Eugene Domingo tells ‘Tale’ that made her take a ‘semi-sabbatical’

Eugene Domingo in a scene from ‘Barber’s Tales’

Eugene Domingo is best known for her excellent work in many awarded and box-office hit comedy movies yet she considers the period drama “Barber’s Tales (Mga Kwentong Barbero)” as among her most important projects.

A film that tackles female empowerment, the Jun Robles Lana opus will finally be shown in local theaters, a development that the actress hopes would make people see just how versatile she is.

“This film is very important to me not because of the hardships we had while filming it but mainly because it has given me inspiration… ang hirap ipaliwanag. Pero sabi ko nga kay Direk (Jun), if this is going to be the last film in my career, I don’t mind,” Eugene said at a conference today.

The actress plays newly widowed Marilou who inherits the town’s only barbershop from her husband, a portrayal that has earned her the Best Actress award at the 26th Tokyo International Film Festival.

“Barber’s Tales,” a screenplay that Lana started developing way back 1997, says a lot about how women were treated in the ‘70s during the time of Martial Law, and one who rose above it all.

Eugene admitted that it’s not easy playing a barber. “I trained under a barber na matanda. Mahirap kasi it’s not just the skill you need to learn but the psychology of learning it from a male’s perspective.

Nakakapanliit….kailangan ng character analysis, additional reading material,” she said.

The film was shot in the mountains in Quezon for a month which meant living without electricity and phone signal the whole time they were there.”

Test of faith

While her movie “Ang Babae sa Septic Tank (The Woman in the Septic Tank) was the Philippines’ submission to the 84th Academy Awards, and one that bagged the People’s Choice Award for Best Actress at the 2012 Asian Film Awards, “Barber’s Tales” stands out in Eugene’s mind because of timing.

“It came when I’ve been already questioning if baka naman may maitutulong pa ako sa mga manonood. This is my contribution – my love for my country, fellow women and fellow Filipinos.”

Doing “Barber’s Tales” is Eugene reaffirming her belief in “passion” films, meaning ones that are done for the sheer belief in the merits of such projects.

“This is the last faith I have. This is my faith sa paggawa ng makabuluhang pelikula. ’Pag walang nangyari dito, baka masaktan ako talaga. Nakita ko paano ito hangaan sa ibang bansa kaya hindi ko maipaliwanag ang aking nerbiyos na ipapalabas na ito dito sa atin,” she said.

And if it doesn’t do well at the tills nor reap awards from local award-giving bodies, then so be it.

“Whatever happens, I’ll (still) be a supporter of Philippine movies,” Eugene said. “I’m not quitting.”

Lana himself is so very proud of “Barber’s Tales,” citing it as the most difficult film he’s ever done.

“I get inspiration kapag nakikita ko sa editing na may kabuluhan itong ginagawa namin. Doing a film like this is not easy but there’s this side of me like Uge to do passion projects na gusto kong ialay sa mga manonood kaya sana mahalin ito ng ating mga kababayan.”

Off the carousel

Last year saw Eugene at her busiest especially with the challenging “Barber’s Tales” on her list of projects. In fact, this prompted her to be on “semi-sabbatical” this year so she could exhale a bit and smell the roses.

“As actress, I have priorities. Itong taong ito ay inilaan ko na para ma-promote ang ‘Barber’s Tales.’ I’m on semi-sabbatical. I’m not doing any film soon. I’ll be in TV for a while for ‘Celebrity Bluff.’ For acting, I might return to theater but definitely not for a soap. No MMFF (Metro Manila Film Festival) entry-starrer for me as well,” she said.

Eugene even enrolled in Instituto Cervantes. “We will be in Madrid, Spain in two weeks. Ako’y mag-aaral at aking aalamin kung ano pa ang pwedeng puntahan ng ‘Barber’s Tales.’”

And then without batting an eyelash, she quipped, “Sana makahanap na din ako ng taong magpapakasal sa akin.”

“Barber’s Tales” is the second installment in Lana’s planned trilogy following the internationally acclaimed 2012 film “Bwakaw.” The third one, “Ama Namin (Our Father),” which is about a boy who enters the seminary to be with his father, a priest, is already in pre-production.

The director said “Barber’s Tales” will be the opening film at the OzAsia Festival in Adelaide, Australia in September. Before that, the movie under APT Entertainment will have an exclusive theatrical run by Aug. 13.

Eugene Domingo tells ‘Tale’ that made her take a ‘semi-sabbatical’

Source: Mb.com.ph (June 27, 2014 at 10:21PM)

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