For Alexis

If there's one thing I can say about my relationship with Alexis, it's that we never agreed on anything. We argued and argued about films and even the films we both liked we never agreed on why they were good.

With that said, I never once hesitated to publish him, even if I thoroughly disagreed with what he wrote. (Sometimes I even gave him space to refute my own review by publishing his right below mine in my column for The Philippine Star.) That's because Alexis never wrote a word he didn't believe. And he could never be bought, lunched, or persuaded in his opinions about a film other than by watching it (and sometimes re-watching it several times.) He called it like it is—and you could disagree with him. He respected that. But, take it from me, it's pretty daunting (if not entertaining) to argue with someone who is as intelligent and empathetic as Alexis. That's what made him so credible and vital overseas as a film critic and journalist. It wasn't only his eloquence and his command of the subject, but it was because he was authentic and passionate about Filipino cinema. It was something that made him ecstatic and really drove him into deep contemplation and sadness. He really felt for it and could convey this to anyone. He was also a tough one. He never cowered even when faced with outright hostility. But it had to be said that that toughness was never about being mean. He never cared about writing negative reviews, but would never lie about his assessment of a film either. I always respected that. I made a feature film which he didn't like and it never bothered me. How could it? The guy was clearly pained about telling me but I asked him. He said it like it was. And I never felt bad about that. Honestly, I think that made our relationship even stronger. It's been said that we got into a lot of trouble together, especially when he started a crusade against the Metro Manila Film Festival. At that time, I really didn't care but I had to support Alexis. Plus, I thought it would be fun. The two of us went around film sets, TV stations, and production houses, all trying to get a petition signed by filmmakers. There were many who refused and there were those who surprisingly didn't. One instance would be Eddie Garcia, whom we spotted at LVN dubbing his lines. We approached him and Alexis explained to him why we thought he should sign it. The veteran actor signed the petition without hesitation. But we also had these real film geek rituals. We'd watch old Tagalog films—a lot from LVN—in the afternoons or early evenings. We watched even if the copies weren't good or even if the film had missing reels. We really enjoyed it. For Lamberto Avellana's film version of Nick Joaquin's "Portrait" we even brewed some native chocolate and drank it while watching. For the last two years of his life, we communicated almost every day whether on the phone or through email or Yahoo Messenger. I last spoke to him on the afternoon of September 1. I told him that the Free Press (which I'm associate editor of) had agreed to give him a weekly column. We'd been waiting for the go-ahead for a month. He was already a regular contributor. He was at my place the previous Friday and Saturday while I was at his place on Sunday, and we were already talking about the various things he would write about. Let me say that it's certainly been one of the greatest experiences working with Alexis as his editor. It was a very active partnership in which I would have the easy part of telling him what I thought or suggesting ideas—and he'd just make something out of it that I truly could never have done or thought myself. He made me look good. I guess you could say our greatest, certainly the most real thing we did, was that letter to Nika. He loved an essay of mine called "Confessions of a Spaceboy" and had read that aloud to Nika during their courtship. When I suggested he should write something about himself and why he became involved in film, he hesitated and only agreed when he thought he could do something in the spirit of that essay. Of course, he made it his own and it was beautiful seeing him turn in draft after draft, crafting it and rewriting it. We worked on that for two weeks and I have to say it was truly an honor and a privilege for me to have been involved in that. That comes rarely if ever to an editor. I doubt I'll have that experience again. Alexis was the closest I had to a younger brother. I'm glad that I was able to tell him that and how much I loved him before he died. I wrote once that he was the "most important person in Philippine cinema today" (more important than any director working at that time). He was certainly an important part of my life that I'm sure I'll never get over what happened to him. - GMANews.TV RELATED POSTS Remembering Alexis On September 1, 2009, film critic Alexis Tioseco and his girlfriend film journalist Nika Bohinc were slain in their home in Quezon City. Three friends pay tribute to Alexis on his first death anniversary.
A belated 'Thanks, man!' for Alexis Tioseco The other thing that Alexis and I shared in common, aside from our interest in film, was narcolepsy: he and I had the tendency to fall asleep while watching a movie.