In 2008, the year Serbis was released, only 30 films were made, rendering the Pieda family theatre

a symbol for the struggling industry. The absent father has long become both a reality in Philippine culture and a recurring theme in Philippine cinema

http://www.fipresci.org/undercurrent/issue_0711/abasta_serbis.htm
You feel like youre watching something completely vulgar.

The family dynamic, with the context of the porn theatre removed and the sexual acts redacted, could be any old family presented on screen. Their struggles and issues are every bit as real as what any dysfunctional family might have to deal with. In spite of this, its quite difficult to empathise with of the characters or their plights, even mama _ is a veritable
caricature, snidely commenting on the failings of her children and spending most of the film in anguish over her misfortune. Shes not even sympathetic, as she is essentially running the theatre (and subsequently all hopes for her families future) into the ground in favour of a court case she knows shell never win. None of the characters are presented in a particularly favourable light, and the feeling of disengagement doesnt just occur during the downright gut-churning scenes of copulation, it never really stops. Similar films include Masseur which explores the equally controversial underworld of the Filipino Masseur trade. With lots of gay sex and an estranged father, to boot. Pantasya which treads the line (not unlike Serbis) of art and pornography; featuring a vignette of five gay-centric sexual stories. Most of Mendozas films are cinema verite in style/approach, giving the audience a fly-on-the-wall glimpse at the lives of his characters.

Religion is a stark figure of purity in the otherwise sordid world of the theatre, with characters escaping from their veritable prison into a sanctuary of religious iconography. In a world of sex, the Images of religion are almost as absurd as the pornographic posters, both serving to starkly justify the grim theatre setting. Filthy bathrooms and bursting boils, right next to the holy mother herself. Fuckin poetry. When the nuns fall over on the street, Mama _ laughs. In this world - in spite of the religious idols that adorn her quarters - she knows religion simply cannot survive.
When we watch Mama _ showering naked, we are subject to the total vulnerability of her being. We cant look away, and neither does the camera. She is (figuratively, literally) stripped bare for all to see. Being a film where so much aesthetically unpleasant sex and sexuality takes place, the simple nakedness of this woman is actually a relief. Kind of. (The young boy character) is also symbolic in his relation to the film. He is told to wash on more than one occasion, signifying a struggle to keep the child clean in an otherwise dirty environment. He is the other in this world, so completely unsuitable for such an environment that it only draws more attention to the lewdness of the films characters. Even he isnt completely protected(?) from this world, as he spies on his adopted cousin/sister at the beginning of the film, and parades in fashionably gay trappings at the end of the film, the audience is left asking Whats going to happen to that kid? A couple of days after seeing the film, Im still worried for him.

Film is a huge motif in Serbis. We are reminded both at the beginning and the end of the film that we are watching a movie, we are subject to images of pornographic films and their posters, and of course the story takes place in a theatre. The hollywood nature of the theatres pornography, from the glorified, costumes, glitter and even the posters could very well be a commentary on modern film and warped realities we are subject to when we go to a cinema. Serbis almost ironic use of cinema as a motif serves to remind us that in spite of the realistic nature of the film, we are still being presented with an abstraction of reality, a work of fiction; which of course makes the pornographic films within Serbis seem all the more artificial. Mama _s relentless nature, coupled with the inescapable circumstances presented to _ lead him to repeat the sins of the father and run away, through this, we are given a glimpse at the morally

grey nature of the circumstances, and subsequently question the circumstances the father may have been in. Its history repeating itself. Serbis deals with life in a direct, confrontational manner. We follow the events of a single day, with minimal showiness in the lighting, editing, and cinematography. The affect is that of a perverse voyeur, peeing in to the goings-on at the theatre. Serbis is a home movie from hell. There is no soundtrack, the film is shot on handheld with minimal coverage, drawing us into the emotional struggles of each character, rather than showing off with extravagant visuals. Were watching these lives as they unfold, presented uncompromisingly and inelegantly. The boil-popping scene only adds to the unglamourous nature of the film, and subsequently the sexual acts showcased throughout. In a porn film, it would be very unlikely for one of the lead actors to change positions for the sake of not bursting an ass boil, but Serbis makes the stark differences between the porn in the theatre and the real life of the people living there all the more obvious by doing just that. The Porn theatre serves as both a haven and a prison for the characters, so separate from the real world, the characters in Serbis are equally empowered and trapped by a bizarre sense of community and family values. The religious paraphernalia in the theatre, juxtaposed with Mama _s laughing at the nuns misfortune only serves to demonstrate that the world of the characters in the theatre is completely separate from the outside. Its not out there that one can find redemption, after all. Serbis tackles a great number of social issues, facing them head-on with little held back for the sake of the audiences comfort. We are presented with the issues of a family dynamic in an immoral context, with vague incestuous overtones, we are presented with sex as a device both for characterisation and for story, we are presented with religious iconography and a number of unsettling scenes of filth, both in the literal and metaphysical sense; and yet were not told directly that any of what were seeing is wrong. As an audience, we are expected to draw our own conclusions from what we are subject to throughout the film.

Questions to ask the class Film made to seen in a theatre Relation between people watching the porn in the theatre, while we are the people watching the film in a theatre, your in the theatre watching people in the theatre, making you feel perverted and uncomfortable The projectionist was fucking, well there is a projectionist behind us, what is he doing? Modern context of watching porn within porn in a theatre with other people, awkward and uncomfortable

History repeating (grand parents adultery, grandson impregnates girl and then runs away)

Forbidden Love The main daughter and the cousin (the love heart on the wall)

A lot of moments of life captured A day in the life movie, set on the crucial day of the court proceedings, (fly on the wall) appeal of the film is the uniqueness of their life, how often do you get to watch the lives of a family that runs a porno theatre

Dirtiness of the world, no glamorous sites, darkness hiding the

The names of the posters in the theatre in relation to what happens in family

Lack of soundtrack, helps to aid realism

Lower production value makes you more engaged in the characters because there is nothing else to look at. Probably 1 or 2 cam set up.

Film Title (English and original language titles) Serbis

Film credits Festival screenings, awards Date and place/s of release Any details of box office Co-production or funding details Any other relevant information Synopsis 200 words Short synopsis (1 sentence) Director (situate within work ) 60 80 words Contextualise the film within its national cinema. Discuss the most important issues we have raised in class as relevant to the film. Is it the first of its genre or theme (500 words) Critique the film ie what is it trying to schieve? How successful was it? Give your personal response (250 words) Summary of critical reception (150 words)

Major Themes

Sex Family

Religion Cant survive in this city (nuns wandering, falling over), juxtaposition of the Christian idols in a theatre, creates a sanctuary where their guards are down where they can be themselves, its where the girl at the starts saying I love you at the mirror and the old women experiences her moments of grief in the shower before summing up herself to go out to work.

Old women is naked, shows her vulnerability Reflects on how vulnerability of sex in, baring themselves to each other, but not always as for some it is a way of generating a living

Child innocence, tells him to have a bath to keep him clean, exercise is futility as he sees the sex and porn and his sister and grandmother naked and sees them in an adult moment.

They are trapped in their world, victims of circumstance,

Film (film reel noise at the start and burn out at the end) The director lets us know that we are watching a film by having the projector noise at the start. The hollywood esc nature of the porn, glorified, costumes, glitter and the posters, (shows what movies are like, using the porn as a vechile for this moc) then back to the movue to show what real movies are like. Reminding us again with film burn at the end