''Service'' ( fil, Serbis) is a 2008 Filipino independent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Brillante Mendoza Brillante "Dante" Mendoza (born 30 July 1960) is a Filipino independent filmmaker. Mendoza is known one of the key members associated with the Filipino New Wave. Career He was born and raised in San Fernando, Pampanga. He took advertising ...

and stars

Gina Pareño Gina Pareño (; born Geraldine Acthley; October 20, 1947) is a Filipina actress. Early life Pareño was born to a German American father and a Filipina mother. Career She started her career in the 1960s as an extra in several films and then lat ...

as the matriarch of the Pineda family who owns a porn cinema in

Angeles City , anthem = Himno ning Angeles (Angeles Hymn) , subdivision_type3 = District , subdivision_name3 = , established_title = Settled , established_date = 1796 , established_title1 = Chartere ...

. The film competed for the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

in the main competition at the

2008 Cannes Film Festival The 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 14 to 25 May 2008. The President of the Official Jury was American actor and director Sean Penn. Twenty two films from fourteen countries were selected to compete for the ''Palme d'Or''. The awards ...

. It is also the first

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

film to compete at the main competition in Cannes, since

Lino Brocka Catalino Ortiz Brocka (April 3, 1939 – May 22, 1991) was a Filipino film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and significant filmmakers in the history of Philippine cinema. He co-founded the organization Concerned Art ...

's '' Bayan Ko: Kapit sa Patalim'' in 1984.

Plot

''Service'' is a drama that follows the daily life of the Pineda family in the Philippine city of Angeles. Bigamy, unwanted pregnancy, possible incest and skin diseases are all part of their daily challenges, but the real "star" of the show is an enormous, dilapidated movie theater that is both family business and home. In the past a prestigious place, the theater now features soft core porn and serves as a meeting ground for male & female prostitutes of every conceivable persuasion. The film captures the sordid, decaying atmosphere, interweaving various family drama with the comings and goings of customers, thieves and even a runaway farm animal while enveloping the viewer in a cacophony of city sound, noise and continuous pumping motion.

Cast

as Nanay Flor *

Jaclyn Jose Mary Jane Santa Ana Guck (born October 21, 1964), better known by her stage name Jaclyn Jose, is a Filipino cinema and television actress who has earned international critical acclaim. She is best known for her roles in the films ''Private Sho ...

as Nayda * Julio Diaz as Lando *Kristoffer King as Ronald *

Mercedes Cabral Mercedes Cabral (born August 10, 1986) is a Filipino actress. She is best known for starring in Philippine arthouse and independent films, notably those by Brillante Mendoza such as '' Serbis'', ''Kinatay'', ''Captive'', and ''Thy Womb''. She al ...

as Merly *

Coco Martin Rodel Pacheco Nacianceno (born November 1, 1981), known professionally by his stage name Coco Martin (), is a Filipino actor, director, and film producer. He is best known for playing the lead roles in ''Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin'', '' Walang H ...

as Alan *

Dan Alvaro Dan Alvaro (born Rolando Galura 1951) is a Filipino actor both in movies and television. His niece is actress Glaiza de Castro and his nephew is actor Alcris Galura. He is the father of actor Ram Alvaro. Career In 1984, Alvaro played as the br ...

as Jerome

recounted how difficult it was to find the actress for the role of Merly, partly because of the scene in which she had to have real penetrative sex on camera: "I couldn't think of a young actress from mainstream movies who can do what the role required, so I held an audition for the role of Merly. I wanted someone who's not interested in becoming a "movie star," I wanted a real artist who can give justice to the role, and I saw that in

. The first thing I asked is if she would trust me to shoot this somewhat graphic love scene with Coco. She said it wasn't a problem."

Production

said the scene in which Jewel (played by teenage actress Roxanne Jordan), is naked in front of a mirror, wasn't in the script. The film was shot in just 12 days.

Release

Box office

Critical response

''Service'' caused a stir in the Philippines with its loud ambient noise and its graphic depiction of sex and nudity. Submitted to the

Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (English: "For Intelligent and Responsible Viewing") , employees = More than 33 , chief1_name = Diorella Maria Sotto-Antonio , chief1_position = Chairperson , agency_type = Film and television classification , parent_agency ...

for public exhibition in 2008, the movie survived with two major cuts to sex scenes and was rated an R18. Such was the advance international buzz of the film that it was invited to compete at the 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival, being the 3rd overall entry from the Philippines (following the films of director

, ''

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

'' and '' Bayan Ko: Kapit sa Patalim''). Its premiere at the festival was marked by the walking out of several veteran film critics who protested Mendoza's version of "misery porn." On 30 January 2009, the film premiered in New York. Writing for ''The New York Times'', its chief film critic Manohla Dargis described the film: "The heavenly bodies that populate our films bring their own pleasures ... alighting onscreen as if from a dream. But the bodies in ��Serbis’ which received little love at the 2008 Cannes, are not heaven-sent, but neither are they puppets in a contrived nightmare. Rather, they lust, sweat, desire and struggle with the ferocious truth."

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' gave ''Service'' two and a half out of four stars, stating that " you see only one art film this month, this shouldn't be the one. If you see one every week, you might admire it."

Accolades

References

External links

* * * * *
Film Review: 'Serbis' in Hollywood ReporterMixed Reviews of Serbis in Cannes
{{Brillante Mendoza 2008 drama films 2008 films Filipino-language films Films directed by Brillante Mendoza Philippine drama films Erotic drama films