Oro, Plata, Mata
Original theatrical poster
Directed byPeque Gallaga
Screenplay byJosé Javier Reyes
Story by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyRody Lacap
Edited byJesus Navarro
Music byJose Gentica V
Production
company
Distributed by
Release date
  • January 27, 1982 (1982-01-27)
Running time
194 minutes
CountryPhilippines
Languages
Budget₱2.5 million[1]

Oro, Plata, Mata (Spanish: Gold, Silver, Death) is a 1982 Philippine historical war drama film co-written and directed by Peque Gallaga. The screenplay written and adapted by José Javier Reyes was based on the story by Gallaga, along with Mario Taguiwalo and Conchita Castillo. The film is considered to be Gallaga's most significant contribution to the Philippine cinema. Set in the Philippine island of Negros during World War II, it tells the story of how two hacendero families cope with the changes brought about by the war.[2] In translation, the movie is also known either as "Gold, Silver, Bad Luck" or "Gold, Silver, Death."[3]

The title refers to the traditional Spanish Filipino architectural superstition saying that design elements in a house (particularly staircases) should not end in a multiple of three, in keeping with a pattern of oro (gold), plata (silver), and mata (bad luck). The film is structured in three parts that depict this pattern played out in the lives of the main characters, from a life of luxury and comfort in the city ("oro/gold"), to a still-luxurious time of refuge in a provincial hacienda ("plata/silver"), and finally to a retreat deeper into the mountains, where they are victimized by guerilla bandits ("mata/bad luck").[2]

Produced and released by Experimental Cinema of the Philippines, it was filmed on location in the whole province of Negros Occidental, primarily in Bacolod and the Mt. Kanlaon National Park.[4] The staff and crew received extensive assistance and support from the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Tourism, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The film's musical score was provided by Jose Gentica V; the film's photography was handled by Rody Lacap, and the editing was handled by Jesus Navarro. The film's development was financially supported and acknowledged by the Philippine National Bank.[4]

In 2013, ABS-CBN Film Archives in partnership with Central Digital Lab digitally restored and remastered the film and was subsequently released in select theaters for a limited period of time. The digitally restored version was also released on DVD and iTunes.[5]

Opening quote

“The lights went out all over Europe and the young sought sweetness and light in the pictures of Deanna Durbin, a bright symbol of the era, and the young Susan Magalona, whose beauty had become a national topic. At the Crystal Arcade, the mezzanines still rang with the cries of "Gold! Gold! Gold!". The holocaust had been kindled, but the victims were unaware, and the nation swung confidently into the 1940s.

The decade of disaster fell into three unequal parts: the two years before the war; the period of the Japanese occupation; and the liberation era. No decade in our history was more eventual than this one... So vast now seems the difference between what we have become and what we were before disaster struck that, in the Philippine vernacular term "peacetime" means exclusively all the years before December 8, 1941. There has been no "peacetime" since then.”

— Nick Joaquin

According to the audio commentary by Peque Gallaga, he told the film's screenwriter, Jose Javier Reyes, to create a frame reference for the film and the latter answered to cite a quote from Nick Joaquin. Peque agreed with the decision and he revealed that he enjoyed reading his works.[1]

Plot

In World War II-era Negros, the Ojeda family celebrates Maggie's debut. In the garden, Trining receives her first kiss from Miguel Lorenzo, her childhood sweetheart. The Ojeda patriarch, Don Claudio and his fellow landowners talk about the impending war as some of the young able-bodied men enlist. The celebration is cut short by news of the sinking of SS Corregidor by a mine. As the Japanese approach, the Ojedas accept the invitation extended by the Lorenzos, their old family friends, to stay with them in their provincial hacienda. Nena Ojeda and Inday Lorenzo try to deny the realities of war by preserving their pre-war lifestyle. Pining for her fiancé, Maggie goes through bouts of melancholy. Miguel and Trining turn from naughty children into impetuous adults.

Two more family friends, Jo Russell and Viring join them in the refuge. As they witness the burning of the town and the Japanese nearing, the families evacuate to the Lorenzo family's forest lodge. A group of weary guerrillas arrive and Jo tends to their injuries. The guerrillas leave Hermes Mercurio behind. Miguel endures more comments of the same kind when he fails to take action against a Japanese soldier who comes upon the girls bathing in the river, who is killed by Mercurio instead. Maggie comforts Miguel, who decides to learn how to shoot from Mercurio. Later, Viring's jewelry is stolen by Melchor, the trusted foreman. He justifies his action as a reward for his services. He tries to break the other servants' loyalty by telling them to join him, but do not force Melchor to leave. Later, Melchor and his band of thieves return and take revenge on them. They raid the food supplies, rape Inday, and chop off Viring's fingers when she does not take off her ring. Trining unexpectedly goes with the bandits despite the atrocities. These experiences commit Maggie and Miguel closer together. Miguel urges the survivors to resume their mahjong games to help them cope with their trauma. Miguel is determined to hunt the bandits down and bring Trining back. He catches them in an abandoned hospital, but his courage is replaced with bloodlust, driving him to a killing spree. Miguel and Mercurio finally kill Melchor and his men.

After Liberation in 1945, a party is held in the Ojeda home to announce Maggie and Miguel's betrothal. The survivors attempt to reclaim their previous lifestyle, but the war has changed the world, just as it has forever changed each of them.

Cast

CharacterActor / Actress
Trinidad "Trining" OjedaCherie Gil
The youngest of two daughters of Nena and Andring Ojeda. She is Miguel's first love.
Margarita "Maggie" OjedaSandy Andolong
The oldest of two daughters of Nena and Andring Ojeda. In the last parts of the film, she became Miguel's eventual wife.
Nena OjedaLiza Lorena
The wife of the late Andring Ojeda, mother of Trining and Maggie, and daughter-in-law of Don Claudio. She and her whole family seek refuge at the Lorenzo household when the Japanese invaders were coming.
Inday LorenzoFides Cuyugan-Asencio
The matriarch of the Lorenzo estate. Like Nena, she is a widower after her husband Pepito died. She is also a mother to two sons Teodoro and Miguelito but Teodoro died of unknown causes, leaving Miguelito as her only remaining son.
Miguelito "Miguel" LorenzoJoel Torre
The only remaining son of Inday and Pepito Lorenzo. His mother was very overprotective of him and he was characterized as a "weakling" but when their family was pillaged by the bandits, he started a revenge attack against the bandits led by the foreman Melchor, igniting an endless firefight between him and his other men.
Don Claudio OjedaManny Ojeda
The patriarch of the Ojeda estate. After the death of his only son Andring, he acts as the father figure to his two granddaughters.
Jo RussellMitch Valdez
The first of the two family friends who seek refuge at the Lorenzo household. She is married to an American.
Viring RavilloLorli Villanueva
The last of the two family friends who seek refuge at the Lorenzo household. Her husband lives in New York but Viring remained stuck in the Philippines.
Hermes MercurioRonnie Lazaro
One of the guerilla soldiers serving under Minggoy. He acts as one of the protectors for the Lorenzo and Ojeda families living in the mountain lodge.
MelchorAbbo Q. dela Cruz
The film's main antagonist. He used to be a trusted foreman of the Lorenzo family until he was fired by Inday for stealing possessions of their friends. He would later lead a bandit guerilla army and then, killed by their former employer's son Miguel.
MinggoyJaime Fabregas
One of Don Claudio's fellow landowners. He also led a guerilla army and trusted ally to the Lorenzo and Ojeda families.
Carlos PlacidoRobert Antonio
Don Claudio's trusted accountant.
LucioAgustin Gatia
One of the servants of the Lorenzo family.
DiwataKuh Ledesma
A supernatural creature that lurks in the areas of Mt. Kanlaon. She can be depicted as the "Dalagang Filipina" who was abused and tortured by the Japanese and the Filipino pillager guerillas.

Release

Oro, Plata, Mata is the first film produced by the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines as pursuant to Executive Order No. 770 by President Ferdinand E. Marcos. The film was first released on January 27, 1982, and it was approved to be shown by the Board of Censors for Motion Pictures. It was also shown in the United States on October 1, 1983, as part of the Chicago International Film Festival and in Japan on November 1, 1991, as part of the Filipino Movies Festival, which was sponsored and presented by the ASEAN Cultural Center.

Digital restoration

In the late 1990s, ABS-CBN originally planned to restore Oro, Plata, Mata but the costs for the analog restoration were expensive, exceeding up to 20 million pesos. According to Leo P. Katigbak, the head of ABS-CBN Film Archives, they did not proceed with the analog restoration of the film by fixing the film prints without addressing the defects in every frame.[6] Eventually, the film was digitally restored and remastered in 2012 by the ABS-CBN Film Restoration and Central Digital Lab (supervised by Manet T. Dayrit and Rick Hawthorne). Peque Gallaga (the film's director) and Rody Lacap (the film's cinematographer) were involved in the restoration process. It is the second film to be restored by the ABS-CBN Film Restoration and Central Digital Lab.[7]

Before the restoration was commenced, the film print of the ABS-CBN Film Archives and two reserve prints were considered as the source of elements for the restoration but the ABS-CBN archive print was chosen instead because of the film's picture quality was better. Peque Gallaga was consulted in preserving the original colours of the film since the film print was already fading. Central Digital Lab took 1,871 manual hours to complete the film restoration and 80 hours for color grading. The film's audio was restored by Post Haste Sound Inc. in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was lifted from the Betacam tape and upgraded from mono audio to Dolby Digital 5.1 audio mix.[8][9][10]

Reception

Critical reception

Film critic Noel Vera praised the whole film's narrative of the Second World War as "beautifully structured" with a reference of the architectural superstition to the film; the bright conception and development of the characters; and the whole screenplay being similar to the 1939 epic historical drama film Gone with the Wind, starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. However, Peque Gallaga did not even reach the highs from Luchino Visconti's 1963 film The Leopard because there are no found references and symbolisms developed from the Italian film. As a result, the film is considered a "masterpiece", also praising its cinematography, screenplay, and production designs.[11]

Accolades

The movie won the 1982 Gawad Urian awards for Best Picture, Direction, Cinematography, Production Design, Musical Score, and Sound. In the same year, it won the Luna Awards for Production Design and Best Supporting Actress (Liza Lorena). It is marketed as one of the top ten best films of the 1980s.[2][12]

Year Group Category Nominee Result
1982 Gawad Urian Awards Best Picture Oro, Plata, Mata Won
Best Director Peque Gallaga Won
Best Cinematography Rody Lacap Won
Best Production Design Don Escudero and Rodell Cruz Won
Best Music Jose "Toto" Gentica V Won
Best Sound Ramon Reyes Won
Best Actor Joel Torre Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Ronnie Lazaro Nominated
Manny Ojeda Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Liza Lorena Nominated
Mitch Valdez Nominated
Best Screenplay Jose Javier Reyes Nominated
Best Editing Jesus Navarro Nominated
1983 Chicago International Film Festival Best Feature Film Oro, Plata, Mata Nominated
1983 Luna Awards Best Supporting Actress Liza Lorena Won
Best Production Design Don Escudero and Rodell Cruz Won

Notes

  1. ↑ The film's copyright is currently held by ABS-CBN Corporation along with other ECP films: Himala, Soltero, and Misteryo sa Tuwa .

References

  1. 1 2 Gallaga, Peque (2013). Oro, Plata, Mata - DVD commentary (DVD). ABS-CBN Film Productions Inc.
  2. 1 2 3 Oro, Plata, Mata (front cover). Peque Gallaga. Diliman, Quezon City: Star Recording/ABS CBN. 2008 [1982]. 17-75237-8.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ↑ "ORO, PLATA, MATA (1982)". Archived from the original on September 9, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
  4. 1 2 Sulat Jr, Bert B. (December 1, 2012). "Oro, Plata, Mata: Revisited, restored, riveting still". Rappler. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Oro, Plata, Mata to be restored in HD". ABS-CBN News. October 21, 2012. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  6. ↑ Sorilla IV, Franz (July 8, 2021). "ABS-CBN Film Archives: The Process, Challenges, And Rewards Of Film Restoration". Tatler Philippines. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Gallaga's Oro restored". The Philippine Star. September 24, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  8. ↑ San Diego Jr., Bayani (December 9, 2012). "'Oro, Plata, Mata' restored, Bacolod screening planned". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Sagip Pelikula Spotlight looks into Oro, Plata, Mata (1982) for the month of May". ABS-CBN Film Restoration. May 15, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Find out more about the restoration of Oro, Plata, Mata (1982)". Facebook. May 4, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  11. ↑ CRITIC AFTER DARK: Oro, Plata, Mata (Gold, Silver, Death; Peque Gallaga, 1982), Noel Vera, March 13, 2013.
  12. ↑ Oro, Plata, Mata (1982) - Awards


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