March marks the third edition of the Sinag Maynila film festival. We have five more full length feature films that are distinctly Filipino. This year, the results are mixed: one really good film, a couple decent films, and two films that I think will merit divided opinions.
I managed to see all five full length features, but I was unable to see the shorts and the documentaries, which seemed to be added to the festival as an afterthought (they were showing in only one cinema, for only a couple of days.) It's also weird in that one of the full length entries is itself a documentary. In any case, here are my thoughts on this year's Sinag Maynila 2017 films.
Let's start with the sole documentary in the full length feature category, Ricky Carranza's Beyond the Block. It serves as both historical chronicle and memoir, detailing the history of Pinoy streetdance and how it has evolved from a smattering of groups into a thriving culture of dance enthusiasts.
The film is divided into five chapters, each roughly covering a decade in the development of Pinoy Streetdance. The first two chapters, covering the seventies and eighties, are utterly fascinating, and the balance between memoir and history is kept. People who lived through these times might still remember shows like Dance 10 and the groups that participated in them, such as Carranza's own Funk System. For the nostalgia factor alone, this part of the film is worth the price of admission.
Once things get to the nineties, however, the historical material diminishes and the memoir aspect of the documentary takes over. This is where the documentary is at its weakest, and it's not helped by a tendency for the story to meander. For example, one sequence that involves a visit to Dubai (complete with epic intro) lasts only a minute at best, and is followed by a sequence that bears little to no relation to the topic at hand. It's kind of like listening to your Uncle tell you a story and he goes off on a tangent before returning to the story at hand.
While there are problems with how Beyond the Block is structured, it covers some really fascinating stuff, and is worth the watch if just for that.
Jason Orfalas' Ladyfish is not for everyone. Its brand of humor involves rather gross things that can offend a lot of people, including, but not limited to: goats, defiled vegetables and golden showers. I personally enjoyed the film, but felt a few things lacking from the final product.
Ladyfish takes the slice of life approach in depicting the everyday life of a gay man, Kaye (Martin Escudero) with a bunch of personal issues. He's visited by his transgender friend Bonn (Brenda Mage) who is in the middle of transitioning from male to female. Soon, the two of them, as well as Bonn's son, live together in a house.
That description is basically the whole movie, as Bonn and Kaye go about their daily lives with no real conflict between them. The movie does address a few issues regarding the discrimination of people from the LGBTQ community, but it doesn't materialize into anything that profoundly affects the story.
My main source of enjoyment from the film comes from the comedy, including a funny spoof of a scene from Lav Diaz's Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis. The ending of the film, which reveals something interesting about the film's characters, is interesting as well, although the beauty contest that precedes it feels a bit tacked on. Ladyfish may be entertaining, but at the end of the day, it simply goes nowhere.
I'm going to confess this to you guys right now: I have never seen a Joel Lamangan film that I've liked without reservations. This one comes pretty close, however.
Bhoy Intsik takes place in a typical Lamangan-esque world of social injustice and oppression, where savvy characters use their wits to survive. In this case it's petty thieves Marlon (Ronwaldo Martin) and the titular Bhoy Intsik (Raymond Francisco,) who strike up a strange friendship after fate intervenes in their lives.
There are some really good character moments between the two main characters of Bhoy Intsik, thanks to fantastic performances by Ronwaldo Martin (who basically does the thing he did in Pamilya Ordinaryo again) and Raymond Francisco, both of whom deserve awards for what they did in this film.
That said, the film is marred by a number of strange directorial and script decisions that suspend my disbelief and break my film viewing experience. First, living eye donations as depicted in the film don't really exist, unless there were some unethical black market shit going on. Second, one particular sequence in the film consists an absurd number of coincidences for the sake of plot development that just feels lazy. Third, some of the film's sequences are awkwardly edited, such as alternating shaky footage and static footage as reverse angles. The film lays on the EJK/Tokhang references really thick; the film is terribly unsubtle about it. Oh, and a suicide attempt is fixed in no time with no lasting emotional repercussions. O....kay.
Bhoy Intsik is watchable, if only for its two main characters. It's my least un-favorite Joel Lamangan film. If that makes sense.
Tu Pug Imatuy is, according to the poster, anyway, Manobo for "the right to kill." And when you give people the right to kill, that right tends to be abused.
The film tells the story of a Manobo family and their run-in with the military. To say anything more would spoil the experience, so I won't elaborate. Its mixed with some snippets of oral tradition, traditional folk music, and some really lush landscapes. It's no exaggeration to say the film is beautifully shot, probably one of this year's standouts in cinematography work.
The film's story is harrowing. It makes your blood boil in anger. But the most horrifying thing about it is that it's based on a true story, and that's scary as hell. The great cinematography works in the film's favor, as it provides a disturbing contrast to all the terrible things happening on screen.
The struggle of the Lumad has gotten increased attention in films these days with films like this and Chuck Gutierrez's Iisa, and I hope the trend continues. Tu Pug Imatuy is a story that chills your spine with the things it implies regarding our society. It's a story that needs to be heard.
Like Ladyfish, HF Yambao's Kristo also takes a slice of life approach, depicting a day in the life of a Kristo, or bet maker, in a local cockfighting arena. Unlike Ladyfish, however, Kristo is deadly serious.
Kristoffer King delivers yet another great performance as the titular Kristo. He's street smart and he knows the rules of the game. He's done these kinds of roles before, such as in last year's Purgatoryo and Dyamper, and as a whole, he's suited for the role.
Much like the cockfighting matches that happen in the film, the film's events depend largely on chance. Much of it is shot with an emphasis on realism, and makes no qualms showing these chickens fighting and killing each other.
My one real issue with the film is its ending; it seems really unnecessary and feels like an attempt to be edgy somehow. The story was otherwise compelling up to this point, but this just feels senseless. (The visual comparison was nice, though.)
In any case, the film is quite well made, and seeing the odds and ends of the cockfighting business is really interesting to watch. The film's characters and the capricious nature of fate only makes it look like the world's a giant cockfighting pit, and we're all gamecocks primed for a fatal game of chance.
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That's it for Sinag Maynila, guys. I enjoyed this year's edition compared to 2016, to be honest, and I'm looking forward to future editions of the filmfest.
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I'll be taking a short break from the blog to work on the anniversary special. I initially planned to not write anything in the interim, but I just realized there are a couple of really interesting films coming out in the next 2 weeks, and I might just be tempted to write sooner than expected. So thanks for reading, everyone, and see you all at the movies.
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