One of the things we got to do during the extra-long weekend (for those who work in Bacolod City), was finally see the movie “Under the Piaya Moon” which a lot of family members had been raving about, primarily because it was a film about Negrense food, where the actors spoke in Hiligaynon, and most importantly, our lola’s kitchen was featured in one quick scene.
The film was competing with Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” so the viewing schedules were a bit weird, but as there was the pressure of always being asked by my titas if we already saw it, which also made us curious, along with wanting to help the Negrense-made and themed movie out in the box office department, made us make sure to use the extra free time afforded by the long weekend to watch the movie.
I’m not a movie critic but used to be a movie buff when I was much younger. There was a time in college that my friends and I would run out of movies to watch by Saturday, considering that the picture changed on Wednesdays. Back then, being members of the lonely hearts club, we would scrimp on food to fund either our movie habit or our budding relationship with alcohol.
However, these days, I don’t get to watch movies anymore, whether in cinemas or at home via streaming services. One thing that’s stopping me is my newspaper job, which takes up most of what could be prime movie time. Aside from that, COVID and old age happened, which means I don’t go out into the wild as much anymore. However, for this particular movie, I was willing to make an exception, even if there had been no long weekend.
After having seen “Under the Piaya Moon,” it didn’t exactly break any new film making ground for me, unless you factor in the fact that there aren’t many Hiligaynon-speaking ones out there. However, for a Negrense who has a deep connection with our food culture, both as an eater and a self-proclaimed steward of our culinary heritage, the movie was totally worth the price of admission.
The story and acting were ok, although I would’ve preferred a villain who wasn’t so easy to hate, which I felt was a missed opportunity to further explore the theme of tradition versus modernity with a bit more depth and nuance, rather than just the good versus obvious evil trope. However, the long and short of it was that I didn’t feel like I wasted my time or money on the movie and I would recommend it to any Negrense who hasn’t seen it yet.
Maybe what got to me was the theme of the movie, which centered on our food and heritage, something most Negrenses (my age at least) can relate to. We are at this point in time when it seems like we are witnessing the potential decline of many of the OG native delicacies, either through the neglect of customers or the makers, or through rampant over-commercialization, which vastly changed the quality of the targeted delicacies, in the name of affordability and expanded reach. The piaya and the inasal are the most unfortunate victims of the latter, while on the other end of the spectrum are the “boring” delicacies that are deceptively difficult to cook or source, and the younger generation has to be taught to appreciate.
The plot may have been simple and predictable, but it was definitely refreshing to see a movie that reminded its target audience of the value of heritage, particularly the food that makes being Negrense unique, and the roles that the young ones and the older ones play in ensuring that all these delicacies, including their recipes and techniques, are passed on. “Under the Piaya Moon” tries to remind its audience that we need to love those parts of our heritage that could very easily fade away, enough to make sure it is not only appreciated, but more importantly passed on to the next generations, regardless of the current trends or fads.
If we cannot make our alupi, ibus, bichu-bichu, bichokoy, butong-butong, and the rest of our delicacies that have been flying under the radar for decades, go viral on Tiktok, at the very least we now have a film that makes generations of Negrenses, spanning from the boomers to the Gen Z and even Alpha, stop and think about what we could lose if we just blindly follow the trends and forget about the classics. Granted that they take the time and effort to see the film, that is.
For that reason alone, I give the film Under the Piaya Moon a must see rating, especially for those who call themselves Negrense.*
