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]
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.
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 Lorenzo
Fides 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.
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 Ojeda
Manny 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 Russell
Mitch Valdez
The first of the two family friends who seek refuge at the Lorenzo household. She is married to an American.
Viring Ravillo
Lorli 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.
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.
Melchor
Abbo 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.
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]
^ abGallaga, Peque (2013). Oro, Plata, Mata - DVD commentary (DVD). ABS-CBN Film Productions Inc.
^ abcOro, 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)
