''Service'' () 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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Brillante Mendoza Brillante Mendoza (; born July 30, 1960), also known as Dante Mendoza, is a Filipino independent filmmaker. Mendoza is known one of the key members associated with the Philippine New Wave. Career Mendoza was born and raised in San Fernando, ...

and stars

Gina Pareño Gina Pareño (; born Geraldine Acthley, October 20, 1947) is a Filipino actress. She is referred to as the "Queen of Philippine Melodrama", being best known for her award-winning portrayals in films like '' Kubrador'', ''Service (film), Serbis' ...

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

Angeles City Angeles (), officially the City of Angeles (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 462,928 people. A ...

. The film competed for the

Palme d'Or The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...

in the main competition at the

2008 Cannes Film Festival The 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 25 May 2008. American actor and filmmaker Sean Penn served as jury president for the main competition. French filmmaker Laurent Cantet won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for th ...

. It is also the first Filipino 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. His filmography often addressed the co ...

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

Cast

as Nanay Flor *

Jaclyn Jose Mary Jane Santa Ana Guck (October 21, 1963 – March 2, 2024 ), known professionally as Jaclyn Jose, was a Filipino actress. Known for her penetrating eyes and antagonistic roles in film and soap operas, she was a recipient of various accolades ...

as Nayda * Julio Diaz as Lando *Kristoffer King as Ronald * Mercedes Cabral as Merly *

Coco Martin Rodel Pacheco Nacianceno Jr. (born November 1, 1981), popularly known as Coco Martin (), is a Filipino actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. Known for his performances in action and romantic drama, he is one of the most awarded Filipin ...

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 ...

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 explicit 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 Mercedes Cabral. 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, was not 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 The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB; ; is a Philippine government agency under the Office of the President of the Philippines that is responsible for the classification and review of television programs, motion p ...

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 felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...

'' 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 criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' 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