San Basilio (1981)
I must admit, this film was a bit of a surprise. I'm not a big fan of Lito Lapid, I believe he is the proud owner of two facial expressions, and the last movie I had seen him in was the rather silly Viva Santiago!, co-starring another denizen of the school of bad acting, Melanie Marquez. (Okay, I admit that Melanie was quite attractive and Lito got to kill someone using an oar as a spear, but mostly the film was ridiculous.)
Back to San Basilio.
The movie opens with Julio Valiente Sr. (Lito plays both Sr. and Jr.) being ambushed by the men of Senor Escobar (Played by Johnny Delgado with bleached hair). Valiente is a masked hero who has been defending the townsfolk and thwarting Escobar's evil plans to rule the town with an iron fist.
Time passes and Islaw's (Valiente Jr.) mother and stepfather are snuffed out by Escobar's men. At this point Islaw learns of his father's heroic exploits thanks to a very intelligent horse. Islaw dons the mask and weapons (including two short swords, attached by long ropes, that he can control. Maybe a little silly, but also a very fun visual) and sets out to fight for justice. I guess that the film makers are firmly in the nature over nurture camp, because it only takes a few hours for Islaw to become an expert with these weapons. Obviously it is ingrained in his DNA.
Back to San Basilio.
The movie opens with Julio Valiente Sr. (Lito plays both Sr. and Jr.) being ambushed by the men of Senor Escobar (Played by Johnny Delgado with bleached hair). Valiente is a masked hero who has been defending the townsfolk and thwarting Escobar's evil plans to rule the town with an iron fist.
Time passes and Islaw's (Valiente Jr.) mother and stepfather are snuffed out by Escobar's men. At this point Islaw learns of his father's heroic exploits thanks to a very intelligent horse. Islaw dons the mask and weapons (including two short swords, attached by long ropes, that he can control. Maybe a little silly, but also a very fun visual) and sets out to fight for justice. I guess that the film makers are firmly in the nature over nurture camp, because it only takes a few hours for Islaw to become an expert with these weapons. Obviously it is ingrained in his DNA.
An excellent supporting cast really helps this film. Besides Johnny Delgado, you have Paquito Diaz as (surprise!) another bad guy, Perla Bautista as Islaw's mother, and Joonee Gamboa as the local priest. And while I am critical of Lito Lapid's acting abilities I must admit that when he is in motion he is exciting to watch.
The fencing duel between Senior Escobar and Valiente is a stand out in this film. I don't believe that any undercranking (to speed up the film) or doubles were used. Nor did the scene use quick cuts mercilessly. It is just a very well choreographed, exciting scene and a really good climax to the film.
Oh, did I mention that it's a western? I only became aware that they made Filipino westerns back in 2006 when I saw the 1961 film Alyas Sakay, while in the Philippines, at 3am, while battling jetlag. A whole book could be written about the Filipino western, someone get on that right away.
This movie is available on VCD and has no subtitles, but I didn't have any trouble following the plot. The picture quality is not very good, with a lot of scratches and faded color, but still quite viewable. The same can be said for the sound, though you will have to suffer through Valiente's disco theme song whenever he does battle.
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