Back again with some new stuff.
New Breed Films
Aparisyon
What the Cynic in Me Expected: Like Sister Act, without the singing, and more Martial-lawey
What Actually Happened: a finely acted tale on morality and faith, if just a bit ambiguous at the end.
Set in the the turbulent year of 1971, on the precipice of Martial Law,
Aparisyon is the story of a cloister in the woods where a group of nuns,
led by Mother Superior Ruth (Fides Cuyugan Asensio) devotes their
entire lives in the service of God. As a setting, the place is sheltered
and seemingly serene, an oasis separated from the outside world. We see
the world we know only in newspaper snippets and radio broadcasts.
Sister Lourdes (Jodi Sta. Maria) is the latest addition to the order.
She begins to settle in her new monastic lifestyle and she meets Sister
Remy (Mylene Dizon), a nun who has recently taken her vows. Soon the
events of the outside world start to creep into the sheltered walls of
the cloister and a sudden, violent and tragic event shakes the lives of
the order.
From this point on, Aparisyon turns into an intense drama where every
emotion hides beneath the surface, every ounce of indignation boils
beyond reach, likening itself to the people whose eyes, ears and mouths
were covered during the events leading to Martial Law. Will they
exchange their peace to involve themselves more with this alien,
lawless, turbulent world?
But aside from the likely metaphors, Aparisyon can also be a movie about
a dire test of faith. With their orderly lives, sheltered from the
world, this event shatters that world, giving the nuns predicaments that
test the core of their beliefs.
Quite appropriately, I had heard this program on the radio before
watching the film: One's burdens are not burdens that a person cannot
bear, the man on the radio said. People can stay away from sin not
because they are afraid of doing so, but because their viewpoint on life
leads them to decide not to. And in this film the moral dilemmas (and
each of the 4 main character's solutions to them) define them as
characters. Perhaps, also as archetypes of something?
The four members of the main cast convey their acting talents quite
capably, and without it, the film would have been a lesser experience.
The ending leaves a lot ambiguous in my view, leading us viewers to
decide for ourselves how these tests and crises have affected the people
involved.
This is an intense, brutal film, filled with emotional violence, yet
conveyed in silences. The director of the film noted that this film was
about silence, and its different forms. And this film seems to take that
point and give each silence a different meaning: guilt, acceptance,
love, determination, or turning to faith.
Give this one a try. It's a surprisingly good entry to this year's roster.
Metaphor style rating: it's like your significant lady other giving you THE LOOK. It looks innocuous, but you know the jig is up.
Cinemalaya Documentaries
Give Up Tomorrow
What the Cynic in Me Expected: I honestly had no expectations for this.
What Actually Happened: A true crime docu that stabs at the heart of the ailing Philippine justice system. A must watch.
I vaguely remember the Chiong Murder Case back in the nineties. Two
sisters in Cebu were kidnapped, raped then killed by a number of unknown
men. In the face of sheer public indignation, the police rounded up a
number of suspects, among them Paco Larranaga. I remember seeing his
face as he was being led to the court. I remember the cheap
dramatization of the case with Nino Mulach as Larranaga.
I thought back then that he was guilty. But seeing this film made me
realize that the world doesn't paint things as black and white as we see
in the media.
Covering the years between his arrest, his trial and imprisonment, Give
Up Tomorrow weaves a tale of corruption and injustice like a yarn spun
straight out of Kafka's The Trial. In the face of intense negative
public and media attention, and powerful backers on the side of the
prosecution, this man and six others are sentenced to life in prison for
their role in a crime they may not have committed. Interspersed are
segments by the media regarding the case, some offering an objective
viewpoint; others, not so much, most memorably Teddy Locsin Jr's advice
to the convicted not to drop the soap.
Appeal after appeal comes, but the verdict is the same. During the
trial, evidence that clearly exonerates the accused is dismissed;
dubious testimony from others is considered set in stone. In the
screening for this film, you can feel the indignation from the audience
from every single wrongdoing that occurs.
This is no mere miscarriage of justice, it is an abortion, blades
spinning, carving up and destroying the lives of these men who have not
gained the chance at due process. One, on the other hand, could argue
that maybe some of them did do the crime. But this film shows that it
was never proven the proper way.
The film's title comes from an interview from Larranaga who has more or
less accepted his fate to be imprisoned for a very long time (this was
after he was sentenced to death, with a repeal of the death penalty
reducing his sentence). He talks about living his everyday life for
today, deciding that if he'd give up, he'd rather do so tomorrow.
Although screened in many film festivals abroad, this is the first time
the film has ever been screened in the Philippines. This film needs to
be seen by people, everywhere. And perhaps we can see this film not just
as something that can help in the reopening of this case, but also a
way to see how rotten our justice system has become. The scary thing
about it? This can happen to anyone. Even you and me.
Metaphor Style Rating: Finding out your significant other is a serial killer.
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