Ootoya

Ootoya is a chain restaurant in Tokyo that offers Japanese dishes for a reasonable price. Meals range from Y700-Y1300.

My favorite is this traditional Japanese dessert with vanilla ice crean, red bean, and green tea mochi.

Forrest Gump: Ang Unang Pagsasadula

***originally published in the July Issue of Pinoy Gazette

Also published on Pinoy Gazette's official blog: pinoygazetteofficial.blogspot.jp

 “Life is a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.” Sino nga ba ang hindi nakakatanda ng linyang ito na pinasikat ng pelikulang “Forrest Gump” na ipinalabas noong 1994 at pinagbidahan ni Tom Hanks? Base ito sa isang nobela na isinulat ni Winston Groom at inilathala noong 1986.

Sa kauna-unahang pagkakataon ay itinanghal bilang isang dula ang “Forrest Gump” na ginanap dito sa Japan. Ipinalabas ito sa Globe Tokyo noong Mayo 30 hanggang Hunyo 22. Ang Globe Tokyo, kilala rin bilang Panasonic Globe Theater, ay isang replika ng orihinal na Globe Theater sa England kung saan ipinapalabas ang mga dula ni William Shakespeare.

Ang dulang “Forrest Gump” ay pinagbidahan ni Junnosuke Taguchi, isang kilalang idolo mula sa Johnny’s Entertainment at miyembro ng bandang KAT-TUN. Kasama rin niyang nagtanghal ang iba pang respetadong aktor tulad nina Masahiro Takashima (na gumanap bilang pitong iba’t-ibang tauhan kabilang na si Lieutenant Dan), Hitomi Takahashi (bilang ina ni Forrest) at Aki Maeda (bilang Jenny).

Ang Kwento ni Forrest

Ang dula ay umikot sa kwento ng buhay ni Forrest mula pagkabata hanggang sa kanyang pagtanda. Kakaiba si Forrest dahil mas mababa ang kanyang IQ kumpara sa ibang mga bata at dahil dito kadalasan siyang tinutukso at kinukutya ng kanyang mga kaklase. Hindi naman naging hadlang kay Forrest ang kundisyong ito para hindi siya magtagumpay sa buhay.

Nakapasok siya sa kolehiyo at naging star player ng kanilang rugby team, nagtrabaho siya bilang sundalo at nakaharap niya sa White House ang dalawang pangulo ng Estados Unidos, naipadala siya sa Vietnam War at ginawaran ng Medal of Honor pagbalik niya, naging austronaut din siya, runner, table tennis player at kung anu-ano pa.

Bumili rin siya ng bangka at nagtayo ng isang fishing company tulad ng ipinangako niya sa matalik niyang kaibigan na si Bubba. Mababa man ang IQ ni Forrest, may busilak naman siyang kalooban at tapat na pagmamahal sa mga taong nasa paligid niya.

Ang Pagtatanghal

           

Tumagal ng dalawang oras at kalahati ang dula. Tuluy-tuloy ito kaya halos walang pahinga ang mga nagsiganap dito, lalo na si Taguchi na gumanap kay Forrest, dahil bahagi siya ng halos lahat ng eksena at dire-diretso ang kanyang mahahabang linya.

Para sa isang dulang may mahabang timeline at malawak na setting, napagkasya ng dula sa limitasyon ng teatro ang epektibong pagsasaganap ng iba’t ibang mahahalagang kaganapan sa kasaysayan tulad ng Vietnam War at pagpatay kay Pangulong Kennedy. Tuluy-tuloy ang pag-usad ng kwento at may madalas na pagpapalit ng mga eksena kasabay ng paglilipat ng maliliit na props na mayroon sa entablado.

Hindi kinailangan ng dula na gumamit ng magarbong props o stage design para ma-establish ang lugar at kapanahunan ng dula. Nadaan nila ito sa paggamit ng mga simple at maliliit na props na madaling ipasok at ilabas sa entablado tulad ng mga kahoy na upuan, pinto,  bakod, malalaking kumot, magagaang dingding at iba pa. Nagbukas ang dula na mayroon lamang isang wooden bench sa gitna ng entablado at malaking net na nakabitin sa ibabaw nito. Tumataas at bumababa ang net na ito depende sa eksena sa dula.

Dahil minimal ang props at stage design, mas nakatutuok ang mga manunuod sa galing ng pagbato ng linya at paghugot ng emosyon ng mga aktor at hindi lamang basta-basta sa ganda ng entablado. Kapansin-pansin rin ang stage chemistry ng mga nagsiganap lalo na sa pagitan ni Forrest at ni Lieutenant Dan. Masasabing isa sa pinakamalakas na eksena sa dula ang bahagi kung saan nagpasalamat si Lieutenant Dan kay Forrest sa pagligtas sa buhay niya noong sila ay nasa Vietnam.

Higit na pinasigla ang dula ng live music mula sa violin, gitara, keyboard, at iba pang instrumentong tinugtog ng live ng mga aktor. Kung hindi tumutugtog ang mga aktor ay nagbibitaw naman sila ng linya sa entablado. Kahit si Taguchi mismo ay nag-aral pa ng harmonica para sa pagtugtog niya sa dulang ito. Sa kwento, nagmula kay Bubba ang harmonica na naging paboritong pang-aliw ni Forrest lalo na sa mga panahong malungkot siya.

Ang Sorpresa ng Dula

Kagaya ng isang kahon ng tsokolate, maraming mga hindi inaasahang bagay sa dulang ito ang gumulat, nagpasaya, nagpaiyak at nagpatawa sa mga manunuod. Isa na rito ang natatanging pagganap ni Taguchi. Hindi man siya ang pinakamagaling na aktor na gumanap kay Forrest, pero binigyan naman niya ng kanyang sariling interpretasyon ang tauhang ito. Isang Forrest Gump na hindi mo lang katutuwaan, kung hindi mamahalin rin ng lubusan.

A Double-Edged Sword

She stares into the photo for a few seconds before finally confirming to herself that she actually knows who it is. The boxed photo at the corner of the tabloid is relatively small, quite blurry, almost pixelized. But she cannot be mistaken, she knows him too well. She knows every single detail of his face – from the lines of his jaws to the bridge of his nose, from the curb of his lips to the waves of his hair, from the way he walks and talks, the way he smiles, the way he frowns. Above all, she very well knows how he holds a hand, how he used to slide his fingers in between hers, squeeze it and let her feel the warmth of his palm. So she is sure, it is really him who is in the photo. 

It was not a photo of another drunk-til-you-drop night in LA or a shot of his weed-smoking groupies. This time, it is a photo of him and a woman. No, it is not any blonde woman with whom he is caught with in a thousand and one paparazzi photos featuring them wasted outside a bar or smoking pipe. She looks quite a decent one, with a pretty face. He is holding her hand. He is not holding it the way that he used to. He did not put his fingers in between hers, instead, he wrapped his fingers around her hand, showing his ring and hiding hers. He holds it in such a way that appears like he wants to get hold of her, all of her, in an instant; encompass all of her, own her. She does not know if he was just in a hurry that he just grabbed her hand and pulled her away, or is just that he just wanted to hold her in such a way that he does not want to let her go. Not anymore. Not like the way he let go of others including her. 

It is not just that that bothers her big time, but more so the way he looks in the photo. His face is… bland, expressionless. And this is what she cannot take. She would have preferred seeing him with a smile. At least she knows what a smile means and what a smile does not. But a bland face? What does it say about him? What does it say to her? He is looking sideways, turned a little on his right, as if looking at something, something unknown. He is not looking at the woman but at something else, as if looking away, far away into space. The line of his jaws are well-defined, the waves of his hair covering his forehead and almost his eyes. His lips are parted a little, not sure if he just said something after the photo was taken or probably would just about to say something. She cannot tell and she hates that feeling. She hates the feeling that she could not understand the language of this photo.

This photo is like a double-edged sword, she thought. It can either preserve a lie or expose the truth. If there is anyone who knows this fact very well, it is her. She has been playing with the camera ever since she was thirteen. She knows how to make a face that would sell. She knows how to force a smile after she woke up on the wrong side of the bed. But she also knows how to smile big time when hse feels like doing so. In front of the camera, she gets to show what she wants and it is what will stay forever in that frozen moment in time. 

She knows that this photo in the tabloid has a story, like all other photos do, but she is not quite sure what this photo wants to say. The photo hurts her good enough, but not understanding it hurts even more. In that bland, emotionless face, she could not decipher anything. Is that the face of regret concealed behind a mask of absolute resolve for things that could not be undone or a face of utter peace that does not need any extreme expressions to convey what he truly feels?