Supporting Actress Blog-A-Thon: Mailes Kanapi in “Ang Paglilitis ni Andres Bonifacio”
This entry is part of the Supporting Actress Blogathon happening in StinkyLulu’s blog.
There are clear standouts in Cinemalaya 2010, and one of them, and probably the most underrated is “Ang Paglilitis ni Andres Bonifacio”. It went home empty handed in the festival’s award’s night. I was kinda hoping that the movie would have at least won for the director, Mario O’Hara. But I was really hoping that things would go in favor of Mailes Kanapi, the narrator of “Ang Paglilitis ni Andres Bonifacio”. Not that Karla Pambid was not deserving to win her award, she was great and very much in character. Methinks however that Mailes Kanapi was grossly undervalued, not just in this performance, but to some of her performances in the past.
Photo stolen from her facebook account.
I could not find a picture of her in the movie
Mailes Kanapi mainly played the narrator of Mario O’ Hara’s latest masterpiece “Ang Paglilitis ni Andres Bonifacio”. Think Joel Grey in “Cabaret”. Only with a shaved head, and white all over, and yeah, creepier. Mailes played the “Ibong Adarna”, who was our guide to the sort of dual story of the movie. But unlike what the real Ibong Adarna does, she did not lull as to sleep, in fact, whenever she was on screen, she set the scene on fire. She puts here theatre background here to maximum use.
Her ghostly presence was all over, and she haunts every scene. If she was on the screen you stay glued to her, when she is not, you can still here presence (at times literally, because you could see her standing or dancing in the background). At times she is really creepy scary e.g. the dancing scene which I thought was way creepy. It was over the top and theatrical, but I think that the movie needed it since it was already theatrical and showy. We hear the filmmakers voice from her, and she delivers them crystal clear.
Mailes Kanpi truly is in a league of her own and she has been giving one great performance after another in Cinemalaya. She burns every scene she is in, and she truly leaves a mark. She gives the kind of performance that would make you want to see more of her, not only in the movie, but for more movies to come. And I think that is what we should all wish for. I know that the cinema has great talents, undiscovered or not, but Philippine Cinema (and theatre) has a gem of an actress in Mailes Kanapi. She gives one great work after another, and methinks she will continue to do just that. I will be eagerly awaiting her next movie when it comes out.
Here’s to Philippine’s best supporting actress of 2010, Mailes Kanapi!
