Rigodon by Erik Matti: What movie-goers swallow with their popcorn

After a long time, a sexy film has finally come out of the mainstream
again: Rigodon by Erik Matti. And this is a shot taken from the movie.
(Image credit: orangemagazinetv.com)

 

TITS AND BOMBS: THAT’S WHAT you swallow with your popcorn while watching Rigodon by Erik Matti. An unclothed nubile lady bouncing on top of a naked guy—whose private parts were more concealed that that of his partner—pounding faster and faster, moaning louder and louder. Her nipples all exposed even when unneeded, resulting in a temporary erection of the straight male audience. An act of a willing soul of femininity being used as an instrument of sexist iconography, bland and artless, just for the sake of getting topless in front of the camera. Until just when you think they were about to come into an erotic burst, the director might have said “Cut!”And then entered another scene.

Taking sexual objectification aside, Erik Matti’s Rigodon was not that bad at all. The plot, I mean. Imagine an ignorant, desperate female character (played by Yam Concepcion) foolishly romanticizing that a former reality show runner-up (John James Uy) she met at a bar one night could take her out of her depression caused by her recent heartbreak. Little did she know that this tryst with her celebrity-wannabe, instant boyfriend would lead to her suicidal tendencies upon learning the reality: he was married (wife played by Max Eigenmann) and had a child. As the story had coursed through, the female lead had gone hysterical and crying and shaking, the muzzle of her gun pointing to her chin. And then there was this loud bang. After everything that happened, the guy was forgiven by his wife—who even impulsively hired a faceless assassin to get rid of her adulterous husband—and didn’t atone for his sins. The assassin might still be searching for him, because even though the wife tried to cancel this death order, she failed. In the story, once you paid the assasin and enclosed photos of the target in the envelope, you cannot take it back anymore. So maybe the wife would just live in fear that her partner might be blown to bits anytime soon. Only the story had a cliffhanger ending. If the term "ending" would even apply.

 

This epic story reminds me of how life can sometimes be pointless. And flat and anticlimactic. Unfair. Unexpected—after all there was nothing to expect. Sinners don’t pay for their sins. If they do, what happened to Uy? Some ignorant and desperate women face danger. If they don’t, what happened to Concepcion? Not everyone who has the tendency to become a psychopath could become one. If one could, why did it not happen to Eigenmann? Not all celebrities who seem to have an extravagant lifestyle have money. Take Uy’s role, for example. And wives will always forgive their husband no matter how many times he cheats. Maybe for the sake of the child. And oh, the wife in the story was even like a cupcake—she might not be “pretty” enough, but still sweet and even edible.

 

My favorite character Sam Concepcion, on a different note, led me to a probably realistic theory I kept on thinking the night after seeing this film: being a graphic artist in Metro Manila is a high-paying career. Those some working-in-the-office scenes she had with one of her colleagues suggested that she was a graphic artist. And a graphic artist like her was capable of renting a spacious, two-story apartment in Metro Manila. Which suggested that her pay might be good. She even bought an iPhone for her boyfriend. Not a very affordable gadget. Unless it was in the Rigodon world. I doubted my theory though when she was eating sandwich wrapped in a tissue during an office break. Maybe she couldn’t afford a rice meal anymore. Or maybe she was just on a diet. Or that was just afternoon snacks.

 

Overall, Rigodon was a good film, shot with good camera effects. It made me relive the past of cinematography—when shots had to be vertigo-triggering… Magnifico, isn't it? Try seeing it for yourself, especially if you’d like to see tits bouncing while sexing. But if you're not the type of person who came to the movie house to have something in your mind while masturbating, if you're against the sexual objectification of women, if you can't stand seeing a nubile lady being sexually exploited through the media, then get ready to get a refund. Or better yet, don't watch it at all. Yam Concepcion was pretty, by the way.