December 17, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Julia Montes said yes to the 2024 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) entry “Topakk” (English title: “Triggered”) because of the its core theme on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The action-packed thriller “Topakk,” produced by Nathan Studios, Fusee and Strawdogs, is making its homecoming premiere at the 50th MMFF after it mounted its world premiere at Cannes, Austin and Locarno film festivals.
Helmed by Richard V. Somes, “Topakk” is centered on a former special forces operative battling PTSD whose path intersects with a brother and sister both on the run from criminal forces. Arjo Atayde and Julia Montes are the lead stars.
The flick delves into the “themes of redemption, mental health and corruption, as told through intense action sequences and emotional depth.”
When direk Richard told Julia of “Topakk’s” storyline, she easily agreed to do it because of its central theme on PTSD. “It’s about time that PTSD will be discussed here in the Philippines because it’s not being talked about here,” she pointed out at a presscon.
“For sure, some of us have already felt it. Sometimes, it would cause palpitation, feelings of loneliness na wala namang currently na nangyayari but you feel something. But we, us Filipinos, got used to thinking like, (especially) old folks, ‘Tulog mo lang yan,’ or no one listens to us when we want to say something.”
Beyond its storyline and action scenes, Julia liked the project because of the message that it wants to convey to the audience. “We need to be more open because every character in the film has a story,” she offered.
Richard Somes (rightmost) talks about the message of the action-thriller.
“If you watch it, every character may hugot. All of us have hugot and are going through something,” she continued.
She hoped that after watching the movie, the viewers will be more open to the themes tackled in the film. “Be more kind sa mga nakakasalamuha natin because we don’t know what their struggles are every day and kung may nakikinig ba sa kanila.”
Direk Richard shared that “Topakk” was borne out of the pandemic when everyone was confined in their homes during the lockdown. “We were all bombarded by the news on TV, pandemic, death, war, famine, away ng lahat,” he recalled and added that the story started from there.
“And at the same time, looking back on the time that I wrote the script, I realized that it was my topak after all,” he said. “Sarili kong multo ang sinusulat ko na sa lahat ng mga takot. And then I just realized that I needed to make it into a film.”
Direk Richard, a loyal fan of Filipino action movies, furthered, “After writing the script and Arjo and Julia came along in the picture, everything is a history… So it was a very long process, pero maganda because the story is very personal.”
Telling a story about PTSD for the Filipino audience is necessary since it is not a well-discussed topic here as compared to other countries, stated direk Richard.
“We have medical practice also on studying PTSD but of course, Filipinos are known na resilient na species. We are known as matibay. The reason why Filipinos are collective if one is suffering from mental illness, PTSD or anything, that causes harm to you (because) we are more of a community.
Photos courtesy of Nathan Studios
“That’s why if you have problems, if you have something na may dinadala ka, we are used to (like) gather everyone and then we’re OK. We’re like that. We’re very collective (in nature) like, ‘Tol, let’s drink, I have a problem.’”
But there’s a deeper cause and effect that must be addressed when one is suffering from such issues, he added.
Arjo, on the other hand, said that one of the signs of PTSD is when you started having “twitches,” which his character experienced in the film.
“The twitches that I had (for my role), direk actually helped me with it,” recalled Arjo. “I remember since we started the film, I said, ‘Paano kaya ako yung parang pigil na galit na?’ Yun kasi obviously, especially the people who are very aware of the condition, ‘pag nag-spa-spark, they try to get out of it because it’s very traumatic.”
“And definitely, yung play, yung pagiging kalmado, we created that as a character because it’s a sign of him as a person who has nothing to lose who lost everything in that battle. So definitely every angle of the character was thoroughly thought about. And of course, with the guidance of direk Richard and the whole production,” he concluded.
Julia and Arjo are joined by Sid Lucero, Enchong Dee, Kokoy de Santos, Levy Ignacio, Bernard Palanca, Paolo Paraiso, Vin Abrenica, among others.
(Catch “Topakk” in cinemas nationwide starting Dec. 25).
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