(My initial review is here.)
Note: may contain some spoilers. Skip to the next review if you do not want to get spoiled.
A Silent Voice is now showing here in the Philippines and I watched it again recently. Long story short, it's great, and it seems to be doing well in cinemas from what I can tell. (Unscientific data, but I asked a lot of ticket sellers.)
I'm reminded of something the Observer film critic Mark Kermode said when he watched the film. Kermode's one of the few critics who watches anime films whenever they come out and doesn't prejudge them just because they're anime. Anyway, in his review, he notes how the film is shot from Ishida's point of view; most of the time he looks down on the ground and we see a sea of legs, hands, bodies and pavements - consequences of his guilt and self loathing. Ishida (and the film, by extension) cannot properly look anyone in the face. During the end, Ishida (and we, the viewer) look at the characters we have befriended along the way in the face, when Ishida finally decides to come out of his shell.
Like I said in my earlier review, the characters of A Silent Voice are shaped by their guilt in one way or another; these are character traits that are emphasized more thoroughly in the manga. Their guilt hampers their ability to communicate with each other, more than any state of deafness could. A Silent Voice may be filled with imperfect characters, but the film teaches us to appreciate them, warts and all.
Watching this film is worth it, guys. That makes two films you need to watch this week (the other one being Bliss.)
Due to financial challenges, Virgie (Ai Ai Delas Alas) decides to work under a well to do family. While at first she has trouble with the two kids and one teen under her care, they get along and she becomes attached to them. This, however, leads her into conflict with stepmom Monique (Megan Young) who is also trying to get along with her new husband's kids.
Films about house help, especially films about the plight of the yaya or nanny, are nothing new in local cinema. These films are mostly done using a dramatic approach. For example, in Rory Quintos' Anak (2000) the film focuses on the effect on the family the nanny leaves behind; in the 2006 film Inang Yaya, Maricel Soriano's nanny character is forced to balance her love for her ward and the love of her real child, and in Jose Javier Reyes' own Ano Ang Kulay ng Mga Nakalimutang Pangarap? the dramatic focus is placed on the dreams that are sacrificed by these people in the name of serving their amo and the inherent tragedy in these relationships rooted deeply in our social hierarchies.
Our Mighty Yaya takes the opposite approach, and deals with the subject matter as a mainstream comedy. Some of the jokes don't land, but those that do, do so because of Delas Alas' comedic timing. Thankfully, she doesn't use her buckteeth or ugliness as a point in her comedy, something that would have demeaned her character even more.
The film tries to create some dramatic tension between Virgie and Monique, but the payoff is pretty perfunctory. This is a film that has decided to play it safe and go through the motions instead of showing something meaningful in its dramatic moments. Perhaps you can argue that in this context, meaningful commentary is the last thing one should be looking for, but the results from being complacent often result in a shallower overall experience. To be fair, I did enjoy parts of this film, and yes, it might serve as a decent crowd pleaser for the usual moviegoer, but you've probably seen everything Our Mighty Yaya has to offer somewhere else.
(note: this review contains a few spoilers.)
One Step bases its premise on the 2013 romantic comedy Begin Again, where a young woman befriends a music producer so that they can make beautiful music together. In the case of One Step, however, Si-Hyun (Sandara Park) suffers from amnesia and a form of synesthesia where she can "see" music; she collaborates with music producer Jee-Il (Cho Dong-in, complete with Cumber-lock hair) in the hopes of regaining her lost memory.
It's a treat seeing pambansang krung krung Sandara Park in a Korean movie, and she really gives her all to the role of Si Hyun. That said, while competently acted for the most part, One Step struggles to keep its story together. The movie plays with several plot points but doesn't really go anywhere with them: even the main mystery of the film - Si-Hyun's search for her lost memories - fades into the background as the film enters its last act. In the end, barely anything gets resolved at all, which can prove a bit frustrating for people invested in these characters. Then again, it's always been more about the journey rather than the destination for most of these films, so your own personal mileage may vary.
The film's major highlight is the soundtrack, featuring many songs from Sandara Park and other artists. They range from colorful and relatively light K-pop to some rock-based tunes. Fans of Park may find something to appreciate here, though the tunes here are closer in tone to the songs of her solo career instead of her stint with girl group 2NE1.
While the film reaches considerable levels of schmaltz and hokeyness, I found it overall pretty entertaining. One Step struggles to keep its plot together, but its negatives are balanced by a nice soundtrack and decent performances all around.
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