jrd_73
Samuel Fuller's last "film" is a French TV movie, Tinikling or The Madonna and the Dragon. While the end results are certainly watchable, it is not much of a swan song considering the director's reputation.Simon (Luc Merenda) and Patty (Jennifer Beals) are divorced photojournalists who find they are both covering a violent election in the Phillipines. The plot hinges on a photograph that Simon takes of a soldier executing a villager. The government (the Marcos regime) want the photo to destroy it. The rebels want to publish the photo and turn the quickly approaching election in favor of the underdog. Along the way the reporters pick up a street kid nicknamed King, who one group will use as a bargaining chip for the roll of film.Tinikling opens with an old man diligently saying the Lord's prayer. The camera pulls back to reveal an armed soldier preparing to execute the old man. This is the type of in-your-face sensationalism that Fuller specializes in. There are other such bits sprinkled throughout the film. At one point, the journalists are descended upon by a mob of garbage dealing children with spears. Toward the end, a villain is unexpectedly and surprisingly assassinated, the violence seeming to appear out of nowhere. One wishes the film had more of these violent nuggets, as it plays out rather lifelessly at other times.The acting is somewhat hard to judge. The copy I saw was in English with Japanese subtitles, and some of the performances appear to be dubbed. Regardless, most of the actors were fine. Luc Merenda gives a solid performance as Simon, the cynical photojournalist. Top billed Jennifer Beals, as Simon's idealistic ex-wife, is merely fair, credible in quiet moments but overdoing the more emotional scenes. Fuller took some heat in previous films for casting his wife Crista Lang. However, Lang is quite good here as Mama, the shrewed casino/brothel owner whom Simon owes five grand to. Speaking of the Fuller family, my favorite performance was by the director himself playing Patty's editor. Fuller may not be a master thespian, but he knows the world of journalism, and he has energy. Beals's best acting moment is with Fuller as her scene partner.Tinikling or the Madonna and the Dragon can be skipped by non-Fuller fans. Although it has some aspects to recommend it, most viewers are going to find the film too familiar and rather unremarkable. However, Fuller fans might find more to enjoy.
Fritz Langlois
Anything involving Samuel Fuller makes for great watching. This made for TV movie from 1990 is no exception. While it certainly is a minor work, it is still a worthwhile Fuller venture. Set in Manila, it would also prove to be Fuller's last film as a director. Although it was made for, and financed by, a French TV network, it looks like a straight cinema film, with good production values (but, it has to be said, Fuller was more than capable of making something cheap look great; most of his movies, now classics, were rather low-key affairs as far as money was concerned – this was a price for independence, and Fuller is a Godfather of sorts for independent film-making). In the mid-to-late 1980s, Fuller worked in France for the most part, where he had several projects made. So this was a logical continuation, as well as a last shot at a war picture, arguably Fuller's favorite field. It has all the trademark Fuller elements: a realistic, gritty approach to the story, tight efficient editing to propel characters and audience in the thick of the action, action-packed sequences with courageous choices to be made, journalist-reporters as main characters (one of them played by Jennifer Beals, speaking French here– this is a French-speaking film), impressive civil war scenes (as it should be). There's also Frenchman Luc Merenda, of many an Italian police flick, and Patrick Bauchau, seen in films by Eric Rohmer and Dario Argento and everything in between. Also this is a welcome look at a historical situation (Marcos guerrilla in the Philippines) rarely tackled in the movies. On the bad side, the music is awful, but that doesn't matter very much. To this date, it's not available in any format but has been posted in its entirety on Youtube in 2008 (on account of Jennifer Beals fandom!), which is nothing short of a miracle, especially since the quality is very acceptable. Samuel Fuller remains one of the best, and most endearing, master writer-directors of all time.
