Time for Part 2. Here's where the customary warning goes in that this post is going to be quite long.
We Want Short Shorts Filipino Short Film Short Review Compilation Galaxy SIII 6S MMXV Part 2
Ang Maangas, ang Marikit, at ang Makata
We’ll be seeing a lot of Jose Ibarra Gualla in this lineup.
If you read the link I showed in the last post, his films have this interesting,
surreal sense of humor that is compatible with my sensibilities. In this case,
it’s a period film, but that doesn’t even come close to accurately describing
this comedy. 3.75/5
Redlights
The story, that of predators and prey in an unforgiving
urban jungle, is relatively simple, but the filmmakers give the back alleys of
Cebu a dark, menacing feel that feels novel. 3.5/5
Sukat
The film’s title, Sukat, could refer to the short stature
of this documentary’s subject, a woman who struggles for acceptance. Yet it could
refer to the amount of determination to make it in the world despite her disability, as
well as her robust support system in friends and family. 3.25/5
Umuuga ang Ngipin ni Clarissa
Another film by Jose Ibarra Gualla, and this one, about a
woman pursued by a gang of tooth thieves, is my favourite of the lot. It’s
surreal, almost self-aware, and hilariously funny to boot, especially in the
film’s climax when the titular main character is overwhelmed by the sheer
weirdness of it all. 4.25/5
Sa Ngalan ng Kaunlaran
This insightful documentary tackles a land dispute over
in the Visayas, where farmers are being stripped of their land to fund a huge
white elephant project that does nothing but suck up taxpayer money. What makes
it even more impressive is that it is a student work and still ends up being as
well made as it is, which is better by leaps and bounds compared to some other
local and foreign documentaries. 3.5/5
Alingawngaw sa Panahon ng Pagpapasya
Shot in stark black and white, this short is about a
family going through the Martial Law era. The mother has ties to anti-Marcos
forces. It paces us through as the thorns of the regime scar the family with
wounds that run deep. 3.25/5
Unfocused
A simple animated film with an even simpler Aesop (which
I am ironically not heeding at this moment, it's 3:30 in the morning goddamnit). The animation was a bit choppy but
the character designs and the rest of the backgrounds were good. 3/5
Achup Boulevard
After viewing the shorts lineup from Davao, I’ve high
hopes for the Davao filmmaking community, as their output is really interesting
and diverse. For this film, a horror film about a slasher cutting up women in
the darkness of the night, it possesses a twist ending that felt really satisfying (and
was well done too.) 3.25/5
Happy Fiesta
In terms of narrative, this film (told in reverse order!)
was a delight to watch, as each plot revelation told in reverse unravelled some
very interesting (and unexpected) surprises. Had it been shown normally, it
probably would have worked nevertheless, but its reversed story concept works,
and exposes circles within bloody circles. 4/5
Madonna
There’s a lot of overt symbolism in the film, and much of
the film is well shot, not to mention a few creepy moments here and there. The
pacing was slightly off, though. 3/5
Pakbet
It’s full of horror clichés, including a scene stolen
right out of Ju-on. The jump cuts, the clever blocking, we’re seeing these
conventions in mainstream horror films nowadays. It's no longer fresh. In the end, the film ends up not being
that scary. 2.75/5
Malikmata
169 was
169 WAS
169 WAS
Eherm, anyway, the plot of this one kinda meandered for a
good ten minutes before it came to a rather plain conclusion. 3/5
Lucid
I really didn’t feel this one. There’s some weird acting,
and there’s something about some relationship stuff that I didn’t care about. The
dreams of others are often not that interesting (unless they are exceptionally
weird.) This one was not an exception. 2/5
The Man in the Cinemahouse
What a lovely mixture of performance art and film! It
would probably deserve more points had I seen it in the theatre instead. This
film breaks the fourth wall in creative and refreshing ways. It’s funny at
points too. 3.75/5
Ang Nanay ni Justin Barber
Giselle Sanchez nailed it. Those last frames with her
looking worriedly at her son really nails what this film is about – a woman
projecting her aspirations onto her son, to relieve her own inadequacies and
fill the gaps in her life. 3.5/5
Pagtunod it Adlaw
This one had a simple premise, although my general disbelief was stretched
kinda thin, given the two main characters talk only once and the guy’s hooked.
I’m not wholly convinced. Like the film I saw after this one, It really
concentrated more on how awesome the places in Region VI are (no surprise,
since it’s sponsored by the Region VI tourist board or something.) I want to go
to those places someday. I guess in that sense the film was successful. 2.5/5
Ang Panglakaton
A guy tries to get over his ex. The solution? Go around
really cool places in Guimaras OMG!!! Kidding aside, while I prefer the plot of
the previous film, this one has some really good aerial shots of the places our
protagonist and his friends traverse. 2.5/5
Kaon Durian
This film was short and humorous, yet REALLY creepy. Also,
I had the second weirdest boner of the day, which immediately disappeared
thanks to the creepy part. 3.5/5
Merry Joy Show
I love it for its cynicism (and its in your face
attitude, exemplified by its theme song that titters every so often.) As for the ending, well, a, uh, “friend”
of mine who is totally not me thinks that it may a good idea to do "that" from time to time. It’s backed with
scientific evidence. 3.25/5
Magsalig
I like it for the fact that it subverts gender roles,
even though its supernatural elements are antithetical to what I stand for
professionally. 3/5
Tami-aw
It’s gorgeously shot at times, and it shows the life of
these people in far flung, hard to reach places. It does segue into an explanation/endorsement
of the present administration’s Conditional Cash Transfer program. Thankfully,
it doesn’t shill that subject too much, and it shows how it can be beneficial
to these people. I wonder about that gratuity paid to the mayor, though. 3.25/5
Ma/n/chine
You know, this one had a nice concept ala Ghost in the
Shell, but the limitations of budget make this look like what it is: A guy with
a tube up his back floating in a pool. For what it’s worth, some of the
underwater shots worked nicely. 2.75/5
In the end close of a long day when she said to herself
time she stopped
Indeed. 2.75/5
Walay Naa Diri
This experimental short is a search for identity, when,
paraphrased from the directors own words, a concrete identity may never be truly
found. Maybe. It’s a dilemma that people of two or more cultures have been
searching for ever since the mixing of cultures became a thing. But, as the
film posits in its last act, as we search for a national identity in a country
that has become a potpourri of conquerors and colonizers, maybe uncertainty is
the key. Perhaps we should be content… with our present confusion.
Did I just namedrop my blog? I just namedropped my blog,
holy shit. 3/5
The End of War
Depictions of the conflict in Mindanao are sprouting up
as our filmmaking brothers and sisters in the south flourish. This particular
short frames the story not on one definite side of the conflict, as many are
wary to do, but in the context of a family trapped in the middle of the
conflict, between a rock and a hard place. 3.5/5
25 more shorts to go. Last part coming soon.
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