lesser entities, second class. This is an issue that I did catch from Mr. Ng’s speech—that part of their advocacy is to bring dignity to the masses by providing homes (a basic need) through terms that the masses can actually achieve.
The story flowed smoothly. It played out rather like a Maalaala Mo Kaya episode, telling the story that could very much happen to your kapitbahay, or churchmate, or easily within your barangay. Adding to the rapport with the audience were the appearances of beloved Rebisco products and the AUB which the people laughed to and applauded. It was also not beyond people to notice that a pivotal character, Jess, was somehow Messianic.
“...everyone there had their emotions stirred to want to strive for their own tagumpay.”
The film told enough of the story of Jun and Ningning to endear them to the audience, showed enough of the struggles of their families to perhaps call a personal memory forward, bring to mind a certain pain, or evoke almost-abandoned dreams and make the audience feel empowered and hopeful to still achieve them. I know that’s what it did for me, and the ooh’s and ahh’s and smiles and wet eyes in the audience when the house lights came on make me sure that everyone there had their emotions stirred to want to strive for their own tagumpay.
