Read the story, watch the film at Cinemalaya
It helps to have a lot of creative friends who frolic in fields of excellence. When one writes about their works, it becomes clear that it is not out of loyalty owing to close relations.
Such will be the case with An Errand, one of the 10 feature films selected for Cinemalaya 2024, which start screening on Aug. 3 at Ayala Malls Manila Bay. Based on a short story by Angelo “Sarge” Lacuesta that’s part of his collection Coral Cove and Other Stories, it’s also gained international recognition, being anthologized in The Art and Craft of Asian Stories (Bloomsbury Publishing) as an example of a “culturally grounded narrative.”
Sarge met Dominic Bekaert, a Filipino-Belgian film director, and his wife Clementine Comoy, a film producer born and raised in France, at the FDCP where they worked together on a creative project. Dominic and Clementine got to read Sarge’s story An Errand, and were so enticed by its deceptive simplicity that they asked if he could turn it into a script for them. Sarge had to translate his script draft in Filipino into English before Dominic and Clementine could weigh in with their inputs.
The husband-and-wife team now based in Manila had met in Paris while they were taking their master’s degrees in Film Preservation at INA (Institut National de l’Audioviduel). Dominic has become a noted video director whose credit list includes some of the most visually compelling music videos for top Filipino artists.
The trio agreed to produce Sarge’s script as an independent film. Joining them as co-producer was Dee Nermal, whose experience in film production has led to groundbreaking films such as Whammy Alcazaren’s Bold Eagle, which has received wide attention at various film festivals.
An Errand as film is now described as “a dreamy feast that brings together elements of realistic cinema, film noir, action, drama, and fantasy—in a heady mix that reflects the filmmakers’ local and global perspectives.” Sarge’s uniquely Filipino storyline, “involving micronuances of class and character, adds to the harmony of elements hardly seen in Philippine cinema.”
The original story itself champions Sarge’s fiction for its delicately subtle, often offbeat, elliptically drawn qualities that distinguish them from the usual narratives that go from Point A to Point B. The multi-awarded writer and current president of the Philippine Center for PEN International continues to win awards since his first collection, Life Before X and Other Stories (UP Press, 2000) won the Madrigal-Gonzalez Best First Book Award and the Manila Critics’ Circle National Book Award. His second collection, White Elephants: Stories (Anvil, 2005) also won the National Book Award. Other distinctions include the Philippines Graphic Award, the Palanca Memorial Award, and the NVM Gonzalez Award.
An Errand as a short story isn’t quite an ode to Filipino private drivers, rather a contemplative study of the usually tedious arc of their lives dominated by changing bosses of different persuasions. Lacuesta accomplishes this with his trademark striptease of nuanced attributes initially concealed under solid realism.
When I found out that it had been turned into cinema, I asked him if it was for a short film, since the narrative didn’t seem extended enough for longer treatment.
He said he had added a whole new plot point that introduced an entirely fresh dimension. For one, he created another character “na parang fantasy hearsay character na driver na naging bodyguard. The character figures in an ambush and is rumored to have escaped, etc. Sa pelikula, the main character rescues the imaginary character in the third act—tripping the story into fantastic/psychological territory.”
Previewing the full-length film, I found that several new characters were indeed added to usher in these developments, leading to some violence that serves as sudden paroxysm, or at least brief spasms, of heightened activity.
Cinematically, the film is stylishly noirish in parts. Ambient sound seems to have been purposefully reduced, as with scenes in public places where group conversations are held, the same with the sounds normally attending highway drives or heard within the enhanced scenic landscapes of cities such as Baguio and Metro Manila.
The lead character Moroy, admirably played by Sid Lucero, shuttles between these end points, characteristically seen driving his boss’ car for various errands, starting and ending with the main one that frames the story.
Some viewers might find it too quiet and contemplative. Brisk hopscotch editing might also confuse certain audiences used to being pampered with chronological narratives that only allow for few instances of obvious flashbacks and non-linear sequencing. The introduction of a fantasy stream, brought up by the oldest driver in the group, played by the ever-reliable Nanding Josef, might also not be immediately deduced or grasped by viewers, if at all.
Invaluably, it is Josef’s character that sums up the cycles of a driver’s life, with his back stories wavering between recollections and possible apocrypha. These begin to frame what appears to be Moroy’s increasing predilection for existential reckoning. Not angst, which may be said to be antithetical to the profession, although Moroy seems uncommon enough, as highlighted by a massage session where the masseuse’s monologue becomes the treatment.
Moroy simply listens. As a personal driver often within earshot of dialogue between boss and mistress, or suggestive of criminal tendencies, he listens and processes everything. Is it that surfeit of tedious realism that provokes him to finally indulge in fantasy?
It’ll certainly be one of the intriguing films in the Cinemalaya fest, even if it may be too cerebral for unsophisticated audiences, despite the occasional build-up of tension that occupies what are otherwise ordinary proceedings.
Technically and aesthetically, it’s of the A-list—from Bekaert’s sensitive direction to Steven Evangelio’s cinematography and Mike Benedicto’s music. Of the minimalist cast, actors Sid Lucero, Art Acuña (so effective as Moroy’s boss) and Nanding Josef are the standouts, as well as Eric Kelly (stuntman, MMA fighter, and quite a scene-stealer) as the fantasy guy Rex.
An Errand is expected to find its way into various international festivals.
I must add that personally, I’m glad that Sarge Lacuesta found the opportunity, as expected, to dedicate a film he wrote to his late father, Amado “Mads” Lacuesta, who is strongly remembered to have been one of our excellent scriptwriters.