Atom Araullo, Teroy Guzman talk ‘Citizen Jake’: Wake up, use your voice

Mike De Leon's first film in nearly two decades opens in cinemas nationwide on Wednesday, May 23, and actors Atom Araullo and Teroy Guzman are encouraging the public to check the film out — either to praise it or bash it.

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"I think maybe some people will like it, some people [will] hate it — this is part of producing something... you know, it's cinema, hindi naman lahat magugustuhan 'yan" Araullo said in an interview with News To Go on Tuesday.

"Pero ang pakay namin — anuman ang tingin niyo sa pelikula — pagkatapos, mag-usap kayo. Pag-isipan niyo. Talakayin niyo, kayo ba ay sumasangayon o hindi?

"Ang pinakamalungkot 'yong naiipit ka lang sa nag-uumpugang bato, 'di ba? Na hindi ka pumapanig," Araullo continued.

Guzman added, "Madaming tao sa lipunan natin ang walang boses...or walang boses pero hindi pinapakinggan. This is one way of encouraging discussion."

According to Guzman, "Citizen Jake" serves as a wake up call because we Filipinos cannot afford to forget about the past.

READ: 'Citizen Jake' is a long-overdue wake-up call 

"It's relevant [because] it touches on things like strongman rule, patriarchy, family, loyalty, corruption, crime related to corruption... and it cuts through classes, how [it affects everyone's lives]," Guzman explained.

Making a movie that dives into these topics — and presents it in the way that "Citizen Jake" has — both Araullo and Guzman acknowledged that the trolls might come out of the woodwork and say what they will about the film, but argued that the conversation mustn't be one-sided.

"It's a bit dangerous to be outspoken, but it's more dangerous to stay quiet and to be silent about it. Let them say what they want to say, it's supposed to be a free country," Guzman said.

"Citizen Jake" premiered in March for a limited audience. It earned praise from critics for its handling of sociopolitical themes.

Araullo plays the titular character Jake, a privileged blogger struggling to run from the shadow his father Senator Jacobo Herrera, played by Guzman, casts on his life. — Aya Tantiangco/LA, GMA News