Review of AKO SI NINOY: Idealistic Inspiration

February 18, 2023

This film was not exactly a straight-up biopic about Ninoy Aquino as you may be expecting. Yes, we are told about and shown scenes recounting the important events in his life story. However, as conceived and executed by writer-director Vincent Tanada, these events served as the framework upon which stories of common people of the present time who were inspired by Ninoy Aquino's life and words are weaved in and told. 

Based on Tanada's first stage musical in 2009, "Ako si Ninoy" the film told its stories through original songs (lyrics by Tanada and music by Pipo Cifra) interspersed in the narrative. Like in Tanada's previous film "Katips" and his other musicals, the centerpiece song was a beautiful love song with a complex vocal arrangement. In this case, of course, this song was led by Ninoy and Cory, later to be joined several other characters who were also in love.

The film opened grimly with a recreation of that famous grainy video of Ninoy Aquino (Juan Karlos) being escorted out of the plane by soldiers and shot to death on the tarmac, as witnessed by "Crying Lady" Rebecca Quijano (Sarah Javier). From there, Aquino himself narrated his own life story, from his birth, to his journalist stint in the Korean War, his courtship of Cory, his prodigious political career, his days as political prisoner and in exile in Boston. 

Making cameos in these historical flashback scenes were: Jim Paredes as Benigno Aquino, Sr., Lovely Rivero as Aurora Aquino, Azenith Briones as Mrs. Kalaw, who encouraged Ninoy to pursue his dream to be a journalist. Tanada's own son Peter Parker Tanada played 10-year old Vince Tanada who got lost in the crowd during Ninoy's massive funeral parade -- a little anecdote that Tanada's father would often tell during family reunions. 

Intersecting with these historical flashbacks were stories set in the present day about regular people. At first, these characters were introduced as as individual people, but later we will see how their lives were somehow interconnected. It was odd how they were being enumerated in a specific order, and not based on their relationships as one would logically do. However, this mystery would all be cleared out before the final frame.   

Noli (Johnrey Rivas) was an OFW working in Saudi to support his wife Ivy (Vean Olmedo) and son Osborne (Brae Luke Quirante). Ms. Nunez (Nicole Laurel Asensio) was a dedicated school teacher who supported students' rights. Oscar (JM Yosures) was a fearless news reporter who made a daring expose of a politician's corruption. Yosef (Joaquin Domagoso) was a popular teen actor who wanted to go back to school. 

Andeng (Adelle Ibarrientos) was a labor leader who led a strike to protest unjust retrenchment. Quentin (Mario Mortel) was an activist who rallied along with farmers seeking justice. Dr. Ungria (Jomar Bautista) was a compassionate physician who stood up for his patients' rights. Ingrid (Cassy Legaspi, in her film debut) was a student troubled with a big problem. War veteran Nanding (Bodjie Pascua) was a US Citizen who longed for home. 

Making cameos in these modern day stories were: Tuesday Vargas as Yosef's demanding manager Miss Sugar, Donita Nose as her nosy assistant Tanya, Carla Lim as an annoying aspiring actress Jessa, Brylle Mondejar as Mang Simeon whose cause Andeng was fighting for, and Pinky Amador as Dean Esmeralda Argos, a thinly-veiled caricature of a certain well-coiffed advocate for the true, the good and the beautiful.  

The film may have its cheesy moments or overly sentimental melodrama, but the point of this film was to inspire its audience that Ninoy Aquino was not an unreachable hero. His heroism can be achieved by being the best of ourselves in whatever we do in our daily lives. Juan Karlos did not only play Ninoy Aquino here, but also various people we meet in our neighborhood everyday, like a cab driver, janitor, photographer and many more.

In the trailer, we already hear the strains of Juan Karlos's big breakthough 2018 hit song "Buwan" in the musical score. In this film, one of the highlights was a full-on, powerful rendition of "Buwan," in a deliberately deeper and darker version, sung hyper-dramatically by Juan Karlos himself as the desperate, helpless Ninoy Aquino detained in prison, where he was forcibly separated from his greatest love, Cory. 

Vince Tanada's directorial vision and technique carries over from his stage work to his films. Bad wigs and rough CG effects aside, Tanada knew how to speak to the younger audience, how to tickle their sense of humor, how to pull at heart strings, how to elicit "kilig." Juan Karlos knew the importance of this role to his filmography, and gave this performance his all.  Nicole Asensio, Joaquin Domagoso and Adelle Ibarrientos gave the most notable supporting turns. 

Aside from the inevitable mention of Martial Law and that one classic joke about the Japanese man talking about the president who "robs" you, Tanada kept political matters only at surface level. There were no actually no deep dives into dirty details of the Aquino v. Marcos rivalry here. Even so, one's opinion on this film's merits would still depend on where one sat on the political fence that divides this country even to this day, 40 years after Ninoy's assassination.