:: Top11: Pinoy ref ::
Ever since The Bourne Legacy announced its shoot here in the Philippines, it got me thinking on which films featured the Philippines. It doesn’t matter if it was only a weapon, an actress, or our dialogue, just Filipino references. Never mind if a few of them sounded and looked very racial. Sometimes, discrimination gets full-blown and it really tells how we are perceived by foreigners.
Much as we want to react, like that issue with Claire Danes and Brokeback Ü Palace, we’d rather smile at what we watch. Besides, countries and nationalities have their own weaknesses too. And we enjoy watching these films too. It’s actually just even.
I tried to come up with eleven of my favorite Filipino references in global cinema. Sadly, this memory runs on 80486 and I can only come up with a few of my favorites. Though, with further research, I saw a few that I could add in the list; and probably add them in my favorites folder.
Before I move on to the list, I’d like to shout out the following films, because I know they have Filipino references too but I forgot the: title of the film or I can’t see an image / video in the Interwebz. Namely: Mammoth, 8MM, a Spanish film that featured Pinoy sex workers, Rob Schneider films, and Princess Caraboo.
11 Things. Filipino references in global cinema (Pinoy films excluded).
1. Kick-ass. The butterfly knife, or Balisong, scene. The cuddly, wubbly, and duddly Chloe Moretz uber-excited with Nic Cage’s gift to her. This is an obvious and favorite choice amongst the other Hollywood and foreign films out there that features our trusty Balisong.
2. Constantine. It gathered buzz when this was shown in the cinemas because everyone wanted to watch that scene. It was fairly memorable.
3. Return Of The Jedi. Rex Navarrete reminded every one of this scene in one of his compilation albums. I wasn’t aware of this before. Good job, Richard Marquand.
4. The Campaign. Francis este Frances informed me of this Will Ferrell starrer. Luckily, it was part of the trailer. Hence, the clip below. I think it is still showing this week, you might want to catch this one on the big screen. And no, I haven’t seen this film yet; reviews say that the film is funny.
5. Man On The Moon. As I am a Jim Carrey fan, I was surprised when I saw this film more than a decade ago. I also didn’t believe that they shot this short scene in Baguio. I’m not sure if it’s all true. Which means one thing, Jim Carrey went to the Philippines already and that sucks.
6. The Game Of Death. Bruce Lee’s last film was quite memorable in all aspects. One reason is a fight scene with Kareem-Abdul Jabbar. What fascinates me is the inclusion of Dan Inosanto, a Filipino martial artist, who gets to fight with THE Bruce Lee. Awesome fight, by the way.
7. The Year Of Living Dangerously. I saw this film in a cable channel and I only got to the last third of the film. It was too awesome to watch Bembol Roco exchange lines with Mel Gibson. And with a bit of research, I saw this clip posted by a proud child because his father had a scene in the film.
8. Big Fish. I love, love, love this film. And the ventriloquist scene is really worth watching.
9. Thirst. A Filipina in a Wong-Kar Wai film? Wow. Thanks to the exotic beauty of Mercedes Cabral, you’d get to see her in this movie. It all starts at 18:00. Oh, and please click this instead, as the user disabled any embedding of the material.
10. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. Filipino pirates in a Wes Anderson film. Trolololol to the finest.
11. The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert. Because the top spot goes to the most demeaning Filipino film I could think of. I won’t explain why. Just watch the clip.
Targrod's Soul Patch 
Do you recognise Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce in Priscilla?! Also, just as a backgrounder, when this movie was made, it was quite rampant that most mail-order brides in the Outback were Filipinas. Sad but true. Even two years ago, when I met a physiotherapist in one of the country towns here in NSW, he was so surprised when I said I was not married. He says all the Filipinas he knew were married to Australian men way too old for them.
On the flip side, there have been a fair few of these Filipinas who may have started out as mail-order bride but who’ve managed to make a name for themselves. One even became the manager for a regional airport where she one worked as a cleaner. 🙂
yes, yes, i did! as much as i want to watch it again, film queue is stopping me from doing it. someday, if the 200+ FQ is halved. hehe.
and i’m familiar with the situation of mail-order bride bizness in Australia. in fact, more than a decade ago, my parents were godparents of this pinay and a not-so-old Aussie.
it’s not as negative as it looks. because filipinos will rule the world!
and that manager for a regional airport is kewlness! =D
Cool talaga siya, that regional airport manager. I suppose there still that stigma around it. I mean, good on them for being brave enough to move to a different country, marry someone they hardly know just to make a better life for themselves. In a perfect Pinas, sana hindi na kelangan ng ganun para lang maka-angat sa buhay.