THE EIGHTIES # 194: AMY AUSTRIA, ISABEL RIVAS, GABBY CONCEPCION IN LINO BROCKA'S "BURGIS" (1981)

Synopsis:

After having been kicked out of several exclusive schools, Juni Locsin (Gabby Concepcion) is enrolled in the Eastern College of the Republic, a university for the less affluent. Juni’s classmates are of a different social class and cannot afford the upper crust lifestyle he adopts. He is a turnoff to some of them but to the girls, he is a prize catch. He makes friends with some of his classmates whom he treats out to lunches at restaurants with his credit card and to Betamax viewings at his house. He soon becomes a popular figure in school.

He is attracted to Nedy (Amy Austria), one of his classmates, but she ignores him. To make her jealous, he talks of his girlfriend, Sheryl (Isabel Rivas), who recently arrived from the States. Sheryl does her best to keep Juni but she knows it has become difficult.

Juni’s antagonists are Bogart (Rez Cortez) and his gang. They lounge on the hood of his car, scribble graffitti on it and take off the wheels. At one point, he fights back but is beaten up. His parents want him to reveal the names of his attackers so that the police could apprehend them but he refuses to talk.

His parents want to send him to the States but he is not keen on going. He works out in a gym and trains in martial arts. The moment of reckoning comes when he accosts Bogart and wins in a match. The two become fast friends.

Juni now explains to Nedy why he refused to talk. He would not have been able to face himself — and his classmates — if the police picked up Bogart and his gang because of his parents’influence.

But Juni’s mother is decided on sending him abroad despite the intercession of his father. Sheryl plans a despedida and invites Juni’s classmates along with his society friends to a lake resort. It ends in hair-pulling. Juni inadvertently hurls invectives at his classmates who get offended. Nedy is madder than before.

To win Nedy back — and his classmates, Juni works hard to solicit votes for her election as Miss Business Administration of the school. He is able to sell more than five thousand ballots to his rich friends. Nedy wins the contest and forgets the humiliation she suffered from Sheryl.

There is a ball to celebrate Nedy’s victory. Juni and his schoolmates are dancing the latest craze.

(Source: Lino Brocka: The Artist and his Times)

"Burgis" (1981)

Four Seasons Film International

Release Date June 26, 1981

Direction Lino Brocka

Cast Amy Austria, Isabel Rivas, Gabby Concepcion