New Breed: Rekorder (Mikhail Red)
The camera has come a long way from its humble beginnings more than a century ago. In my childhood the home video camera was a rarity, and when my cousin and I managed to get our hands on a Video 8, we went wild and made all sorts of films.
Now, anyone can buy a camera cheap, and all of the new cellphone models have cameras built in. The advancement of data storage technology means that we can literally store almost all of our moments as pictures and data. While in the past the moviemakers were a breed of their own, now anyone can make their own personal film.
Rekorder is an interesting film which delves into morality at its most superficial levels, but in a deeper sense, it also tackles concepts on moviemaking as a whole, and how we perceive the concept of a movie in general.
Maven (Ronnie Quizon) is a former cameraman who now makes a living recording movies in the cinema illegally. His methods are outdated (he uses an old Video 8 Handycam, meaning he uses tapes rather than data cards) and his way of living is under threat as well - torrents have largely made his DVD trade obsolete, or at least on the verge of obsolescence.
Maven finds the contrived world of the movies boring (he falls asleep while he records the films) and prefers to take video of the world around him. At night, he looks at his old tapes and relives a past that continues to haunt him.
I won't spoil the rest of the movie for you, but Maven finds himself in a dilemma that tests his sense of morality and his ideals.
The concept of "moviemaking" in Maven's world is much like ours: we use our cameras to capture life around us in a voyeuristic fashion. We use it to capture moments in life around us, as placeholders of our memories. We have things like instagram where even the most mundane of our experiences are committed to film; pictures of a sidewalk or today's lunch, without much of the emotion behind it, teem in today's society.
And with all the good things, we have the bad. Film captures all of the ugly moments of life as well. Just look at the evening news and one can see grisly images of death on film, despair on camera, fruits of suffering, laced with schadenfreude, ripe for the picking.
Rekorder challenges us to use film as a medium for change. The medium of film has a power that can topple nations, bring down presidents, or bring people to justice. It holds truth for us to examine, and the film exhibits that truth to us in detail, for everyone to see. Film can be a tool that can make a difference, and I think that's an important point the film tries to raise.
Rekorder also tackles piracy and the fact that while many movies are made for business, moviemaking is still an artform and is made for the enjoyment of all. I'm interested to see a similar or alternative viewpoint in Jon Red's Pirata, also showing in Cinemalaya screens.
While paced a bit too long, I really have no other technical complaints. The film works well with good production design and a score that keeps the tension going.
All in all, it's a worthwhile watch, and a probable contender for best in festival. Recommended.
8 pirated DVDs out of 10.
Director's Showcase: Sana Dati
I was intrigued by the premise of this film when I saw the trailers. Many of my friends and former classmates are getting married these days so the notion of this film being set during oa wedding raised my eyebrows.
Full Disclosure: I no longer believe in weddings. I no longer believe in true love. I no longer believe in starting a family or having kids or having any kind of meaningful romantic relationships with anyone. I guess I no longer believe in a lot of things.
Full Disclosure: I loved this film.
I admit I have not seen the previous two installments of Jerrold Tarog's Camera Trilogy, of which this film is the third and final part. But if this film is any indication, I'm sold.
Sana Dati is set during Andrea's (Lovi Poe) wedding to her politician fiancee Robert. During the hectic preparations, however, Dennis, (Paulo Avelino) the wedding videographer, comes in and Andrea starts remembering a romance that haunts her to this day.
The movie then intercuts between the past and present and explores the nature of that relationship and her relationship to Robert. The chemistry (or lack thereof) between Lovi Poe and her male leads is spot on, and you really get to feel for the characters and the situation they've been in.
At its core, Sana Dati's story is one we've seen a lot of times before (like several Korean romantic films) but it handles the subject matter in an interesting way that mainstream productions, with their deus ex machinas and their overly sappy moments, rarely do. With witty conversations, decent to great acting, and scenes that evoke honest emotion, you invest in the characters and maybe even relate to their situation.
Technically, the film is polished. Music and Cinematography are excellent. Up Dharma Down contributes their song "Indak" as the ending theme and I honestly can't think of a better song to end the movie.
There are other reasons for loving others, not just from our gut. And the flow of love's river might not always go in the direction we want. We can stay stubborn and happy, or we can move on. It's an interesting conundrum that many of us encounter during the course of our lives.
This is a great movie, and one of the most technically sound. I recommend it.
8.5 pairs of blue shoes out of 10.
The camera has come a long way from its humble beginnings more than a century ago. In my childhood the home video camera was a rarity, and when my cousin and I managed to get our hands on a Video 8, we went wild and made all sorts of films.
Now, anyone can buy a camera cheap, and all of the new cellphone models have cameras built in. The advancement of data storage technology means that we can literally store almost all of our moments as pictures and data. While in the past the moviemakers were a breed of their own, now anyone can make their own personal film.
Rekorder is an interesting film which delves into morality at its most superficial levels, but in a deeper sense, it also tackles concepts on moviemaking as a whole, and how we perceive the concept of a movie in general.
Maven (Ronnie Quizon) is a former cameraman who now makes a living recording movies in the cinema illegally. His methods are outdated (he uses an old Video 8 Handycam, meaning he uses tapes rather than data cards) and his way of living is under threat as well - torrents have largely made his DVD trade obsolete, or at least on the verge of obsolescence.
Maven finds the contrived world of the movies boring (he falls asleep while he records the films) and prefers to take video of the world around him. At night, he looks at his old tapes and relives a past that continues to haunt him.
I won't spoil the rest of the movie for you, but Maven finds himself in a dilemma that tests his sense of morality and his ideals.
The concept of "moviemaking" in Maven's world is much like ours: we use our cameras to capture life around us in a voyeuristic fashion. We use it to capture moments in life around us, as placeholders of our memories. We have things like instagram where even the most mundane of our experiences are committed to film; pictures of a sidewalk or today's lunch, without much of the emotion behind it, teem in today's society.
And with all the good things, we have the bad. Film captures all of the ugly moments of life as well. Just look at the evening news and one can see grisly images of death on film, despair on camera, fruits of suffering, laced with schadenfreude, ripe for the picking.
Rekorder challenges us to use film as a medium for change. The medium of film has a power that can topple nations, bring down presidents, or bring people to justice. It holds truth for us to examine, and the film exhibits that truth to us in detail, for everyone to see. Film can be a tool that can make a difference, and I think that's an important point the film tries to raise.
Rekorder also tackles piracy and the fact that while many movies are made for business, moviemaking is still an artform and is made for the enjoyment of all. I'm interested to see a similar or alternative viewpoint in Jon Red's Pirata, also showing in Cinemalaya screens.
While paced a bit too long, I really have no other technical complaints. The film works well with good production design and a score that keeps the tension going.
All in all, it's a worthwhile watch, and a probable contender for best in festival. Recommended.
8 pirated DVDs out of 10.
Director's Showcase: Sana Dati
I was intrigued by the premise of this film when I saw the trailers. Many of my friends and former classmates are getting married these days so the notion of this film being set during oa wedding raised my eyebrows.
Full Disclosure: I no longer believe in weddings. I no longer believe in true love. I no longer believe in starting a family or having kids or having any kind of meaningful romantic relationships with anyone. I guess I no longer believe in a lot of things.
Full Disclosure: I loved this film.
I admit I have not seen the previous two installments of Jerrold Tarog's Camera Trilogy, of which this film is the third and final part. But if this film is any indication, I'm sold.
Sana Dati is set during Andrea's (Lovi Poe) wedding to her politician fiancee Robert. During the hectic preparations, however, Dennis, (Paulo Avelino) the wedding videographer, comes in and Andrea starts remembering a romance that haunts her to this day.
The movie then intercuts between the past and present and explores the nature of that relationship and her relationship to Robert. The chemistry (or lack thereof) between Lovi Poe and her male leads is spot on, and you really get to feel for the characters and the situation they've been in.
At its core, Sana Dati's story is one we've seen a lot of times before (like several Korean romantic films) but it handles the subject matter in an interesting way that mainstream productions, with their deus ex machinas and their overly sappy moments, rarely do. With witty conversations, decent to great acting, and scenes that evoke honest emotion, you invest in the characters and maybe even relate to their situation.
Technically, the film is polished. Music and Cinematography are excellent. Up Dharma Down contributes their song "Indak" as the ending theme and I honestly can't think of a better song to end the movie.
There are other reasons for loving others, not just from our gut. And the flow of love's river might not always go in the direction we want. We can stay stubborn and happy, or we can move on. It's an interesting conundrum that many of us encounter during the course of our lives.
This is a great movie, and one of the most technically sound. I recommend it.
8.5 pairs of blue shoes out of 10.
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