By Archie Liao
The acclaimed dark-comedy thriller “Spiders’ Man” closes this year’s edition of Cine Europa with its CCP screening on October 28. After a successful US release and a festival round in different countries, Ruben Soriquez’s latest opus (an Italy-Philippines co-production) gets its share of spotlight as it’s chosen to premiere in the Philippines.
The largely autobiographical film courageously tackles the subject of mental illness which is treated with a surreal approach leading to often grotesque situations. It is about the story of two half brothers, (an autistic and a schizophrenic) and their American friend set about getting their lives back together when an inexperienced group of thugs violates their peace and takes them hostage.
The cast consists of mostly Pinoy actors (Jeffrey Tam, Richard Quan, Rob Sy, Miko Penaloza, China Roces, Red Ibasco, Hutch Perales, CJ Domasing, Lanie Gumarang) with the exception of Lee O’Brian and Fil-Italian director Ruben Soriquez. Asked about its appeal to Pinoy audience, Soriquez says: “I think that although the film is indeed soaked in European humor and might not fit the taste of the Filipino audience when it comes to comedy (quite dark in my case), my Pinoy kababayans can surely relate to it because of the presence of social themes so relevant in the Philippines”.
At present, Soriquez is working on another exciting project. “Currently, I am shooting “The Mariana’s Web” in Italy where I play another lead. It’s a collaboration with Italian director Marco Calvise who did the shorts Milonga and Non Tamere. It’s a very difficult film to produce because it’s heavy on visual effects. Nonetheless, we will be featuring amazing Italian landscapes. It’s about Virtual Reality and the pros and cons that come with it.
It’s also my first time to play an Italian farmer from rural Italy. The film will have a big twist that will require us to film in the Philippines, and show the beautiful spots we have here as well,”he says. Soriquez is also quite ecstatic to announce that his Hollywood manager Jennielyn Abrot of JAR Entertainment is in talks with Viva Films for a pivotal role in a TV series to be shot in the Philippines.
No comments:
Post a Comment